WHOOP BECOMES TITLE SPONSOR OF UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES

Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) made UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup history at Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada), presented by Events.com, while Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) sprinted to the men’s Elite victory.Swedish rider Rissveds powered away from her women’s Elite rivals with three laps remaining and pulled out a XCC record 18-second win. Meanwhile, Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) controlled the chasing pack and her second position was enough to seal her maiden UCI XCC World Cup overall victory.The men’s Elite race was a closer affair with Martin escaping on the last lap and Cannondale Factory Racing teammate Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) fended off Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) for second.The short and sharp XCC course featured a power climb before descending back down and a decisive short rise on loose terrain rising into the finishing straight.Isabella Holmgren took victory for hosting nation Canada in the women’s Under 23 category, while Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) continued his winning run in the men’s Under 23 event.RISSVEDS POWERS TO GLORY, WHILE RICHARDS CELEBRATES TITLE Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) took her fourth consecutive Women Elite UCI XCC World Cup victory with a commanding performance. The Swedish rider showed her dominant form as her rivals were unable to follow as she rode away to win by 18 seconds.Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) came into the event knowing that a top eight finish would be enough to seal her maiden Women Elite UCI XCC overall crown. Overall points leader Richards got off to the perfect start and pushed the pace on the opening climb as Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) was pushed further back.Canadian rider Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) was looking for a good performance on her home turf and took over the early pace setting.On the third of nine laps Rissveds forced the pace and was followed by Richards, before the front group came back together. Rissveds continued her pace and Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) joined Richards but once more the chasing pack rejoined the front.After 13 minutes of racing Rissveds attacked again on the climb and was initially joined by Frei and Richards. However, the Canyon CLLCTV XCO rider had power to burn and used the final mound before the finish to pull out a sizeable advantage.Rissveds was untouchable as she pulled out a 24-second advantage heading into the penultimate lap over a 13-rider chasing group. Taking the last lap bell Rissveds led by 25 seconds as Richards was powering at the front of the chasing group.Ronja Blöchlinger (LIV Factory Racing) used the climb to challenge Richards for second position, and the pair had a slender gap descending down to the finish for the final time.Rissveds celebrated a clear win and finished 18 seconds ahead of a delighted Richards, while Blöchlinger finished third.Afterwards Rissveds said: “I just felt really strong today, I didn’t have to wait so I just went earlier than I normally would do.“I learnt so much this year as an athlete and how to race as fast as possible. I feel like I improve every race and try new things every race. It’s scary sometimes to try new things and new challenges.“When you face it, trust and believe then you should be proud of that. I really like this course in Mont-Sainte-Anne, I feel really strong at the moment, it’s a good feeling.”Richards won the overall series by 110 points from Rissveds in second and Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) in third.Following her overall victory Richards said: “I’m so happy. It has been such a turbulent year. When I didn’t race in Italy [Val Di Sole – Trentino], I didn’t care about the overall. I just wanted to get healthy and once I’m healthy I could then fight again. The fact I missed that, got healthy and still got it is just amazing. I’m very excited. Under 23“I was really nervous, I wanted to win but also didn’t want to finish outside of the top eight.“I know how strong Jenny [Rissveds] is and when she went, I had to make the call, I just couldn’t sacrifice trying to chase her down and risk losing it. I had to think quite a lot today.”MARTIN LEADS ONE-TWO FOR CANNONDALE FACTORY RACINGLuca Martin and Charlie Aldridge were perfect teammates as they fended off their rivals to complete a one-two for Cannondale Factory Racing in the men’s Elite category.The pair were involved in a last lap battle with Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) and refused to let their rival by, as the Frenchman had to settle for third.Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Specialized Factory Racing) powered from the front row and set a blistering first lap pace on the dry and fast course. Fellow Specialized Factory Racing rider Boichis finished runner-up in the previous two XCC UCI World Cup events and was close on the wheel of his teammate. Series winner Christopher Blevins was also keen to join his team-mates in the podium battle and used the climb to move himself up the front pack.Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) took the race on from the front and at the midway point was leading a long string of riders. Cannondale Factory Racing were also keen to take the fight to their rivals as Aldridge, Martin and Canadian rider Cole Punchard massed at the front on the sixth of 10 laps.UCI XCC World Champion Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) was one of those who felt the fast pace being driven by Schwarzbauer and dropped outside the top-20 heading into the penultimate lap.British rider Aldridge looked to repeat his victory from Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) and took the front on the penultimate lap, taking teammate Martin and Boichis with him. On the climb for the final lap the three leaders went alongside each other in a drag race for the front. Martin held first place and Aldridge allowed his team-mate a gap as Boichis was unable to come around his rival on the descent. Rising to the finish Martin held on for a slender win ahead of Aldridge and Boichis rounded off the podium.Blevins had already secured the overall series and was joined on the overall XCC podium by Martin and Aldridge in second and third respectively.Following his race victory Martin said: “It’s so nice to win here in Mont-Sainte-Anne because it’s very special.