UCI Mountain Bike Continental Series to award Golden Tickets into the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series

The Women in Mountain Bike initiative has become a central pillar of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) roadmap.Since its inception in July 2024, marked by an inaugural networking breakfast for women from across the mountain bike community at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France), the initiative has continued to gain momentum and grow in scope.Building on that first milestone, the programme has expanded rapidly and is set to increase its influence throughout the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Its objective is clear: to help create a more accessible, inclusive and equitable environment, while increasing female representation at the pinnacle of competitive mountain bike.This International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the initiative’s achievements over the past year, as well as to look ahead to what lies in store in the months to come.CREATION OF THE WOMEN IN MTB WORKING GROUPOne of the key milestones in 2025 was the appointment of a WBD Ambassador to lead the initiative: Anja Rodenbroker, who has been part of the core WBD Sports mountain bike team since the launch of the ambitious WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series project and roadmap in 2023.As a first step under her leadership, a Women in MTB Working Group has been established. The 19‑member collective brings together riders, team managers, partners, and industry and corporate representatives from across cross‑country, downhill and enduro disciplines.The group will meet regularly throughout the 2026 season to define a dedicated roadmap addressing the key challenges facing women in mountain bike.2026 INITIATIVES: FROM HISTORIC CHANGE TO TANGIBLE ACTIONWhile the Women in MTB Working Group is still in its early stages, it has already begun developing initiatives and immediate actions. These include:Rebalancing race scheduling: a landmark step will see the Elite Women’s race run last at a WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event this season, a decision that represents a historic first for the sport. This milestone moment is set to take place at the Saalfelden Leogang Salzburgerland UCI Downhill World Cup (11-14 June), where the women’s field, including local star Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres), will close the programme. Traditionally, men’s races have occupied the final slot and generally benefited from the prime broadcast window; this change marks a powerful shift in visibility, recognition and parity for women’s racing at the highest level.Education around RED‑S: Raising awareness of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED‑S) across the mountain bike community is a key priority. RED‑S is a condition that affects both men and women and is caused by an imbalance between the energy intake and the energy demands of training and competition, and can have serious consequences for health, wellbeing and athletic performance, affecting areas such as hormonal function, bone health, recovery, mental health and long‑term development. To support this, WBD Sports has engaged with Project RED‑S UK, a UK‑based initiative dedicated to advocating for and increasing awareness of RED‑S. The short‑term objective is to educate athletes, coaches, team managers, parents and all WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stakeholders on what RED‑S is, how to recognise its symptoms, how it impacts performance, and how to challenge the negative perceptions surrounding the condition.Storytelling and awareness: the production of a mini‑documentary exploring the health challenges faced by women in sport is underway. The film focuses on the often-hidden struggles of female mountain bike athletes and builds on a shorter version released last season. This expanded edition will feature additional interviews with leading athletes and address a wide range of topics, from menstruation to body image.Improving event facilities: a key focus is enhancing on-site sanitation and athlete‑dedicated facilities across all WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series events. While the objective is to improve conditions for all athletes, the need for this initiative was identified through discussions within the Women in MTB group, where specific challenges faced by female athletes and staff were highlighted.A SHARED COMMITMENTBeyond WBD Sports, other partners across the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series ecosystem have also launched their own initiatives to help address gender imbalance within mountain bike.The local organising committee for the 2026 season finale in the Lake Placid Olympic Sites (New York, USA), taking place from 2 to 4 October, has introduced a dedicated Women in Sport programme this year, alongside a series of women‑focused activations planned around the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event. These initiatives will be amplified through WBD Sports’ Women in MTB Initiative, reinforcing a shared commitment to progress across the sport.

