Pampilhosa da Serra hosts the European Downhill Championship (DHI), between 2nd and 5th May. The timed qualifying descents and the final are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday respectively, but the excitement starts in the days before with all the technical and administrative procedures.
Around 200 runners from 14 countries are registered: Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In addition to the cyclists, there are the teams' support staff, the organisers and the refereeing team, bringing hundreds of people to experience Pampilhosa da Serra and the Aldeias do Xisto for about a week. There are 22 gold medals up for grabs.
In the men's categories the presence of last year's top two finalists, Portuguese Francisco Pardal and French Benoit Coulanges, stand out.
The women's category is of even higher quality, encompassingtwo current world top 10 racers, Slovenian Monika Hrastnik, European champion in 2018 and number four in the UCI rankings, and Italian Veronika Widmann, fifth in 2018 and eighth in the internationally, at the moment.
PROGRAMME
Saturday - Timed Descent
- 10am - 11am: Masters
- 11.15am - 12 pm: Women's Elite
- 2.10pm - 4.30pm: Men's Elite
Sunday - Finals
- 9.15am - 9.30am: Women's Masters
- 9.45am - 10.15am: Men's Masters
- 2pm - 2.30pm: Women's Elite
-
2.45pm: Men's Elite
Pampilhosa da Serra is one of the Aldeias do Xisto councils with the most history of DHI. For the European Championships, a very fast 2,090 kilometre track is being prepared, descending from an altitude of 845 to 422 metres, i.e. with an average gradient of descent of around 20%.
It is the second consecutive year in which the European Cycling Union awards the Portuguese Cycling Federation the organisation of this competition, which will have ADXTUR - Schist Villages Tourism Development Agency and the Pampilhosa da Serra City Council as its main partners.
Follow all the news on the official website and on Facebook.
Watch the event’s videos here.
Within the scope of the Cyclin' Portugal project, the Aldeias do Xisto are recognised as the first cycling destination of excellence in the country, combining quality infrastructures, competitive and leisure events, and tourist programmes and services specially designed for this public.
Plan your entire stay here.Check out other options at bookinxisto.com.
