Event held this Tuesday morning (29/10) brought together representatives of public and private initiatives, as well as members of the press in the west zone of the capital of São Paulo

The Brazilian organization of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, held this Tuesday morning (29/10) at Cine Marquise, in São Paulo (SP), the official launch of the double round which will take place in Brazil in 2025, both stages in April, in Araxá (MG). The event brought together representatives from several companies in the bike market, and also from other areas, members of the São Paulo and Minas Gerais public spheres, in addition to the presence of members of the media who were on site to record the meeting.

Among the people who presented at the event were Daniel Guth, executive director of Aliança Bike, Gustavo Nahas, vice-president of the Mountain Bike BH Association, Renata Falzoni, elected councilor of the city of São Paulo, Ítalo Borges, Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Tourism of Araxá, Tomás Mendes, Undersecretary of Sports of Minas Gerais, and Rogério Bernardes, organizer of the International Mountain Bike Cup.

Main participants of the launch event (Credit: Sanderson Barbarini/Fotop)

It was up to Daniel Guth to mediate the event and introduce the main guests to tell a little about their vision about the competition and also about the moment experienced by national mountain biking. Check out the testimonials below from each of the five guests who spoke to the others present at Cine Marquise:

Gustavo Nahas, vice-president of Mountain Bike BH
“We at Associação Mountain Bike BH, as organizers of the event, are very happy to be here telling a little of our story. We are almost 20 years old and, within the object and by statute, we have to promote sport and we have already done this in several ways, including with the State and Federal Sports Incentive Law. Within this range of everything we have already carried out, there are educational projects, paracycling, Incentive Law for amateur teams, for professional teams. And, of course, for the International Cup itself. Now, we have this challenge for the 2025 World Cup. In addition, we have trail recovery projects in the Metropolitan region of BH and in Conceição do Mato Dentro (MG). And we even delivered a sketch for a Trails Listing project in Nova Lima, which is already ten years old and is now a decree. All the trails there are listed and no development can discontinue these trails.”

Renata Falzoni, elected councilor of the city of São Paulo
“For those who know the International Cup, if you look at its history, it will remind you of the entire history of rural competitive cycling in Brazil, which is the origin of the event. The first time I went, in the 90s, it was called Copa Ametur and promoted rural tourism. Rigid bikes competing on completely natural trails. The evolution of international MTB is parallel to what CiMTB is becoming. Rogério Bernardes once said he would do official UCI tests and I told him he was crazy. There was no other way. He unraveled everything and managed to put on the best international event outside of Europe. I remember when I managed to be at the Rio/16 Olympics, on a track built by Rogério and his team, completely in harmony with what the UCI wanted. That was a source of pride for us. A track built by a Brazilian who had all the roots of high-performance MTB in Brazil. São Paulo, with all its qualities, cannot have the protagonism that Minas Gerais brings us. It’s cool to recognize what we have to learn from this work and raise ourselves to the same level, to bring here evidence of this level and this content.”

Cine Marquise room full to watch the event (Credit: Sanderson Barbarini/Fotop)

Ítalo Borges, Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Tourism of Araxá
“I just have to thank Rogério Bernardes and the entire team for honoring us with an event of such magnitude. Araxá is a city, for those who don’t know, that has some attributes that other cities of its size do not have. Receiving a event of this size was of fundamental importance for the development of our tourism, which in the past had leisure tourism and today we are a city with what we call event tourism, which boosts the economy in a very significant way. Not only with the International Cup, but also with the arrival of the World Cup. To give you an idea, until the 2024 World Cup we didn’t have an AirBnb. These are changes of this magnitude that an event of this size brings. It distributes income, in addition to bringing knowledge, leisure and culture to the entire region. Araxá is privileged, and this time with two stages. The safest city in the state, second in education. Pillars that provide the ability to receive events of this magnitude.”

