The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series promotor, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports, today announce changes for the discipline of mountain bike that will be key to its continued development.
The amendments to the UCI Regulations for mountain bike, approved by the UCI Management Committee, will come into force on 1st January 2025.
One of the biggest changes is in the qualifying process for the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
UCI ELITE MTB TEAMS will become UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams, with this top tier of teams divided into two categories: Gravity (downhill and enduro) and Endurance (cross-country and short track). A maximum of 20 Gravity Teams and 20 Endurance Teamswill become UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams for the entire season. For both categories of teams, 15 invitations to join this top tier of teams will be based on the annual UCI Team Ranking, with another five teams benefitting from wildcard invitations for the season.
In addition, at each individual round of the series, up to eight additional UCI Teams will be given the opportunity to race as wildcard teams. National Federations will retain their designated quota.
Qualification for the UCI Mountain Bike World Series will not be limited to teams: individual riders may also qualify if they meet specific ranking criteria, or if they are reigning National, Continental, or UCI World Champions in their format, or Olympic Champion (for cross-country Olympic).
Moreover, new Continental Series will be introduced, in close collaboration with the five Continental Confederations, creating yet another pathway to qualify. This will give riders across the different continents the chance to participate, promoting globalisation and competitiveness. More details on these new Continental Series will be revealed soon.
A new, simplified qualifying system for Elite riders will be introduced at rounds of the UCI Downhill World Cup, ensuring the highest level of competition.
From 2025, all Elite downhill riders will compete in a Qualifying 1 (Q1) round, with the top 20 Men Elite and top 10 Women Elite proceeding directly to the final. All remaining riders will compete in a Qualifying 2 (Q2) round, where the top 10 Men Elite and top 5 Women Elite will secure their spot in the final. The protection status regulation will be removed, meaning that riders will no longer get preferential treatment because of their previous or current season’s results. Only the best riders at each venue will make it through to the final, with the number of Women Elite qualifying increasing from 10 to 15.
A further change in 2025 will be the introduction of career numbers for all former Elite winners of a UCI World Cup round (in cross-country Olympic or downhill) who are still competing. These riders will be required to select a unique career number which will make them easily identifiable throughout the competitions. Number 1 will be reserved exclusively for the current leader of the UCI World Cup standings for each of the two formats, superseding their unique career number.
Concerning E-enduro, following agreement with relevant stakeholders, it has been decided to discontinue the UCI E-enduro World Cup and work towards a different format for the future. However, E-enduro will maintain its UCI World Championships status and continue to be raced as an Open Race category at the UCI Enduro World Cup.
Moreover, Men Junior and Women Junior categories will be introduced for Enduro at the UCI World Championships, offering young athletes more opportunities to shine on the world stage.
UCI Sports Director Peter Van den Abeele said: “The introduction of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series two years ago has led to significant growth of mountain bike and an increase in its popularity. Together with WBD Sports, the UCI wishes to build on the momentum with these changes that will simplify certain processes, favour globalisation and make competition formats easier to follow and therefore even more exciting for the fans.”
Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: "These new developments mark a major turning point for the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series and reflect our continued commitment to growing the sport, making it easier for fans around the world to follow their favorite teams and riders. I’m confident that it will further solidify the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series as the pinnacle of the sport.”
The amended regulations are available on the UCI website.