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The urban downhill show returns with Red Bull Genoa Cerro Abajo
World class urban downhill riders will return to race down Genoa's steep streets in Red Bull Cerro Abajo. With extreme speeds and jaw-dropping stunts, who will conquer Italy's ultimate urban descent?
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Preparations are in full swing for the highly anticipated European edition of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo. The world's most spectacular and extreme urban downhill circuit will take over the streets of Genoa, Italy on the August 24 for the opening race of the 2025–26 series.
The choice of Genoa as location for the event's first European race comes as no surprise; the landscape of the famed Ligurian port city seems almost custom-designed to test even the most talented urban racers. Each of them will have to pull out all the stops to tackle the course's many features, including big jumps, stairs and other unique obstacles in the challenging 2km descent that will take them from the mountain down to the sea. They'll touch speeds of up to 80kph as they aim to set the fastest time.
2 min
Trailer Red Bull Cerro Abajo Genova 2025
Vittorio Gregotti's iconic architecture "dialogues" with the tricks of Tomáš Slavík and the other riders who animated the performance at the stadium ahead of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo Genova 2025.
It'll be an exceptional event, out-of-the-ordinary, in a wonderful city
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The lineup: a battle between downhill legends and urban stars
This lineup of competitors will see many of the challenges that animated the 2024 edition. Czech legend Tomáš Slavík is fact ready to defend his victory of a year ago against the now three-time Red Bull Cerro Abajo series champion Juanfer Vélez and fellow Colombian Sebastián Holguín.
Eleonora Farina will test herself at Red Bull Genova Cerro Abajo
© Bartek Woliński/Red Bull Content Pool
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Course preview: Intense descents on narrow streets
Genoa is the only European city to host the Cerro Abajo series to date. The historic Mediterranean port, famed for the narrow 'caruggi' alleys of its old town, integrates them into the race route alongside major drops and fast, open sections.
This year competitors will return to face each other on the same breath-taking route that riders saw in October 2024. They'll tackle a 2.2km course with 279m of vertical drop, starting from the Righi funicular mountain station on Monte Peralto. The descent runs along the Mura Nuove, with the first jump that taking the riders to the creuza of Salita Superiore San Simone. Continuing to Salita Emanuele Cavallo, a particularly demanding stretch with a steep slope that culminates with a breathtaking hairpin bend. From there, it sweeps along the ring road, passing past the Esplanada Castelletto's panoramic view, down towards Corso Carbonara, through Vico dell'Incarnazione and reaching the finish line in Largo della Zecca.
Diego Caverzasi helped design the course
© Diego Caverzasi
Diego Caverzasi knows what excites riders and spectators alike
© Diego Caverzasi
The route combines Genoa's complex urban grid between staircases, tight turns, and narrow passages with man-made jumps and berms, all set against spectacular city views. It's a course that will demand technique and courage from the competitors.
After the exciting debut in 2024, alongside Genoa's title as the European Capital of Sport, the 'Superba' will remain a key stage of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo calendar until 2027 with the aim of leaving a lasting legacy that enhances the extraordinary uniqueness of the city's urban fabric.
The course is quite long, with some sections featuring gradients of around 15 to 20 percent
Italian rider Diego Caverzasi helped design and build the 17 features added to Genoa's already demanding Cerro Abajo course. "Building a city course was quite a challenge, because some of the features are complicated and most of the structures will only be installed at the last minute," he explains. "The most difficult aspect has been the timing of set-up and dismantling, as we're in the heart of a city on streets that we can occupy only for a limited time.
"The course is quite long, with some sections featuring gradients of around 15 to 20 percent, and winds its way through the narrow streets of Genoa, which more-or-less follow the route of the Righi funicular." The course will definitely set out to challenge even the most talented of riders.
Diego Caverzasi in action at Red Bull Roof Ride
© Bartek Woliński/Red Bull Content Pool
The race will be decided on the two sharkfins and the stairs in the Caruggi
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How to watch Red Bull Genoa Cerro Abajo
If you don't happen to be in downtown Genoa, you can still catch the white-knuckle action from Red Bull Genova Cerro Abajo live and free on Red Bull TV. The live stream gets underway at 6.15pm CEST (4.15pm UTC) on Sunday, August 24.
Red Bull TV will save the best spot for you
© Gabriele Seghizzi/Red Bull Content Pool
Be sure to download the free Red Bull TV app and catch the MTB action on all your devices! Get the app here
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