After a record-breaking 2025 season of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the UCI Enduro World Cup returns in May, with updated regulations, rankings and qualification pathways as the world’s top riders line up on a new calendar in pursuit of overall honours.
The season opens with two one-day races in Loudenvielle–Peyragudes (France) and Saalfelden Leogang–Salzburgerland (Austria), before moving into a sequence of two-day events beginning in Val di Fassa–Trentino (Italy). Following this, riders will head to La Thuile–Valle d’Aosta (Italy), which marks the halfway point of the season and features the return of the night stage, before two-day racing resumes in Aletsch Arena–Bellwald, Valais (Switzerland) and Morillon, Haute-Savoie (France).
After dominating last season, overall winners, Slawomir Łukasik (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) and Ella Conolly, will be back between the race tapes, aiming to defend their titles. Both claimed their first UCI Enduro World Cup wins and proved they had developed a taste for it, each finishing the year with three race victories in addition to the overall title. Replicating that success will not come easily, however, with a deep and competitive field ready to challenge, including Alex Rudeau, Lief Rodgers, Elly Hoskin and Simona Kuchynková (Cube Action Team), all of whom established themselves as genuine contenders over the course of last season.
Fans can follow the action throughout the year with comprehensive coverage at every round, including detailed course previews featuring the route and its key sections; practice day and race day video highlights on the official YouTube channel, key race moments on social media, live timings on the official WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series website and a highlights programme broadcast on TNT Sports and Eurosport a week after the event. This season, former Enduro rider and Enduro World Series (EWS) Under 21 Champion Elliott Heap joins the team as a presenter for all video content, bringing valuable first-hand race experience and in-depth insight and analysis.
Amateur riders will once again get their chance to test themselves on the same trails - and now on the same days - as the sport’s elite through the Enduro Open. In Loudenvielle–Peyragudes, Saalfelden Leogang–Salzburgerland, Val di Fassa–Trentino, Aletsch Arena–Bellwald, Valais, and Morillon, Haute-Savoie, participants will drop in just hours before the professionals and then wait at the finish line to compare their times directly with them on the same terrain under the same conditions. New age categories, as well as a pairs category, have also been introduced to create more competitive and rewarding racing by grouping riders into narrower bands. Registrations for all rounds are now open.
NEW FOR 2026
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports have introduced updates to the regulations, rankings and qualification pathways for the UCI Enduro World Cup. These changes aim to align Enduro with the Downhill and Cross-country formats, ensuring consistent regulations within the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series while expanding opportunities for riders to compete at UCI World Cup level.
From 2026, Enduro riders will earn UCI Ranking points instead of Global Ranking points, aligning the format with the wider cycling ecosystem. UCI ranking points will be awarded at all Enduro races on the UCI International Calendar.
The introduction of the UCI Enduro ranking system creates a second pathway into the UCI Enduro World Cup, with the top 50 men and top 50 women in the rankings at the time of entry earning automatic qualification.
The Global Ranking list used for 2025 qualification has been frozen, with the top 300 men and top 75 women (as of 31/12/2025) securing automatic qualification for the full 2026 UCI Enduro World Cup season.
Other ways to qualify for the UCI Enduro World Cup include:
Any rider registered with a WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team or UCI Mountain Bike Team
Current UCI World Champions, Continental Champions and National Champions
The Top 50 Men and Top 50 Women in the UCI EDR Individual Ranking
Each National Federation also receives additional quota places to use at their discretion – three per Elite category and four per Junior category - allowing them greater flexibility to select and enter riders alongside those who qualify through standard allocation criteria.
More information on the full UCI Regulations can be found here.
The 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series season kicks off on 1 May in MONA YongPyong, (South Korea) with cross-country and downhill action. The UCI Enduro World Cup and Enduro Open begin in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) on 28 May.
