The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports can confirm that 14 wildcard teams (eight cross-country and six downhill) have been selected for round 14 of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide (Switzerland), presented by Le Gruyère, on September 18-21.
While all six teams that applied for a downhill spot secured a wildcard, it was another competitive selection process in cross-country, with only eight of the 19 applicants selected.
The majority of qualifying teams have already featured in the 2025 series, but there will be a first appearance for Swiss Endurance outfit Thömus Akros - Youngstars.
The nine-strong cross-country team is the development arm of WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team Thömus Maxon and has a strong focus on supporting the future stars of Swiss cross-country mountain biking. A number of its riders have already lit up this year’s WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series too, having qualified based on their UCI ranking points. Monique Halter has recorded two second place finishes in the Under 23 UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup, most recently in Pal Arinsal (Andorra), and sits in 10th place in the overall series standings, while her younger brother Nicolas Halter has also recorded two podium finishes this year to find himself in eighth.
Elsewhere, Lexware Mountainbike Team is the only Endurance team to continue its 100% wildcard qualification record, while Goodman Santacruz, Rogue Racing - SR Suntour, Team High Country and Kenda NS Bikes UR Team do the same in downhill.
As we enter the final three rounds of the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, there will start to be greater focus on teams’ UCI points (a combination of the four highest scoring team riders’ points) which determine whether a team is offered UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status for two years (teams ranked 1-10) or one year (teams ranked 11-15). At the time of writing, BIXS Performance Race Team occupies 12th place in the Endurance teams rankings and would therefore earn itself UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status for 2026.
The 14 wildcard teams for round 14 of the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide are:
UCI Cross-country World Cup:
- BIXS Performance Race Team
- Bike Team Solothurn
- Lexware Mountainbike Team
- KTM Factory MTB Team
- Thömus Akros - Youngstars
- Cabtech Racing Team
- Trek Future Racing
- Massi
UCI Downhill World Cup:
- Kenda NS Bikes UR Team
- Rogue Racing - SR Suntour
- Goodman Santacruz
- Team High Country
- Future Frameworks
- The Alliance
