As has already been announced at the Eurobike tradeshow, iXS is going to organize the European championships in both downhill and 4cross for the next three years. The official title is going to be „iXS European Championships“. For the first year, Zermatt in Switzerland has been chosen as venue.
The extremely demanding downhill track at the slopes of the famous Matterhorn is going to be modified in order to move the finish area directly into the village. The 4cross track, on the other hand, is situated at the Sunnegga paradise, at 2250 metres above sea level. So the spectators can enjoy more than just top-level elite sports, they also get a unique panorama view with no less than 38 impressive peaks that rise to more than 4000 metres elevation.
As the venue enjoys worldwide publicity, this also helps the quest to bring the European championships back to where they belong, which is exactly what iXS is intending to do. After all these championships are supposed to be something special not only from the sports’ perspective, they have to be put into the focus of the public as well. In the past, this was a factor that got neglected repeatedly, a prominent reason for some of the major national federations not to send their athletes.
The experience gathered from hosting downhill and 4cross races for a couple of years is going to be helpful to lift both the level and the reputation of these continental championships. A first important goal was to find venues that are situated in central Europe, making them easy to reach for most national teams. Of course the fact that next year’s World championships will be held just one week later around the corner in Champéry is helpful as this lowers travel expenses.
Zermatt and iXS will do everything to turn the first iXS European Championships into both an unforgettable experience and one of next season’s highlights from an athletic point of view. So make sure to calendar the weekend of 27th/28th August 2011 in your agenda prominently…
Euro Champs
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