New world-class venues with Olympic pedigree across Asia and the USA will stage thrilling Gravity and Endurance races during the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series and beyond.
Multi-format racing will kickstart the 2026 season at the Race of South Korea (KOR) at the Olympic venue in MONA YongPyong, PyeongChang; Cross-country visits Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) as part of the North American leg.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports today reveal that two new world-class venues have signed multi-year partnerships to host events beginning with the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
The fourth year of the revamped UCI World Cups format, launched in 2023 to unite nearly all mountain bike’s major formats under a single brand for the first time, will begin with a landmark weekend of Cross-country and Downhill racing at the Race of South Korea in MONA YongPyong – the first-ever Asian UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cups and first UCI Downhill (DHI) World Cup on the continent for 25 years.
The opening round of racing will take place at a venue with proven Olympic credentials, having previously hosted the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. With its challenging terrain and elite-level infrastructure, the venue promises a thrilling start to the new season.
Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) will stage XCC and XCO races as part of the North American leg of the 2026 series. The site demonstrated its mountain bike pedigree by hosting the 2024 Pan American Mountain Bike Championships and is also a highly regarded winter sports venue, set to stage events during the Olympic Winter Games Salt Lake City-Utah 2034. The addition of this venue brings another world-class location with a proven track record of hosting elite competition to the calendar.
Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “Today marks an exciting step in the continued development of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series with iconic new venues set to join the calendar from next season, signifying our commitment to growing the sport while delivering the best possible race experiences for riders, teams and fans alike.
“For the first time ever, we’re bringing the Cross-country Olympic format to Asia - hosted at a venue with proven Olympic credentials – which will kickstart the new season by connecting new fans to the sport. Additionally, bringing on board one of the world’s premier Cross-country destinations in Utah reinforces our commitment to delivering the sport at its highest level, and I am incredibly proud to bring these partnerships to life. We can’t wait to reveal the full calendar soon which we know will excite fans all around the world.”
The dates for the UCI World Cup events set to be held at new venues in South Korea and USA will be announced as part of the full 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series calendar in the coming weeks.
