UCI Confirms 2025 MTB World Series Changes

I'm not sure the continental series makes any sense anyway TBH, the only reason the international racing makes sense is if the team takes the rider (or it's a complete one-off).

In Europe we already have this series in IXS and the up and coming racers in that will without doubt be getting chances on full race teams, like Casper Hickman for example. The rest have a pretty defined way in from the IXS to Worlds really. However the odds of any of these up and coming riders flying out to Aus/NZ, to Brazil and then MSA, well that's unlikely to be financially viable for them, the only way to do that is to piggyback onto a pro team. So that does to an extent remove their options. But i don't think it'll make or break a fast EU racer anyway.

It specifies National Federations will retain their quota... which is where the majority of up and coming racers (e.g Juniors) are going to get most of their chances to make it into WCs. As long as that stays longer term then i think it'll be OK for them.

The people who are going to miss out most of course are the non-juniors who are not on one of the full elite (or whatever they're now called) teams, but this could also affect established teams too, think of Frameworks for example, they've got Asa Vermette the current world champ, but will he get a ride now,... Mmmmmmaybe.

I don't think the reality of all of these changes will be seen by most of the watching public, they're only waiting for riders like your Bruni, Finn, Jackson etc... They're not waiting for people like Preston Williams who will now be relegated to IXS/Something etc...  But those guys work HARD for their chances in WCs... Sadly, that looks to be going away for them.

Some positives there, even if just undoing some of the bad decisions made before.

Unique career numbers though? Is it just me that thinks that's gimmicky BS?

I guess the rides can then make a brand out of it like Mm93, VR46, etc. they have a logo designed number which then gets to be their brand as much as anything

Unique career numbers though? Is it just me that thinks that’s gimmicky BS?

Its a motocross thing (which I guess they are going for, especially in DH, as well as taking the bits they want from F1). Having a lifetime number, and getting it printed on your jersey. helps with rider recognition. Although they seem to have dropped the rumoured rule about keeping one kit per season?

The number stays with you until you retire, and they pick in order of career wins. Please Greg, unretire yourself, pick Loics favourite number and then just never enter a race?

OK I take the point about personal branding, I suppose I just don't like it - it feels a bit lame to be copping stuff off of MX. DH is amazing. Have the confidence to be your own sport.

Plus I feel like they've got much bigger problems to spend time and effort addressing now anyway.

In don’t know if personalised numbers help

But as an xcc and xco viewer could really do with a clear guide to whose wearing what and when.

For example Evie Richard currently rides XCC is the rainbow as world champion and navy blue Trek kit in XCO. Mix in say 10 national champs jerseys that are also different between Saturday and
Sunday and it can get a bit head scratching

Who's gonna be first to register 69?

Jamie Whitham.

All sounds perfectly reasonable to me 20 teams in gravity with no limit on the number of riders they can have. Then the 15 invitation team. That’s still alot of riders to have at the races.

I agree the Continental series will be critical for those going to make the jumper to world level and being continental based should make them cheaper for riders to afford to do the whole series something that’s hard to do now even if you live in Europe

Jamie Whitham

I was going to say whoever spends the most time upside down in a gravel trap 🙂

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.”

Wow (Or Whoop?).

I agree the Continental series will be critical for those going to make the jumper to world level and being continental based should make them cheaper for riders to afford to do the whole series something that’s hard to do now even if you live in Europe

@chrismac

I don't follow... explain a bit ?

@chrismac

Its a 4 rider per category limit for the teams.

And who's picking up the bill for a Continental Series with less coverage and hence less return for sponsors?  Not WBD, from what Chris Ball said in the most recent interview. They've certainly cherry picked the most lucrative parts of the sport and are expecting others to cover the cost of brining new talent to their show.

It could be argued that due to huge participation numbers, the past WC race organisers were picking up the pieces because of a lack of infrastructure at lower levels. The attendance was so high because there was no viable feeder race circuit.

I know that it will be argued that iXS was that series, but it was not created to run within any solid international framework. Even this season they initially had a calendar clash with a French DH cup in Les Arcs for their race in Les 2 Alpes. Adding the UEC administration to the organisational mix should hopefully put to bed any scheduling oversights.