“The people speak French here and it’s so nice to ride here. Charlie [Aldridge] helped me a lot, he rode on the front and today we played for the win.“We worked super-well together. I think the sport is changing and we need to ride with a team-mate for the win. I think we did it perfectly today.”HOLMGREN RETURNS WITH HOME VICTORYUnder 23 UCI XCC World Champion Isabella Holmgren took victory following an impressive penultimate lap attack. The multi-discipline rider has combined her mountain bike aspirations with road racing for Lidl-Trek. Holmgren had won two of her three XCC outings this season coming into the event and finished runner-up in the other.Anina Hutter (Nexetis) led the charge behind in second nine seconds back, while Katharina Sadnik (KTM Factory MTB Team) finished third.Following her victory Holmgren said: “It feels really nice to back on the mountain bike, especially here in Canada. It feels so nice to have a home crowd and family cheering.“It’s super-hard to hold a good position on this course, so I wanted to stay as close to the front as much as possible and make it a hard race.A third place for Sadnik was enough for her to clinch the overall series ahead of Valentina Corvi (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) in second and Ella Macphee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) in third.Following her overall victory Sadnik added: “I can’t imagine what I’ve done this year, it’s unbelievable.“I’m more than happy and it will take a bit of time to get over it. Sometimes when I look down, I thought ‘I want to keep this jersey so I need to push’.TREUDLER TAKES SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE WINFinn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) continued his domination of the men’s Under 23 category with his seventh win in a row. The 22-year-old had already wrapped up both the XCC and XCO overall series titles coming into the final round in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada).Despite his persistent efforts throughout the race Treudler was unable to gap a string of leading riders. That was until the penultimate lap when the Swiss rider pulled out a slender margin and fended off his rivals to the line.Heby Gustav Pedersen (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) had to settle for runner-up position just two seconds behind and Swedish rider Nils Johansson was third.Treudler won the overall by 281 points ahead of Pedersen in second, while Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountain Bike Team) finished third overall.Following his victory Treudler said: “It was a super-tough battle today. I tried to break away a few times, but I just couldn’t make a decisive gap so it was a sprint finish again.“I’m super-happy to take my seventh win in a row, it sounds pretty insane. I’m extremely proud of my season so far, I feel like I’ve come such a long way and it’s really nice to have such a great season with so many victories.”The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) with the downhill finals on Saturday before the UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup rounds of proceedings on Sunday.

Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Vali Höll (YT Mob) might have come away with all the spoils from the 2025 season, but the 10-round series was one of the most competitive in recent memory with one nail-biting conclusion that will live long in the memory.Downhill mountain biking is fast, furious, and extremely unpredictable, but two riders had bucked the trend in recent history, showing consistency where others had crumbled and cruising to back-to-back overall series in 2023 and 2024.All eyes were on Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Vali Höll (YT Mob) once more as the longest-ever season got underway in Bielsko-Biała, and whether any other athletes could end their dominance.As it turns out, they could. The men’s contest witnessed the rise of Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) – the 21-year-old Canadian returning to action after a year on the sidelines with injury – and a battle for the top spot with Bruni that wouldn’t be decided until the very last run of the series. While Höll still came out on top, her fourth overall series was the Austrian’s toughest test yet, with five different women standing on the top spot over the year. Goldstone’s record-equaling run and five wins enough to topple BruniWhen Loïc Bruni won qualifying and finals at the opening round in Bielsko-Biała (Poland), his competitors could have been forgiven for thinking that the series was already over. While there were still nine rounds to go, the Frenchman’s signature consistency would mean that his win in Poland probably wouldn’t be his last of the year, while only an uncharacteristic crash or injury would prevent him from winning his fifth overall title and third consecutive crown.Jackson Goldstone had other ideas though. Fresh from a season sat on the sidelines with injury, the Canadian had a point to prove after an impressive debut elite season in 2023 where he won his first two UCI Downhill World Cups and narrowly finished second behind Bruni in the overall. And although he could only manage a top-20 finish at the season opener, it was a warm-up for what was to come.From Loudenvielle-Peyragudes onwards, he was unstoppable, equaling Aaron Gwin’s (Gwin Racing) record for four wins in a row, while he had back-to-back perfect weekends in Val di Sole (Italy) and La Thuile (Italy). His results propelled him to the top of the standings, and at the midway point, he had a healthy 195-point lead over Bruni.His run would end in Pal Arinsal (Andorra), Bruni getting the better of Goldstone for his second win of the series, and the Frenchman would chip away at Goldstone’s lead with each round – the Canadian dropping points in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) and Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide (Switzerland), while Bruni was his metronomic self with two top-five finishes.Neither made the podium in Lake Placid’s (USA) UCI Downhill World Cup debut, and things were poised tantalisingly with just Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) – Bruni leading by 72 and able to take the series even if Goldstone won.On finals day, Goldstone did all he could in front of a partisan home crowd, putting in the