Let's take a closer look at who will be competing for each team and highlight the key athletes to watch this season.
Source: press release
The 20 teams that will make up the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams for the 2026 Gravity season have been confirmed, and their rider lineups are packed with UCI Downhill World Cup round winners, multiple overall series champions, and new contenders ready to challenge the old guard for podium spots.
In addition to the reigning winners of the UCI Elite World Cup and the UCI World Championship Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) e Valentina Hell (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres), the starting list for each round will feature some of the biggest stars and icons of Gravity mountain biking, from Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Tahnee Seagrave (Orbea FMD Racing) to Aaron Gwin (Frameworks / TRP) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding (Addiction).
OFFICIAL TEAMS AND THE BRAVE CHALLENGED AWARDED WITH A 2-YEAR LICENSE
One of the main novelties among the 2025 and 2026 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series teams is that this year The top 10 teams in the UCI results were awarded two-year licenses , guaranteeing them a place at the start in 2026 and 2027, regardless of their UCI points at the end of the year.
Last year's top-rated team was Canyon DH Racing , and the official team of the German manufacturer remains unchanged: Troy Brosnan , Marine Cabirou e Luke Shaw lead the charge alongside the rising stars Henri Kiefer e Aletha Ostgaard .
He took second place in the results the Santa Cruz Syndicate , which can thank the excellent form of Jackson Goldstone for his prominent position. The overall winner of the UCI Men's Elite Downhill World Cup and reigning UCI World Champion had a record-breaking season in 2025 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 lineup is evolving, with the addition of the Austrian Andreas Kölb and the release of Laurie Greenland . Nina Hoffman returns for his fifth season with the team led by Steve Peat .
One rider who will be desperate to get the better of Goldstone this season is Loïc Bruni The pilot of Specialized Gravity He took the battle for the overall title to the very last breath last season, and it will be exciting to see him resume his duel with the Canadian driver in South Korea. Finn Iles e jordan williams will return to the official team of the American manufacturer.
HAVE YOU LINED UP YOUR TEAM FOR FANTAMTB? PLAY NOW
The fallout from the closure of YT Industries was one of the biggest stories of the offseason, as it determined which team the four-time UCI World Champion and overall UCI World Cup winner would ride for. Vali Höll in 2026. The Austrian has opted for Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres , a smaller company that pushed its limits in 2025, securing a two-year license. It joins the likes of Lisa Baumann e Antoine Pierron .
Pierron's brother, Amaury , returns after a season of ups and downs with his team Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction , which includes the icon Myriam Nicole , the 2024 UCI World Champion Lori's vergier and Alran twins , with Max, the reigning overall winner of the UCI Junior Men's Downhill World Cup.
On the other hand, Tahnee Seagrave He will aim to consolidate his good form from 2025 in his team Orbea FMD Racing together with Martin Maas , while the two-time UCI World Cup winner Ronan Dunne and the US champion Ryan Pickerton were reached by Oil Clark of Mondraker Factory Racing DH .
The last three teams to receive a two-year license were the Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team di Richie Rude Jr, with the American enduro star continuing to prioritise the downhill in 2026; Cube Factory Racing di Rose Zierl , overall winner of the World Cup downhill UCI women's junior; and the Trek – Unbroken DH , which he added Oisin O'Callaghan to a training that includes Lachlan Stevens-McNab , Matt walker e Sacha Earnest.
BIG NAMES AND FORMER WILDCARDS SECURE 1-YEAR LICENSES
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 in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series starting box.
The largest team to have obtained an annual license is the Giant Factory Off-Road Team – DH They hope that Luke Meier-Smith, winner of the Lake Placid Olympic region, and Remi Thirion can help them revive the team's fortunes in 2026.
Other well-known names include the Norco x adidas Race Division managed by Greg Minnaar , with one of the rising stars of 2025, Gracey Hemstreet , and the 2011 UCI World Champion Danny Hart as a goal for results.
Somewhere else, MS-Racing di Scarce Glory e Nukeproof Axess Racing di Thousand Johnsets will ensure that both athletes will be present at every round of the UCI World Cup.
The final license went to Unno Factory Racing DH Formerly known as Rogue Racing – SR Suntour, the team’s consistency has been one of the stories of 2025. Entering every round as a wildcard, they’ve amassed enough points to outperform teams with much larger budgets.
ICONIC ATHLETES RELY ON WILDCARD SEATS
The final five team spots in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series are awarded based on a different selection criterion, but in 2026 they were, coincidentally, also the next five teams in the UCI results.
The biggest name in this category is undoubtedly the Scott Downhill office , which can count on the guidance of Jess Blewitt , Benoit Coulanges and the new purchase Dakota Norton to help her climb the results and secure a guaranteed spot in 2026.
Even smaller teams like AON Racing di Reece wilson , Continental Atherton di Charlie Hatton needed a season-long wildcard for the second year in a row, while the spot of Goodman's Santa Cruz Burgtec will see Thibaut Laly e Nathan Pontvianne lined up at the start.
Another exciting wildcard is Frameworks Racing / TRP , that hosts Asa Vermette , who will join the Elite team in 2026. The American team also added Aaron Gwin, five-time overall winner of the UCI World Cup, to its roster, and both riders will be competing for top spots at every round of the UCI World Cup.
The full list of Gravity teams that have secured WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status is:
2-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 from Les Orres
1 Year License:
Norco X Adidas Race Division
MS-Racing
Nukeproof Axess Racing
Unno Factory Racing DH
Giant Factory Off-Road Team – DH
Wildcard (1-year license):
Santa Cruz Burgtec by Goodman
Scott Downhill office
Frameworks Racing / TRP
AON Racing
Continental Atherton
The UCI World Cup Downhill 2026 will kick off on May 1st with the Race of South Korea, which will mark 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 stage, which also includes stages in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburg (Austria), Lenzerheide (Switzerland), La Thuile - Aosta Valley (Italia) Pal Arinsal (Andorra) and Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France). The cyclists will then cross the Atlantic to reach the spiritual homeland of the downhill, Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia (Canada), following decades of waiting to finish the season in the historic Lake Placid Olympic Region , New York (USA) in October.