@chrismac

I don’t follow… explain a bit ?

Ok I will try.

At the moment if you don’t happen to live in Europe there is nothing between national level racing and world cups. So any budding rider has to jump straight to world cups which as often discussed is very Europe centric. This is expensive if you don’t live in Europe and must be even harder for juniors if the are still at school or need parental supervision because of thier age.

If the other major biking continents had a continental series that mirrored the ixs cup in Europe then 2 things could happen.

firstly it would be more affordable to get to race at continental level events becuase you don’t need either long hall flights or to commit to moving to Europe for 6 months of the year, something especially hard for juniors.

secondly if continental series become the gateway to world cups and where the elite teams spot the talent and allows riders to prove themselves then they will become more popular which hopefully will make them more attractive to organisers and resorts to put on.

I may have a rose tinted view, but it is how most other sports work and grow talent so I dont see why dh is any different.

The real question is why isn’t there a US continental series, or if there is it’s not well reported,

 I suppose I just don’t like it

I consider myself a fan of the sport in so much as I'll watch Vital's practice videos on You Tube, and I often struggle to pick out who I'm watching unless I can recognize their kit or for some of the women, the hair poking out the back of the helmet. If I know that Bruni ha a giant number 1 on his shirt or Luca Shaw is 22 or whatever; then that'll be cool.

Also, good to see an increase in the numbers of women's elite going through to the final. Good racing, and there's plenty of talent coming through.

The real question is why isn’t there a US continental series, or if there is it’s not well reported,

https://prodownhillseries.com/

thanks @pothead

I've said this before, and I still think the same; Downhill & XC are too different, and should be run separately. Look at ski-ing. XC & Alpine are never run together, they're completely different sports, as are Downhill, and XC in MTB. They quite often have different sets of fans - just look at Pinkbike, Vital, even on here......MTB racing usually means Gravity.

I don't think having one Promoter for all the different MTB racing disciplines is sensible. XCMarathon isn't working, and is treated as a 2nd class sport......Enduro isn't much better either.

Also, good to see an increase in the numbers of women’s elite going through to the final. Good racing, and there’s plenty of talent coming through.

agreed. In past years, I would have agreed with the 10:30, 20:60, 20:80 gender splits. The lowest couple of women looked out of their depth.

this year though, it’s been reversed. You could believe that any of the qualified women could win or podium.
happy for someone to correct my maths but I think there are 8 current (un retired) women who have won a World Cup. Compared to 17 men. So a 2:1 split is fair. If they are all healthy at the same time that’s a hugely competitive event.

@chrismac being pedantic, you can't have a us continental series because the us isn't a continent.

You’re quite correct. North American then

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/explainer-what-are-the-entry-pathways-for-the-2025-downhill-and-enduro-world-cups.html

Well that's going to shake it up over winter. Plenty of riders going to be moving teams now to bring their new squads into the automatic slots.

Anna Newkirk, Coulanges, Hrastnik for example... they'll all be prime contracts for 2025 as they bring a load of point to up the ante.

Downhill & XC are too different, and should be run separately

OTOH, it makes for a great weekend of racing for fans. Get a full weekend of action and broadcast logistics don't have to move.

DH / XCO / XCC at Les Gets and for example Lenzerheide  together. It's a great long weekend of action.

Well that’s going to shake it up over winter. Plenty of riders going to be moving teams now to bring their new squads into the automatic slots.

Anna Newkirk, Coulanges, Hrastnik for example… they’ll all be prime contracts for 2025 as they bring a load of point to up the ante.

It certainly will. On the one had you will have riders as you suggest who ow have more value as they bring points to the team to get the team spots. Equally some of the teams will have more value as they have the points and so might be willing to take an up and comer who hasn’t got the points themselves. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

The really vulnerable riders a those who have the points, but their team doesn’t and are part way through multi year contracts. Will they be able to get out of their contracts to move to a team that is racing? Time for their managers to read the small print in those contracts.

Will they be able to get out of their contracts to move to a team that is racing? Time for their managers to read the small print in those contracts

Yeah that's the question for a fair few i bet. There's random outliers like the bloke from Malaysia and China who have points but don't race WCs, they'd be worth signing just for letting them race their own series but giving the points.

