Cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and global promoter of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, WBD Sports, have announced changes to the UCI Regulations for professional mountain biking.

The 2025 season will see the biggest overhaul of the sport since the creation of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in 1991.

Driving these changes is the desire to elevate the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.

The series, launching in 2023, brings together the main UCI Mountain Bike World Cup formats under one roof, to ensure that each round is contested by the world’s best riders and teams, reinforcing its position as the pinnacle of mountain biking .

The reform will bring significant changes to the qualification system for UCI World Cups, overhauling the number of riders competing at the pinnacle of the sport while creating a clear pathway for teams and riders to progress from the national and continental levels up to the UCI World Cup levels.

This provides new opportunities for emerging talent and ensures that the best riders can demonstrate their skills on the world’s biggest stage.

One of the biggest changes concerns the UCI World Cup qualification process. The new regulations will review the number of riders competing, focusing on the best riders and teams in order to create more competitive races.

While UCI MTB team registration will continue to be managed by the UCI, starting in 2025, UCI Mountain Bike World Series teams (formerly known as UCI Elite MTB teams) will enter in two categories : gravity (downhill and enduro) and endurance (cross). -country and short track). This streamlined structure will increase visibility and engagement across all formats.

A maximum of 20 gravity teams and 20 endurance teams will become UCI Mountain Bike World Series teams for the entire season.

For both categories, 15 invitations to join this top tier of teams will be based on the annual UCI team rankings, with an additional five teams receiving wildcard invitations for the season.

UCI Mountain Bike World Series teams will benefit from multi-year commitments from 2026, supporting long-term planning and development.

The UCI and WBD Sports will work closely with teams to provide increased visibility and marketing rights.

Teams will register official brand colors for promotional purposes, helping to create a consistent and recognizable presence at events and media.

In addition to the UCI Mountain Bike World Series teams having full-season licenses, at each round of the series up to eight additional UCI teams will have the opportunity to race as wildcard teams.

National federations will retain their designated quota. Qualification will not be limited to teams: individual riders will be able to qualify if they meet specific ranking criteria, or if they are reigning national, continental or UCI champions in their format, or Olympic champions (for cross -Olympic country).

There will also be the introduction of a new multi-round Continental Series, working closely with the five continental cycling confederations, which will act as a springboard for a place at the UCI World Cups and give riders from different continents the chance to qualify for the UCI World Cups, promoting global participation and competitiveness. More details on these new Continental Series will soon be revealed by the UCI.

A new UCI Downhill World Cup qualification system for elite riders will simplify the qualification process and ensure the highest level of competition.

From 2025, all elite downhill racers will compete in a qualifying round 1 (Q1), with the top 20 elite men and top 10 elite women advancing directly to the finals. All remaining riders will compete in Qualifying Round 2 (Q2), where the top 10 elite men and top five elite women will secure their place in the final.

Protected status will be removed, meaning riders will no longer receive preferential treatment based on their results from the previous or current season.

Only the best riders from each venue will qualify for the final, with the number of elite women qualifying for the final increasing from 10 to 15.

As well as changes to the team hierarchy and qualification systems, the 2025 reform will also bring about changes to the way riders and teams present themselves, with the aim of fostering fan engagement.

All former elite winners of a UCI World Cup round (in Olympic cross-country or downhill) who are still competing will be required to select personal colors and a unique career number, adding individuality and sentiment of heritage to the competition. help build runner identities and bring fans closer to the sport.

The number 1 will be exclusively reserved for the current leader of the UCI World Cup rankings for each of the two formats, replacing their unique career number. The leader’s jersey and the number 1 plate will be returned to the podium after each UCI World Cup.

A joint decision has been made, in agreement with all stakeholders involved in the UCI E-Enduro World Cup format, to suspend the UCI E-Enduro World Cup in order to work with the industry towards a future format. However, E-Enduro will retain its UCI World Championship status and remain an open racing category in the UCI Enduro World Cup.

Additionally, junior men’s and junior women’s categories will be introduced for Enduro at the UCI World Championships, providing 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 in mountain biking and an increase in its popularity.

“Together with WBD Sports, the UCI wants to continue this momentum with these changes which will simplify certain processes, promote globalization and make competition formats easier to follow and therefore even more exciting for fans.”