WORLD E-BIKE SERIES | FRANCESCO DI BIASE | EVERYTHING EV PODCAST

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This episode of the Everything EV podcast features an insightful conversation with Francesco Di Biase, founder of the World E-Bike Series. Di Biase details the inception of the global electric mountain biking championship, highlighting the initial lack of competition for e-bikes and his vision to create a structured racing series. He discusses the challenges of establishing a new sport, including regulatory hurdles and technical controls, and the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the 2020 UCI E-Mountain Bike World Cup season. Despite these setbacks, Di Biase expresses optimism due to the booming e-bike industry and the series' flexibility as a young organization. The interview also covers the two main disciplines, XC cross-country and e-gravity (Enduro), with a focus on cross-country as the primary UCI World Cup discipline. Di Biase emphasizes that e-bike racing remains a demanding sport requiring significant rider effort, despite the electric assistance, and that the series leverages beautiful, natural landscapes without environmental modification. Looking ahead, the series aims for international expansion beyond Europe.