The 20 teams that will make up the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams for the 2026 Gravity season have been confirmed, and their rider line-ups are jam-packed with UCI Downhill World Cup round winners, multi-time overall series champions and new contenders who are set to challenge the old guard for podium places.
As well as the reigning Elite UCI World Cup and UCI World Championship victors Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres), each round’s start list will feature some of the biggest stars and icons of Gravity mountain biking – from Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea FMD Racing) to Aaron Gwin (Frameworks / TRP) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction).
FACTORY TEAMS AND PLUCKY UNDERDOGS REWARDED WITH 2-YEAR LICENCE
One of the main changes between the 2025 and 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams is that this year, the top 10 teams in the UCI rankings have been rewarded with two-year licences – guaranteeing their spot in the start hut in 2026 and 2027 regardless of their UCI points at the end of the year.
The top-ranked team from last year was Canyon DH Racing, and the German manufacturer’s factory outfit remains unchanged – Troy Brosnan, Marine Cabirou and Luca Shaw lead the charge alongside rising stars Henri Kiefer and Aletha Ostgaard.
Second in the rankings was Santa Cruz Syndicate, who can thank the outstanding form of Jackson Goldstone for their lofty position. The Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup overall winner and reigning UCI World Champion enjoyed a record-breaking season in 2025 and will have a tough job to match his five victories, which included a streak of four-consecutive wins. Following YT Mob’s folding at the end of 2025, the team line-up evolves, with Austrian Andreas Kölb joining and Laurie Greenland no longer part of the roster. Nina Hoffman returns for her fifth season with the Steve Peat-mentored team.
One rider who will be desperate to get the better of Goldstone this season is Loïc Bruni. The Specialized Gravity rider took the battle for the overall title right down to the wire last season, and it will be exciting to see him resume his duel with the Canadian rider in South Korea. Finn Iles and Jordan Williams will also return to the American manufacturer’s factory team.
The fallout from the YT Industries closure was one the biggest stories of the off-season, as it determined which team four-time UCI World Champion and UCI World Cup overall winner Vali Höll would be riding for in 2026. The Austrian opted for Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres – a smaller outfit that punched above its weight in 2025 to secure a two-year licence. She joins the likes of Lisa Baumann and Antoine Pierron.
Pierron’s brother, Amaury, returns after a season of highs and lows with his Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction team, which includes the icon Myriam Nicole, 2024 UCI World Champion Loris Vergier, and the Alran twins – with Max, the reigning Men Junior UCI Downhill World Cup overall winner.
Elsewhere, Tahnée Seagrave will be aiming to build on her good form from 2025 in her Orbea FMD Racing squad alongside Martin Maes, while two-time UCI World Cup winner Ronan Dunne and US Champion Ryan Pickerton have been joined by Oli Clark at Mondraker Factory Racing DH.
The final three teams to receive a two-year licence were Richie Rude Jr’s Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team, with the American Enduro star continuing to prioritise Downhill in 2026; Women Junior UCI Downhill World Cup overall winner Rosa Zierl’s Cube Factory Racing; and Trek - Unbroken DH, who have added Oisin O’Callaghan to a line-up that includes Lachlan Stevens-McNab, Matt Walker and Sacha Earnest.
BIG NAMES AND PREVIOUS WILDCARDS SECURE 1-YEAR LICENCE
While the top 10 ranked teams know that their UCI World Series status is secure until the end of 2027, teams ranked 11-15 will have to prove themselves all over again to retain their guaranteed spot in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series start hut.
The biggest team to find themselves with a one-year licence is Giant Factory Off-Road Team - DH. They will be hoping that Lake Placid Olympic Region winner Luke Meier-Smith and Rémi Thirion can help turn their fortunes around in 2026.
Other established names include the Greg Minnaar-managed Norco x adidas Race Division, with one of the break-out stars from 2025, Gracey Hemstreet, and 2011 UCI World Champion Danny Hart as their focus for results.
Elsewhere, Gloria Scarsi’s MS-Racing and Mille Johnset’s Nukeproof Axess Racing will ensure that both pinners will feature in each UCI World Cup round.
The final licence went to Unno Factory Racing DH. Formerly known as Rogue Racing - SR Suntour, the team’s consistency was one of the stories of 2025. Entering each round as a wildcard, they banked enough points to outscore teams with much bigger budgets.
ICONIC ATHLETES RELY ON WILDCARD SPOTS
The final five WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series team spots are assigned based on a different selection criterion, but in 2026 they were, coincidentally, also the next five teams on the UCI rankings.
The biggest name in this category is arguably Scott Downhill Factory, who can rely on the riding of Jess Blewitt, Benoit Coulanges and new-signing Dakotah Norton to help nudge them up the rankings and into a guaranteed slot in 2026.
Smaller outfits like Reece Wilson’s AON Racing and Charlie Hatton’s Continental Atherton also needed a season-long wildcard for the second year in a row, while Santa Cruz Burgtec by Goodman’s spot will see Thibaut Laly and Nathan Pontvianne lining up in the start hut.
Another exciting wildcard selection is Frameworks Racing / TRP, home to Asa Vermette, who will be joining the Elite ranks in 2026. The American team has also added five-time UCI World Cup overall winner Aaron Gwin to its team sheet, and both riders will be in contention for top spots at each UCI World Cup round.
The full list of Gravity teams to secure WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status are:
2-year licence:
Canyon DH Racing
Santa Cruz Syndicate
Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction
Orbea FMD Racing
Mondraker Factory Racing DH
Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team
Cube Factory Racing
Specialized Gravity
Trek - Unbroken DH
Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres
1-year licence:
Norco X Adidas Race Division
MS-Racing
Nukeproof Axess Racing
Unno Factory Racing DH
Giant Factory Off-Road Team – DH
Wildcards (1-year licence):
Santa Cruz Burgtec by Goodman
Scott Downhill Factory
Frameworks Racing / TRP
AON Racing
Continental Atherton
The 2026 UCI Downhill World Cup kicks off on May 1 with the Race of South Korea, marking the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event on Asian soil in 25 years. From there, the season continues in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) for the opening round of the European leg, which also features stops in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland (Austria), Lenzerheide (Switzerland), La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta (Italy), Pal Arinsal (Andorra), and Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France). The riders will then cross the Atlantic to downhill’s spiritual home of Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia (Canada), delivering on decades of anticipation before wrapping up the season at the historic Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York (USA) in October.
