Three world championships on one mountain: Mont-Sainte-Anne in 1998, 2010 and 2019
Only a handful of venues have hosted the mountain bike world championships three times. Mont-Sainte-Anne did so in 1998, 2010 and 2019. The 2010 edition, the subject of this site, makes more sense once you know the mountain's longer story.
From ski hill to bike venue
Mont-Sainte-Anne opened as a ski area in January 1966 in Beaupré, about 40 km east of Québec City. The Québec government took it over in 1970, ran it as a provincial park and later sold it to private operators. The numbers that matter to cyclists are simple: an 803-metre summit and 625 metres of vertical, enough for a long downhill and for the punishing climbs cross-country riders still talk about.
The UCI held its first official mountain bike world championships in Durango, Colorado, in 1990, and a World Cup series followed. Mont-Sainte-Anne hosted a round from 1991 and became one of the circuit's fixtures. Canada also staged the 1992 world championships at Bromont, which helped make the country one of the sport's early strongholds.
1998: the first Worlds on the mountain
The championships came to Mont-Sainte-Anne for the first time from 14 to 20 September 1998, and France dominated. Christophe Dupouey and Laurence Leboucher won cross-country; Nicolas Vouilloz and Anne-Caroline Chausson won downhill. Canada's Alison Sydor took bronze in the women's cross-country. There were only two disciplines then. The team relay arrived in 1999, dual slalom in 2000 and four-cross in 2002.
2010: a bigger programme and a three-week festival
The 21st edition ran from 1 to 5 September 2010. By then the programme had grown to thirteen mountain bike titles and, because the two championships were combined from 2000 to 2016, six trials titles as well. National teams were presented in downtown Québec City on 31 August.
The organisers wrapped the championships in a much longer programme that started on 14 August, with provincial championships, mass-participation rides, a road-and-trail raid along the Côte-de-Beaupré, children's races and evening concerts. Our page on the 2010 programme goes through it day by day.
On the bike, 2010 belonged to José Antonio Hermida and Maja Włoszczowska in cross-country, to Sam Hill and Tracy Moseley in downhill, and to Spain in trials. Canada celebrated two downhill medals, Steve Smith's elite silver and Lauren Rosser's junior gold. See every podium.
Why a world championship is different
Riders race for their countries rather than their trade teams, every age category is present, and the winner wears the rainbow jersey for a full year. For a host region that means more athletes, more delegations, wider television coverage and a much larger volunteer crew than a World Cup weekend. Our pages on volunteering and lodging look at those practical sides.
2019: the third time
The mountain hosted the championships again from 28 August to 1 September 2019, this time without trials, which had moved to the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships. One rider links the two editions: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, junior cross-country champion here in 2010, won the elite title on the same slopes nine years later. Nino Schurter, fourth in 2010, won the men's race; Loïc Bruni and Myriam Nicole took the downhill titles.
Still on the map
The resort has had difficult moments since, including a gondola incident in December 2022 that kept the lift closed for almost four months. Its cross-country trails and historic downhill track nonetheless keep it among the reference venues for mountain biking in eastern Canada.
Sources
- Wikipedia (French), "Mont-Sainte-Anne": opening in 1966, altitude, vertical drop, ownership, World Cup since 1991, 2022 gondola closure.
- Wikipedia, "UCI Mountain Bike World Championships": host list and introduction dates of each event.
- Wikipedia, "1998 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships", "2010 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships" and "2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships": dates and podiums.