2013 Downhill World Cup to be squeezed into four months, and no sign of mooted China round

The UCI have firmed up the 2013 Downhill World Cup schedule and it’s what an estate agent might describe as “compact and bijou”. In place of this year’s seven races spread over seven months, there are just six, squeezed into four months. That means if a rider gets injured, it’s game over.

Since releasing preliminary dates back in July the UCI have ditched the scheduled round in Willingen, Germany and there’s also no sign of the mooted race in China. The series doesn’t kick off until June, so the riders face a long off-season.

Here’s what the schedule looks like now:

More info at www.uci.ch.