The Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) and City Mountain Bike (CTM) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday to promote and develop Extreme Cross-Country (XCE) mountain bike racing throughout Asia.
The agreement is likely to lay the foundation for a sustainable competition network and create new opportunities for athletes, event organisers and host cities in the future.
The strategic partnership agreement was signed by Amarjit Singh Gill, President of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC), and Christophe Brunnel, Chief Executive Officer of City Mountain Bike (CTM). Witnessing the ceremony was Gen Decha Hemkrasri, ACC vice president and chief of the Thai Cycling Association.
Speaking at the ceremony, Gill expressed his appreciation to the Thai association for hosting the signing event and highlighted the immense potential of XCE racing in Asia.
"Extreme Cross-Country is an exciting and innovative discipline that brings mountain biking into urban environments. We believe this format has enormous growth potential, not only in Europe but also throughout Asia. Mountain bike racing, particularly the Eliminator format, is already gaining popularity and presents significant opportunities for further development in our region," he said.
Gill noted that one of the greatest strengths of XCE is its ability to bring cycling directly to the public by staging competitions in city centres, community spaces, public parks and shopping districts, rather than in remote off-road locations.
The ACC President also emphasised the value of City Mountain Bike events in promoting sports tourism.
Brunnel stressed that youth development remains at the heart of the project.
"Young people are the future of cycling. Through Eliminator racing, we bring an exciting and spectator-friendly competition format into the heart of cities, allowing people to experience cycling up close and understand what our sport is truly about," he said.
Gen Decha welcomed the initiative and described it as positive news for Asian cycling.
He noted that through the leadership of ACC president Gill, Thailand has been selected as one of the countries set to host City Mountain Bike events in Asia, alongside Malaysia and other potential destinations.
"Thailand offers outstanding tourism resources and excellent infrastructure. Traditionally, mountain bike and Eliminator competitions were held outside urban areas, but this concept brings the sport directly into cities, creating attractive events that can support tourism promotion," Gen Decha said.
Extreme Cross-Country (XCE) is a short-format mountain bike discipline contested on compact urban courses featuring both natural and man-made obstacles, including jumps, stair sections, tight corners and technical features that challenge riders' skills.
