The 20 teams that will make up the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams for the 2026 Gravity season have been confirmed. In addition to the reigning UCI Elite World Cup and UCI World Championship winners, Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres), the start list for each stage will feature some of the biggest stars and icons of Gravity mountain biking, from Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea FMD Racing) to Aaron Gwin (Frameworks / TRP) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding (Addiction).
One of the main new developments among the 2025 and 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series teams is that this year the top 10 teams in the UCI results have been awarded two-year licenses, guaranteeing them a place at the start in 2026 and 2027, regardless of the UCI points they earn at the end of the year.
Last year’s top-ranked team was Canyon DH Racing, and the German manufacturer’s factory lineup remains unchanged: Troy Brosnan, Marine Cabirou, and Luca Shaw lead the charge alongside rising stars Henri Kiefer and Aletha Ostgaard.
Second in the standings is the Santa Cruz Syndicate, who can thank the excellent form of Jackson Goldstone for bringing many points to the team. The overall winner of the World Cup Downhill The UCI Men's Elite and reigning UCI World Champion had a record-breaking 2025 season and will struggle to match his five victories, including a four-race win streak. Following YT Mob's withdrawal at the end of 2025, the team's roster is evolving, with the arrival of Austrian Andreas Kölb and the departure of Laurie Greenland. Nina Hoffman returns for her fifth season with the team led by Steve Peat.
One rider who will desperately try to get the better of Goldstone this season is Loïc Bruni. The Specialized Gravity rider fought to the very end for the overall title last season, and it will be exciting to see him resume his duel with the Canadian in South Korea. Finn Iles and Jordan Williams will also return to the American manufacturer's official team.
The fallout from YT Industries' closure was one of the biggest stories of the offseason, as it determined which team four-time UCI World Champion and overall UCI World Cup winner Vali Höll would ride for in 2026. The Austrian opted for Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres, a smaller team that made a splash in 2025, securing a two-year license. She joins the likes of Lisa Baumann and Antoine Pierron.
Pierron's brother Amaury returns after an up-and-down season with his Commencal/Muc-Off team by Riding Addiction, which includes icon Myriam Nicole, 2024 UCI World Champion Loris Vergier and the Alran twins, with Max, the reigning overall winner of the UCI Junior Men's DH World Cup.
Tahnée Seagrave will aim to build on her strong 2025 form in her Orbea FMD Racing squad alongside Martin Maes, while two-time UCI World Cup winner Ronan Dunne and US champion Ryan Pickerton are joined by Oli Clark on the Mondraker Factory Racing DH team.
The latest three teams to receive a two-year license are Richie Rude Jr.'s Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team, with the American enduro star continuing to prioritize downhill in 2026; Rosa Zierl's Cube Factory Racing, the overall winner of the UCI Junior Women's DH World Cup; and Trek – Unbroken DH, which added Oisin O'Callaghan to a roster that includes Lachlan Stevens-McNab, Matt Walker, and Sacha Earnest.
WHAT ABOUT THE WILDCARDS?
While the top 10 ranked teams know that their UCI World Series status is guaranteed until the end of 2027, the teams ranked 11th to 15th will have to prove their worth once again to retain their guaranteed spot at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series starting box.
The largest team to secure a one-year license is the Giant Factory Off-Road Team – DH. They're hoping that Lake Placid Olympic Regional winner Luke Meier-Smith and Rémi Thirion can help them turn things around in 2026.
Other established names include the Norco x adidas Race Division run by Greg Minnaar, with one of the rising stars of 2025, Gracey Hemstreet, and 2011 UCI World Champion, Danny Hart, targeting results.
Elsewhere, Gloria Scarsi’s MS-Racing and Mille Johnset’s Nukeproof Axess Racing will ensure both riders are present at every stage of the UCI World Cup.
The final license went to Unno Factory Racing DH with our Davide Palazzari present. Formerly known as Rogue Racing – SR Suntour, the team’s consistency has been one of the stories of 2025. Participating in every stage as a wildcard, they have accumulated enough points to outperform teams with much larger budgets.
ICONIC ATHLETES RELY ON WILDCARD SEATS
The final five finalists of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup WHOOP Team spots in the rld Series are allocated based on a different selection criterion, but in 2026, coincidentally, they were also the next five teams in the UCI results.
The biggest name in this category is probably Scott Downhill Factory, which can count on the guidance of Jess Blewitt, Benoit Coulanges and new signing Dakotah Norton to move up the standings and secure a guaranteed spot in 2026.
Smaller teams such as Reece Wilson’s AON Racing and Charlie Hatton’s Continental Atherton also needed a full-season wildcard for the second year running, while the Santa Cruz Burgtec by Goodman entry will see Thibaut Laly and Nathan Pontvianne line up.
Another interesting wildcard is Asa Vermette's Frameworks Racing/TRP team, which will join the Elite squad in 2026. The American team has also added five-time UCI World Cup overall winner Aaron Gwin, and both riders will be competing for top spots at every UCI World Cup stage.
Gravity team list with WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status
Two-year license:
- Canyon DH Racing
- Santa Cruz Syndicate
- Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction
- Orbea FMD Racing
- Mondraker Factory Racing DH
- Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team
- Cube Factory Racing
- Specialized Gravity
- Trek – Unbroken DH
- Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres
Annual license:
- Norco X Adidas Race Division
- MS-Racing
- Nukeproof Axess Racing
- Unno Factory Racing DH
- Giant Factory Off-Road Team – DH
Wildcard (annual license):
- Santa Cruz Burgtec by Goodman
- Scott Downhill office
- Frameworks Racing / TRP
- AON Racing
- Continental Atherton
The UCI World Cup of Downhill The 2026 season will kick off on May 1st with the Race of South Korea, marking the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event on Asian soil in 25 years. From there, the season will continue to Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) for the opening stage of the European leg, which also includes stops in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburg (Austria), Lenzerheide (Switzerland), La Thuile – Aosta Valley (Italy), Pal Arinsal (Andorra) and Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France). The cyclists will then cross the Atlantic to reach the spiritual home of the downhill, Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia, Canada, following decades of anticipation before concluding the season in the historic Olympic region of Lake Placid, New York, USA in October.
For more information on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, visit www.ucimtbworldseries.com