The 20 teams that will form the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Endurance line-up have been confirmed, with some of the sport’s biggest names guaranteed to compete across all nine rounds of the 2026 UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup calendar.Riders such as  Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing), Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team - XC), Evie Richards (Trek - Unbroken XC), Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon), Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Premier Tech) are all assured a place on the start line.FACTORY AND DEVELOPMENT-FOCUSED TEAMS SECURE 2-YEAR LICENCEThe top 10 teams in the 2025 UCI ranking have been rewarded with two-year WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series team licences, and the list is made up of some big factory outfits and plucky underdogs who find themselves at the top table after relying on wildcard entries last time out.Specialized Factory Racing dominated proceedings last year and it will be tough for its riders to match their success in 2026. Christopher Blevins had a record-breaking year as he navigated his way to a Men Elite UCI XCO-XCC World Cup overall double, while Victor Koretzky made up for a middling season by defending his UCI XCC World Championship title. The team is packed full of firepower – Martin Vidaurre Kossmann and Adrien Boichis both highlighting their potential – while Haley Batten, Sina Frei and Laura Stigger all have elite-level wins to their names.The second-best spot in 2025 was taken by Decathlon Ford Factory Racing courtesy of Women Elite UCI XCO World Cup overall winner Samara Maxwell’s podium-placing consistency throughout the year. The team will have to do it without the New Zealander for 2026 – the 24-year-old announcing she’s taking a year-long sabbatical from racing – but Savilia Blunk and Joshua Dubau are consistent top 10 finishers on their day and ready to step up.One team looking up in 2026 is Canyon XC Racing. Home of UCI XCO World Champion Jenny Rissveds, the Swede was in the form of her life towards the end of last season and will be hoping to carry on where she left off when racing gets underway at the opening round in MONA YongPyong (South Korea). Teammate Luca Schwarzbauer showed signs of his best, and the pair will be joined by reigning Women U23 UCI XCO World Cup overall winner Valentina Corvi, who will continue racing in the U23 class this year.Another outfit that showed promising form towards the latter stages of the 2025 series was Cannondale Factory Racing – Charlie Aldridge picking up his first UCI XCO World Cup win in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) and Luca Martin securing two wins (one XCC, one XCO) in his first elite season. Swiss icon Jolanda Neff completes the squad as they look to wrestle top-dog status back from their US rivals Specialized.Elsewhere, UCI XCC World Champion Alessandra Keller leads Thömus maxon’s Swiss teamsheet alongside compatriots Mathias Flückiger and Lars Foster, and Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team gets a youthful boost with Ella Macphee and Gustav Pedersen joining Simone Avondetto and Luca Braidot in the elite ranks.Scott-SRAM MTB Race Team enter a new chapter following Nino Schurter’s retirement with an established and competitive line-up in Filippo Colombo, Fabio Puntener and Bjorn Riley ready to carry the team forward and score consistently. Elite stalwarts Simon Andreassen and Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) meanwhile will be hoping to push on in the team’s second season.The final two teams with a 2-year licence are U23 UCI XCO-XCC World Cup overall winner Finn Treudler’s Cube Factory Racing, and previous wildcard entrant Bixs Race Team, who have retained Ramona Forchini and Marcel Guerrini as they embark on their first season as a UCI World Series team.BIG NAMES AND FRESH OUTFITS AMONGST 1-YEAR LICENCE TEAMSThe biggest name to find itself amongst the 1-year licenced teams is Giant Factory Off-Road Team – XC, the home of back-to-back UCI XCO World Champion Alan Hatherly. The South African’s multi-discipline schedule means he isn’t able to bank points for the team consistently throughout the season, but when he does race a UCI World Cup, there’s a high chance he’ll be contributing near-maximum points.Trek - Unbroken XC’s Evie Richards will be looking to defend her UCI XCC World Cup overall title while Vlad Dascalu returns for the American team.Also, like in the Gravity selection, one team that was ranked in the top 15 teams won’t be returning to the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series – Ghost Factory Racing folding after 15 years in the sport. It isn’t the last we’ll see of its riders though, with Anne Terpstra, Nicole Koller and Caroline Bohé all now part of the Lapierre PXR Racing team – a hybrid of the Ghost and Lapierre Racing teams of 2025, which also sees Anton Cooper and Tobias Lillelund retain their spots.Other teams to secure the automatic WHOOP UCI World Series Team status were Mathis Azzaro’s Origine Racing Division and KMC Nukeproof MTB Racing Team.STARS AMONGST WILDCARD SELECTIONSIn addition to the top 15 ranked teams, five full-season wildcard spots were made available by the UCI for the remaining UCI Mountain Bike Teams.The five wildcard spots went to the established outfits Alpecin-Premier Tech, BH Coloma Team, BMC Factory Racing and Liv Factory Racing, as well as Mondraker Factory Racing XC, who will line up for its second season.This guarantees starting places for multi-discipline stars Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Premier Tech), previous UCI World Cup winners Jordan Sarrou and Loana Lecomte (BMC Factory Racing).The full list of teams to secure WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status were:2-year licence1. Specialized Factory Racing2. Decathlon Ford Racing Team3. Canyon XC Racing4. Cannondale Factory Racing5. Thömus Maxon6. Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team7. Orbea Fox Factory Team8. Cube Factory Racing9. Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team10. BIXS Race Team1-year licence11. Trek - Unbroken XC12. Origine Racing Division13. KMC Nukeproof MTB Racing Team14. Giant Factory Off-Road Team - XC15. Lapierre PXR RacingWildcards (1-year licence)16. BH Coloma Team17. Liv Factory Racing18. Mondraker Factory Racing XC19. BMC Factory Racing20. Alpecin-Premier TechThe 2026 UCI Cross-country World Cup kicks off on May 1 in MONA YongPyong (South Korea) - marking the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event on Asian soil in 25 years. From there, the season begins its European leg in Nové Město Na Moravě (Czechia), before heading to 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 close out the season in Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) and Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York (USA).

The 60-minute documentary will air on 3rd March at 17:30 CET on Eurosport and HBO Max across mainland Europe and at 16:30 GMT on TNT Sports and discovery+ in the UK and Ireland*.From the weight of early expectations to the uncertainty of beginnings, from the challenge of balance to the pressure of winning and the obsession with results, the documentary reveals what it truly means to live as a professional rider.Lachlan Stevens McNab (Trek - Unbroken DH) stands on the start line of his career, facing the leap from promise to profession. 2025 UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) overall champion Evie Richards (Trek - Unbroken XC) chases medals, living at the edge where ambition, pressure, and identity collide. Other featured riders include Thibau Nys (Belgium – Cyclocross and Road), Emma Norsgaard (Denmark – Road), Emil Johansson (Sweden - MTB Slopestyle/Freeride).Moving between road, track, cyclocross, and mountain biking, the show will offer an intimate, collective portrait of a profession defined by repetition and resilience where every season begins again, and becoming a pro rider is a process that never truly ends.*HBO Max is available in Europe in France, Greece, Iberia, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Nordics, Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands. discovery+ is the streaming platform for United Kingdom ahead of HBO Max launching in 2026.