Who says sugar and caffeine are all bad?

PRESS RELEASE: 10 events. 9 countries. 3 continents. As in 2011, the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will open in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on March 17th challenging athletes from all around the globe to qualify for the Olympics. Breathtaking HD pictures, top-notch competitions, webcasting and content syndication – follow athletes such as Gee and Rachel Atherton (UK), Lisi Osl (AT), Brook MacDonald (NZ), and Steve Smith (RSA) on redbull.com as they battle on one of the hardest MTB tracks of the tour.

Live streaming of all the World Cup Cross-country Olympic, Cross- country Eliminator and Downhill races will be featured from March 17th on Red Bull’s new bike channel www.redbull.com/bike and on www.redbull.tv. Further media services including the official international live signal, HD TV highlight program, webcasting and content syndication will be provided by the Red Bull Media House, the new official media partner of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

“The RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup presented by Shimano has been given a boost for 2012, and with Red Bull Media House on board, we can be sure that top quality images of this series can reach fans throughout the world. This exciting World Cup series deserves innovative media coverage of the highest standard. This new partnership can only serve to further develop our leading mountain bike series” ,said UCI President Pat McQuaid.

Click more for schedule and links…

Red Bull Media House, which replaces Freecaster.tv as exclusive live streaming partner, will also hold worldwide non-exclusive internet rights to the UCI BMX World Championships as well as selected media rights in certain territories for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

2012 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE CALENDAR:

17.03 – 18.03 UCI World Cup XCO / DHI 1, Pietermaritzburg, RSA

13.04 – 15.04 UCI World Cup XCO 2 / XCE 1, Houffalize, BEL

11.05 – 13.05 UCI World Cup XCO 3 / XCE 2, Nove Mesto na Morave, CZE

18.05 – 20.05 UCI World Cup XCO 4 / XCE 3, La Bresse, FRA

02.06 – 03.06 UCI World Cup DHI 2, Val di Sole, ITA

09.06 – 10.06 UCI World Cup DHI 3, Fort William, GBR

23.06 – 24.06 UCI World Cup XCO 5 / DHI 4, Mont-Sainte-Anne, CAN

30.06 – 01.07 UCI World Cup XCO 6 / DHI 5, Windham, USA

28.07 – 29.07 UCI World Cup XCO 7 / DHI 6, Val d’Isère, FRA

14.09 – 15.09 UCI World Cup DHI 7, Hafjell, NOR

LIVE STREAMINGS ON WWW.REDBULL.COM/BIKE AND ON WWW.REDBULL.TV:

17.03., starting 09:20 am (GMT), Mountain Bike – Cross Country Women Elite in Pietermaritzburg, RSA

17.03., starting 11:50 am (GMT), Mountain Bike – Cross Country Men Elite in Pietermaritzburg, RSA

18.03., starting 12:15pm (GMT), Mountain Bike – Downhill Finals Women and Men Elite in Pietermaritzburg, RSA