The 2024 edition of the European Mountain Bike Championships brought together 331 cyclists from 31 countries at Cheile Grădiștei (Romania). Simone Avondetto (Italy) won the men's elite cross-country race. In total, Switzerland won 11 medals (3 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze) at the end of the competition held at the Cheile Grădiștei complex. 

Cheile Grădiștei prepared a 3.4 km circuit for the XCO and Team Relay events. The hardest climbs were concentrated in the first half of the course, with a softer second part. Vlad Dascalu, the reigning European champion and favourite, was racing at home. Others were given a chance by the absence of Schurter, Schwarzbauer, Sarrou, Koretzky and Fluckiger. Surprises could be in store.

In the main event, Denmark's Simon Andreassen was the favourite, but he suffered a puncture just as Avondetto was closing in. With his rival out of contention, the Italian had a clear run. He crossed the line 50 seconds ahead of Andreassen, who made a great comeback after his puncture, and 1'07" ahead of German Julian Schelb, who completed the podium.

In the women's category the weather conditions were very difficult. The rain turned the track into a mud bath and made for a very complicated race. The title she won last year was confirmed by Puck Pieterse (Netherlands). 

The strong Dutch rider took the lead from the start, with reigning French world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot retiring from the race after several crashes. Pieterse finished 1'12" ahead of Mona Mitterwallner (Austria). Nina Benz (Germany) was 2'15" behind.

In the other categories, there were surprises as well as confirmations for many of the favourites. In the women's sub-23 category, the Swiss rider Monique Halter made the difference from the start. She won her second continental title after winning the junior title in 2022. Germany's Carla Hahn and another Swiss rider, Anina Hutter, completed the podium. 

The men's race was fiercely contested between Luca Martin (France) and Finn Treudler (Switzerland). They took the lead from the start and showed their superiority. Treudler remained alone in the lead, leaving Martin behind. Martin suffered a puncture and finished third behind the two Swiss riders Finn Treudler and Luke Wiedmann.

Maruša Tereza Šerkezi (Slovenia) had virtually no rivals in the junior women's race and had a race of her own. She finished 1:32 ahead of Lara Liehner (Switzerland) and 2:06 ahead of Giada Martinoli (Italy). Nikolaj Hougs (Denmark) won the men's junior title. He was followed by Kryštof Bažant (Czech Republic) and Nils Johansson (Sweden).

The Cheile Grădiștei Championships began with the short track events, which were dominated in the elite category by reigning world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (France) and Danish star Simon Andreassen, while Kira Böhm (Germany) and Peter Joseph Blackmore (Great Britain) dominated in the sub-23 category.

The junior titles went to Slovenia's Maruša Tereza Šerkezi and Switzerland's Sven Sommer. In the spectacular team relay, Italy (Valentina Corvi, Giada Martinoli, Chiara Teocchi, Simone Avondetto, Matteo Siffredi and Mattia Stenico) won the title, with France and Switzerland completing the podium. The next edition of the European Mountain Bike Championships will be held in Melgaço (Portugal) from 9 to 13 July 2025.