iXS Downhill Cup 2018

Structural Changes

2018 will be the year of innovation for the iXS Downhill Cup. While the iXS European Cup will remain a premium series, the national series will be combined into one. Nevertheless, there still will be national rankings.

In 2018 the iXS Downhill Cup will adjust to the needs of its participants introducing some bold structural changes and thereby creating a modern and up-to-date race format. These changes are inspired by the riders themselves, who have been selecting the races they attended during the last years according to the venue rather than the respective series the race belonged to.

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In the past...

As you all know, the iXS Cup looks back on a rather long tradition. Next year the series celebrates its 15 ^th anniversary, since it was first introduced in 2003 as the iXS Swiss Downhill Cup. Since then it consistently kept growing, step by step adding the German Cup in 2006, the European Cup in 2008, closing the gap between the national series and the World Cup, and – finally – introducing what now has grown to be the Specialized Rookies Cup.

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Minor steps in the iXS evolution

The different series have been reviewed and improved time and again and today offer about 20 different races each season. At the beginning, the question that stood at the end of every season was whether the Cup would be continued in the next season or not. Back then it was rather the exception to the rule that a series existed under one and the same name and brand over such a long period of time. Many different series like the Maxxis Cup, Players Cup or Locomotion Cup were very popular, but none of them lasted very long for various reasons.

(If you are interested in finding out more about the history of the series, click here.)

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2018: The Merger - Introduction of the iXS Downhill Cup

What we have in stock for you in 2018 is huge! In fact, it’s the biggest change in iXS history and we are proud to announce that the iXS German Downhill Cup will merge with the iXS Swiss Downhill Cup to create the iXS Downhill Cup. Of course, the iXS European Downhill Cup will be continued as the premium series with UCI C1 status and as the most important stepping stone on the way to the World Cup and the World Elite!

The iXS Downhill Cup will still keep some of its rather national character, but it will no longer be restricted to German and Swiss territory. During the last three seasons the German Cup already included some races outside of Germany and some of these races have proven to be extremely popular. From now on riders can choose from a broader range of options when they decide which races to include in their rankings.

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Ratings for German and Swiss Riders

Even if the iXS Downhill Cup will cover up to 10 different races every season, its focus and its home will remain in Germany and Switzerland. Therefore, there still will be a German and a Swiss ranking. There won’t be national series, but there will be national rankings and at the end of each season, there will be both a German and a Swiss podium. For the national rankings, the riders are not required to attend every single race, but only a fixed number of races which are then included in their rankings – similar to the old system. For example, there will be 5 races that are included in the German rankings. By adding up the points of the 5 best results, the performance of a rider can be depicted without being influenced by riders from other countries. In addition to the national rankings, there will also be an international ranking as well, which includes everyone participating regardless of their nationality.

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Races and Venues

The races of the iXS Downhil Cup will continue to be rated UCI C2 category. This means that the price money remains the same and it is still possible to collect some points for the world rankings. This not only improves the quality of the single races, but also the whole cup keeps developing and improving.

During the last seasons it became clear to the organizers that the participation in races depends on its venue rather than the Cup it belongs to. According to this development the new system has a big advantage over the old one, since races outside Germany do not necessarily have to be included in the European Cup to draw the attention of German riders. Now, riders can choose the most popular and demanding races from a bigger pool and the traditional EDC hosts can also host races of the iXS Downhill Cup (which are not as expensive) when they are short on their budget.

Even if it is not the first priority for most amateur riders to attend races outside Germany, they will at least be offered the chance. For riders from southern Germany it might even be more interesting to attend races in Austria, instead of races in the northern parts of Germany.

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Summary