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Catalonia will be the European capital of Downhill in July and August, with the celebration of two important competitions in the most spectacular mountain biking discipline (BTT): the Spanish Championship - which also includes the Catalan Championship - and the European Championship. The stage will be the Bike Park of the La Molina mountain station, managed by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), the largest and most complete in Catalonia and the Spanish State. The European competition will have a great international projection because it is expected to bring together more than 400 top-level athletes from 20 countries. Registrations, which have been open for weeks, will close on July 15 -Spanish Championship- and July 24 -European Championship.

The Government of Spain and the Generalitat de Catalunya are leading the institutional support for these championships. The Superior Sports Council (CSD), a body under the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, and the Department of Sports and Railways agree that the organization of these European Championships will strengthen the positioning of Spain and Catalonia as ideal places for practicing mountain biking and as a reference destination for cycling and mountain sports.

The Minister of Sports, Berni Àlvarez Merino, and the president of the Superior Sports Council, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, accompanied by the president of FGC, Carles Ruiz Novella, today presented the celebration of these championships, in an event that also included the participation of the president of the Spanish Cycling Federation, José Vicioso Soto, and the president of the Catalan Cycling Federation, Joaquim Vilaplana Boloix.

Álvarez highlighted that these championships "are very important because they help position Catalonia as a global benchmark for sustainable sports tourism and a leading destination for cycling and mountain sports. Within the framework of the commitment to Sport 360, the Government is committed to ensuring that sporting events are sustainable and have a social and economic return. Requirements that the two events in La Molina meet, which also decentralise and deseasonalise the offer of major competitions in our country".

Rodríguez Uribes pointed out that "for the CSD, the organisation of these championships, which is the result of the joint work of the Government of Spain, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the sports federations, represents the continuity of our commitment to the development of sport and the organisation of major events. Together with the Generalitat, we have done a good job to be able to enjoy an event like this in La Molina, which offers significant added value. Here sport and sustainability are combined, and the rich cultural heritage of the Catalan Pyrenees is highlighted".

For Ruiz, "these championships are yet another example of FGC's clear commitment to Catalan sport and the organisation of top-level sporting competitions. In Ferrocarrils' ski and mountain resorts there are more than 100 days a year in which some type of sporting competition is held. This shows that we are prepared to organise these types of events and that the territories have a great capacity to host them".

The La Molina Bike Park and the route

La Molina has established itself as one of the benchmarks for holding this type of competition. In 1999 it hosted the European Downhill Championship, in a demonstration of the tradition and experience of this venue in organising top-level events. This summer the largest national competition will take place, which will award the Spanish Champion's Jersey, as well as the European Championship - for elite, junior, dirt and masters categories. Inaugurated in 2002, the Bike Park in La Molina was the first in the Iberian Peninsula.

La Molina has prepared the La Comella circuit to offer a course at the level of the competition and with ideal facilities and surroundings to enjoy both the competition and the entire range of activities offered by the resort. The course is 2.3 kilometres long and has a negative elevation of 436 metres; competitors will start at an altitude of 2,076 metres and descend to 1,658 metres. The track combines natural areas with Bike Park sections, resulting in an attractive descent, although also marked by the physical and technical demands of a European Championship.