first 3:30 of the day to sit in the hotseat with only Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) and Bruni to go. The American could only go second fastest, and then all eyes were on the start hut awaiting Bruni’s drop in. But it never came – the Frenchman injured during training on finals day and knowing that he wouldn’t be able to compete, let alone beat, Goldstone’s time. The Canadian had done it, winning the UCI Downhill World Cup Overall series on home soil, completing a Hollywood ending to a redemption story that also included winning the UCI Downhill World Championship. Höll shows grit to complete hat-trick of overall and world championship doubleWhile the men’s contest was a two-horse race, the women’s was the most open it has been in years. After Vali Höll’s dominance since breaking through to the elite class in 2021, the Austrian had a fight on her hands from the off.It was Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) who started strongest – the experienced Brit back to her best to take the opening round in Bielsko-Biała (Poland) – before Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) took up the mantle, winning her first two UCI Downhill World Cups.Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) and Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate) got in on the action in Val di Sole (Italy) and La Thuile (Italy), but at the halfway point, Höll still led the overall despite not winning a weekend.It was her consistency that had got her there – the 23-year-old using her experience to grind out podium finishes even if she didn’t take the win – but as her winless UCI World Cup streak extended beyond a year, many wondered if it would be enough to see her through to the end of the season.Seagrave and Hemstreet cleaned up at the next three rounds, but their inconsistency couldn’t shake Höll from the overall top spot, and when the Austrian had her first opportunity to mathematically secure her fourth title and third consecutive crown in Lake Placid (USA), she seized it with both hands while her rivals’ challenges wilted.Fresh off the back of winning her fourth consecutive UCI Downhill World Championship, Höll blitzed the field on the venue’s new downhill course, going fastest in each intermediate split to win by almost three seconds. Hemstreet meanwhile could only manage 10th, meaning the title wouldn’t go to the final round.A crash in her Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) finals run saw Höll finish down in 14th, but she was still able to extend her lead – neither Hemstreet or Seagrave scoring a point over the weekend, meaning it was as you were for the top three spots in the overall. Alran edges Vermette and Rosa keeps it consistent in JuniorsWhile the Elite contests were the closest they’ve been in years, the Juniors were on another level.In the women’s field, Rosa Zierl (Cube Factory Racing) and Alehta Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) were the dominant forces – the pair claiming four wins each from the 10 rounds. It was Zierl who edged it though, beating Ostgaard by 45 points – the American’s failure to score anything in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes coming back to haunt her at the season’s end.The men’s contest meanwhile was an epic that featured two riders who often put down runs faster than the elites that followed. Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) ultimately had the edge over Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/5Dev), but just 12 points separated the pair after 10 rounds of fierce and frenetic racing. It was Alran’s four wins to Vermette’s two that were the difference – the Frenchman outscoring his American rival despite the latter’s podium finishes.Next year the season kicks-off in South Korea.

The off-season is a time for riders to enjoy some relaxation and recuperation before readying themselves for an intensive training block that will get race ready ahead of the first round of the 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in May.But this time of year is also an interesting proposition for teams, who are waiting eagerly to find out if they’ve done enough to secure UCI World Series Team status, and a spot at every UCI World Cup of the 2026 season.A new qualifying process was introduced at the start of the 2025 season to enhance the competitiveness and excitement of each UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, while establishing a clear development pathway to the highest level of mountain biking. All teams are required to register with the UCI to be classified as either a UCI Mountain Bike Team or a WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team (previously known as UCI MTB Elite teams). UCI World Series Team status is awarded to 20 teams in each of the Endurance and Gravity formats, which guarantees participation at each UCI World Cup.Like in the 2025 series, the 20 teams for each format are made up of the top 15 in the UCI team rankings and five year-long wildcard spots that are awarded based on a scoring matrix.A team’s UCI points are calculated by adding together the points of the four highest scored riders of each team without making a distinction between men Elite, men Junior/U23, women Elite and women Junior/U23. These points are accrued across all UCI-registered events (not just WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series points) and are scored in finals only. The rankings cut off was 28 October 2025.There is a bit of a difference for 2026 though. Unlike in 2025, points aren’t transferred with riders to their new teams, meaning there’s no opportunities for a team to make shrewd off-season signings to increase their chances of bagging UCI World Series Team status. Also, this season will see teams ranked 1-10 offered a two-year licence, and the teams ranked 11-15 offered a one-year licence, unlike last season where the top 15 ranked teams were only offered a one-year licence.Being in the top 15 provides an invitation to become a UCI World Series team, but it doesn’t guarantee participation—teams still need to accept and complete registration.Three-quarters of the UCI World Series teams decided, the remaining 10 spots are awarded to year-long wildcards decided by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports, while there are a number of other ways that teams and riders can bag their spot on a startline or in the start hut, including round-by-round wildcard entries and a rider’s individual UCI ranking.