Tomás Mendes, Undersecretary of Sports of Minas Gerais
“We were very happy to be here at such a special moment. Our words are of gratitude on behalf of Governor Romeu Zema, who is passionate about Araxá and the sport, and who gave us this mission. In 2024, we experience everything that the World Cup managed to deliver in Araxá. Development, economic movement. When the Governor arrived there in April this year, he told us that this was an event that Araxá and the State of Minas Gerais always had to do. So let’s encourage it more and more. And, of course, Zema took advantage by saying that whoever takes one test takes two. We scratch our heads, roll up our sleeves and literally put on our shirts to make things happen in the best way possible within our state. Thank Araxá for the partnership, to Rogério Bernardes, who from the moment we build the delivery of the event and how we are going to make it meet all the UCI’s responsibilities, he runs from one side to the other to make things happen. Count on the Government of Minas Gerais. We also thank Mountain Bike BH, for being an important partner so that everything can happen.”

Rogério Bernardes, organizer of CiMTB
“All this construction, with Mountain Bike BH, has been fundamental to making the event viable. The city hall and City Council of Araxá and Governor Romeu Zema are also extremely important. I also thank Deputy Bosco, who, more than just a deputy, participated in meetings and was part of our team. Thank you also to the Ministry of Sports and the Brazilian Cycling Confederation, the CBC. Furthermore, also recognize the efforts of the community and the market. Everyone is important in this process. Warner Bros. Discovery was very impressed with all this articulation. Of a total of 16 World Series weekends in 2025, two of them will be in Araxá, the only Latin American representative in the event. It was also exciting to be here and remember the great moments of the World Cups that we organized, Petrópolis and Araxá, together with our guests. The feeling we have about 2025 is one of great anxiety about experiencing one of the greatest, if not the greatest, moment in Brazilian mountain biking that is yet to come.”

CiMTB Organizer, Rogério Bernardes (Credit: Sanderson Barbarini/Fotop)

After the presentations, the organizer of the International Mountain Bike Cup brought to visitors some important numbers achieved in the 2024 season of the competition, relating to the Araxá stages (CiMTB and World Series), and announced some ideas that the organization has about the arena of the next season and also of the schedule that is yet to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

It is also worth highlighting that there are still spaces available in the different exhibition areas of the event, which will be sold in the coming days. To do this, interested parties must contact the organizer, Rogério Bernardes, directly by email at info@cimtb.com.br or via WhatsApp (31) 98835-7777. To the partners who have already confirmed their presence at CiMTB, in March, and at the double round of the Araxá World Cup, in April, Gorgeous Eventos is appointed as the official assembler of the arena, that is, any need regarding stand assembly, the company is available to serve companies with the best market conditions. To do this, simply contact us by calling (11) 98113-4824 (Joana).

2025 CiMTB Calendar and World Cup in Brazil:
– CiMTB #1 – March 28th to 30th, in Araxá (MG)
– World Cup #1 – April 3rd to 6th, in Araxá (MG)
– World Cup #2 – April 10th to 13th, in Araxá (MG)
– CiMTB #2 – 6th to 8th June, in Poços de Caldas (MG)
– CiMTB #3 – August 1st to 3rd, in Nova Lima (MG)
– CiMTB #4 – 26th to 28th September, in Congonhas (MG)

The history of CiMTB
The CiMTB organization held its first race in 1996. Since then, it has been innovating and actively contributing to the growth and strengthening of mountain biking and the bicycle market in Brazil. Counting points for the International Cycling Union (UCI) world ranking since 2004, CiMTB has been selective for the Olympic Games in the Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 cycles.

In 2022, CiMTB further increased its international relevance, with the opening stage of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike World Cup, in Petrópolis, and in 2024 it organized the Araxá stage of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Furthermore, he was responsible for building the mountain bike track for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, considered one of the best in the history of the Games since 1996, the first year of MTB at the Olympics.

More information about CiMTB:
Website: https://www.cimtb.com.br
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cimtb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cimtb/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cimtb_oficial

Press Office
Gustavo Coelho
press@cimtb.com.br