The first mountain bike competitions were held in California (USA) in the early eighties. Since then the discipline has grown very fast, in all aspects. The first World Championships to be officially recognized by the UCI dates back to 1990. A World Cup was set up the following year.
The 2009 Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano concluded this week-end in Schladming, Austria, where the best gravity riders in the world had one final chance to claim victory.