The FIM EBK World Cup - the new e-bike racing series you may have heard about back when it was being billed as E-Bike Grand Prix - looks like it’s finally coming to fruition. Initially set to launch in 2022, this international series will comprise multiple rounds in various international city centres, with the first set to be in London this summer.
The race format will involve six to ten teams, with an equal number of female and male competitors, and a field of 30-50 riders. The courses are on closed public roads, with circuits ranging between 2.5km and 5km in length. These will include steep inclines that EBK is calling ‘Power Zones’, which will be temporary ramps where the full use of the e-bike’s power will come into play.
EBK (we haven't yet found what it stands for) has partnered with bike manufacturer BMC to create some specialist e-bikes, which are claimed to be capable of speeds of up to 90km/h (or 55.9mph). Interestingly, the series is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme rather than a cycling governing body.
Ed Clancy OBE has also been announced as a series ambassador. This follows his recent appointment as South Yorkshire’s new Active Travel Commissioner, where he advocates for safer and cleaner mobility in the region.
Speaking about his involvement in the EBK series, Clancy said: “I have built a sporting career on the racing purity of cycling under my own power, but the advent of e-bikes has been so rapid and they are now deserving of their own place in the future of elite cycling.
Clancy has ridden early prototypes from BMC and says he believes the racing will be "hard, fast and spectacular."
He also emphasised that the project was not just about entertainment. "We are creating a new sport that will see men and women racing in parity and [we will] use the power of example to encourage more people to embrace sustainable ways to move around, especially in cities. I am thrilled to be involved with the potential and purpose that EBK promises.”
Not only is there set to be plenty of racing, but the series is positioning itself as a sort of e-bike version of Extreme E in regards to raising environmental concerns although championing the adoption of e-bikes in everyday life rather than electric cars.
The initial launch is to be in London this summer, with an international calendar of races set for 2024.
