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The 19th World Mountain Bike Championships will take place in Val di Sole from 17 to 22 June. It is the third time that Italy hosts the World Championships after Ciocco in 1991 and Livigno in 2005.  

With the Olympic Games looming, a record number of riders have registered for the World Championships--more than 970 riders representing 52 countries. This figure represents 532 riders in Olympic cross-country, 261 in downhill and 96 in 4-cross. It is interesting to see that the participating nations include Serbia, Romania, Belarus, Lichtenstein, Hong Kong and Thailand.  

More than 100 trials athletes will also be present, competing for the six titles up for grabs in this spectacular discipline.  

The 2007 Mountain Bike World Championships in Fort William (Great Britain) attracted 715 participants from 47 countries. In comparison with the previous years: Les Gets (France) in 2004 with 794 riders and 44 countries; Livigno (Italy) in 2005 with 702 riders and 47 nations; Rotorua (New Zealand) in 2006 with 482 riders and 38 nations.  

Television viewers and Internet surfers will be able to watch the highlights of the Mountain Bike World Championships thanks to the excellent technical means at disposition: 22 cameras and one helicopter for the cross-country, 22 cameras for the downhill and 14 cameras for the 4-Cross.  

Finally, all of the world’s top riders have confirmed their presence. If the amazing performances of this season’s Mountain Bike World Cup are anything to go by, the World Championships promise to be of the highest quality.

 A photo of the World's 4-Cross course, and lists of registered cross-country, cross-country team relay, downhill and 4-Cross athletes can be found at: http://uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI5/layout.asp?MenuId=MTI1OTc