The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports confirm the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series calendar for the 2026 season. The fourth year of the revamped format for mountain bike’s different UCI World Cups - launched in 2023 to unite almost all of mountain bike’s major formats under a single brand for the first time - will visit three continents and nine countries across 14 events between May and October and will feature the best athletes in the sport’s Endurance (Cross-country Olympic, XCO and Cross-country Short Track, XCC) and Gravity (Downhill, DHI and Enduro, EDR) formats.
The series kicks off with a landmark weekend of Cross-country and Downhill racing at the Race of South Korea in MONA YongPyong – the first-ever Asian UCI XCO and XCC World Cup rounds and first UCI Downhill World Cup round on the continent in 25 years. After this, the action moves to Europe for the summer, with Nové Město Na Moravě (Czechia) welcoming the Endurance formats and Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) welcoming the Gravity formats – the UCI Enduro World Cup starting outside of Italy for the first time since 2023.
The following weekend sees the first of two XCO/XCC/DHI/EDR quadruple-headers at long-term partner venue Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland (Austria), before riders get a week’s break leading into the start of five back-to-back WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series race weekends.
Lenzerheide (Switzerland) and Pal Arinsal (Andorra) welcome both the Cross-country and Downhill contingent, while Val di Fassa - Trentino (Italy) and the 2025 UCI Enduro World Championships venue Aletsch Arena-Bellwald, Valais (Switzerland) are the proving grounds for Enduro. In the middle of the five-week run is La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta (Italy), which hosts the second quadruple header of the series. Cross-country has also been added to the schedule following a successful debut for the venue in 2025 which saw the steepest Downhill track in the series’ history as well as the world’s first Enduro night stage.
After a summer break, the European leg of the season concludes with back-to-back race weekends in Haute-Savoie (France) – one Cross-country and Downhill, the other the Enduro finale – before the Series jets off to North America for three rounds and two new venues. The first will see Cross-country contested on the trails of Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) – a venue hosted by the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, home to the USA Olympic biathlon team training centre and a regular on the IBU Biathlon World Cup circuit. With the region preparing to co-host the Olympic Winter Games in 2034, Soldier Hollow brings Olympic pedigree and world-class credentials to the closing stages of the season.
Downhill will then take to its spiritual home in Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia (Canada), delivering on decades of anticipation with a stage set for unforgettable racing. The iconic venue, which hosted the Olympic Winter Games 15 years ago, will welcome the world’s best downhill riders for a UCI World Cup for the first time. The final weekend will see both the UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups decided in Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York (USA).
Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “The 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series was always going to be about bedding in the major reforms that we introduced at the start of this year, and the competitiveness and excitement of each format shows that the changes are working. For 2026, we’re doubling down on our successes and pushing the sport even further into new territories.
“The 2026 calendar will witness 14 gripping events that take in the world’s best destinations, including four proven Olympic venues, with half returning under multi-year agreements reflecting our sustained investment in the sport’s growth. Every venue we've introduced since 2023 has quickly become a favourite among athletes, highlighting WBD’s commitment to pushing the limits of performance while prioritising safety and expanding a world-class, global calendar. We’re continuing to expand the reach of the sport by bringing Cross-country Olympic racing to Asia for the first time, growing our footprint in the USA, and will fulfil a long-term wish from fans, teams and athletes alike by adding Whistler – one of the world’s most iconic mountain bike destinations - to the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series calendar from next year.”
UCI President David Lappartient said: “Bringing together three different UCI World Cups, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will see many stories unfold in 2026 as the weekends of competition progress. The succession of races throughout the season means athletes must strive for consistency, and logically there will be ups and downs along the way. The experience of seasoned riders and the sheer audacity of younger athletes always makes for thrilling competition across the different rounds.
"In 2026, the UCI World Cups for cross-country Olympic, cross-country short track, downhill and enduro will span 14 weekends in the space of six months with exciting new hosts joining some of the series’ favourite venues. I am particularly pleased that the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will expand into Asia in 2026, adding a new dimension to the series and providing a prestigious opening to the season.”
WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES 2026 CALENDAR:
Round 1 / May 1-3: Race of South Korea, South Korea (UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups)
Round 2 / May 22-24: Nové Město Na Moravě, Czechia (UCI Cross-country World Cup)
Round 3 / May 28-31: Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, France (UCI Downhill and UCI Enduro World Cups)
Round 4 / June 11-14: Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland, Austria (UCI Cross-country, UCI Downhill and UCI Enduro World Cups)
Round 5 / June 19-21: Lenzerheide, Switzerland (UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups)
Round 6 / June 26-28: Val di Fassa - Trentino, Italy (UCI Enduro World Cup)
Round 7 / July 3-5: La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta, Italy (UCI Cross-country, UCI Downhill and UCI Enduro World Cups)
Round 8 / July 8-12: Pal Arinsal, Andorra (UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups)
Round 9 / July 17-19: Aletsch Arena - Bellwald, Valais, Switzerland (UCI Enduro World Cup)
Round 10 / August 14-16: Haute-Savoie, France (UCI Enduro World Cup)
Round 11 / August 21-23: Haute-Savoie, France (UCI Cross-country and UCI Downhill World Cups)
Round 12 / September 19-20: Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah, USA (UCI Cross-country World Cup)
Round 13 / September 25-27: Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia, Canada (UCI Downhill World Cup)
Round 14 / October 2-4: Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York, USA (UCI Cross-country and UCI Downhill World Cups)