It's all a bit bonkers and certainly for this year/25 i don't know what's going to happen but they seem to have put structures in place to move the dates closer to start of the season for 26 to align things a bit more.

Looks like it’s only the top 4 riders on your team that count, so handing out a few jerseys and a discounted bike, filling your team of 10, to ‘buy’ the points of people who have picked up a couple from some obscure national event might not be the way to go.

From the Pink bike explainer

There is also the chance for a team to be given one of five wild card invitations, granted at the discretion of the UCI.

Is that going to be attractive or viable for a team? set up. Employ people, commit to a seasons racing on the chance of an entry? Seems unlikely to me.

Is that going to be attractive or viable for a team? set up. Employ people, commit to a seasons racing on the chance of an entry? Seems unlikely to me.

I guess that depends on what that process is and timings. If it’s from existing teams and decisions are made in a timely manner so those teams not successful aren’t invested into next year and more importantly their riders and staff know the outcome in time to still make 2025 plans then fine. If it’s a slow process that takes too long then it really will be a shambles and unfair on those affected

I guess that depends on what that process is and timings.

I guess so. I wonder how it works if you're looking to become a team trying to break into World Cup racing though? That Pinkbike article isn't that clear. At one point it talks about 5 wildcards team entries,and then 8 team entries?

Five Wildcard Team Entries:

If a team is not offered a World Series Team status then the next best option will be aiming for a season-long Wildcard entry. The season-long Wildcard entry will grant a maximum of five teams the full UCI MTB World Series status

And at the same time...

UCI MTB Team Wildcard

If a team is not selected for World Series status then there is the chance to be selected for one of eight UCI MTB Team wildcards.

Clear as mud

I think the Wildcard of the first type gets you the full season

Wildcard 2 gets you entry to a particular event.

@weeksy - correct.

Although for the type 2 wildcard one months notice of selection to compete is a bit harsh. Not much time to prepare or sort out accommodation etc.

None of the team invitation should be things the UCI have to learn though. It's exactly the same process as the road uses. At the 3 grand tours all world tour teams go plus 3 (I think) wild card teams get an invite.

Here's a question.

The new Continental series - is that a series spread across the continent or a series for each continent?

Neither.

Sadly.

Who's to say?

As I understand it, uniquely from a European perspective, the series will be comprised of races that are part of national cup races and standalone events.

Well WBD ain't going to set up a series, so that's all it can be currently. No one can design and set up a euro series in the next 4 months for example.

So something like an IXS, UK national, Portugal cup, french cup but all given a title as Euro Conti Series is possible I guess. All they have to do then is allocate points and give it a name

That’s interesting if they do some combination of existing events. Might be a logistical challenge for the lower teams and the semi pros to do them all.
I had assumed it was going to be the IXS did Europe and the monster series* for NA.

* 25 will be much the same as 24, but I’ve seen rumours in two separate places of a big expansion/change for the 26 season.

I love that WB and the UCI seem to think that the sport is so rich that it can afford to support all these new events and the level of professionalism it expects at the new World Cup series.  Hopefully the increased exposure they're bringing (lol) will bring in a host of new outside sponsors with deep pockets.

There won't be any new events @Speeder, the continental series will be piggybacking on existing national races at least for the foreseeable future.

I had assumed it was going to be the IXS did Europe and the monster series* for NA.

That was my assumption too. I have no idea if there is something similar in South America, Asia or Australasia.

In someways by restricting access to WCDH it might increase interest and therefore sponsor value if more riders are racing in these series rather than jumping up to WC. Would you be better getting a top 10 at an IXS event than never making the broadcast part of a WC race. Would that offer sponsors more exposure?

That's an interesting one, I asked similar to @benpinnick over on a PB comment section and his answer was that he'd rather see his rider battle for higher spots in UK races, than not qualifying at at higher race.

Whether he's unique in that, I don't know, but it certainly gave me some thoughts to ponder over myself.

It's an incredibly hard thing to know when it comes to sponsors as to how to keep them happy and it can be a minefield with conflicts of interest and discussions. I only hope we're doing it right.

Obviously this is only National level stuff not worlds, but a basis on a theme for sure.

Well it certainly won't bring any more exposure to iXS if they're no longer a continental race series sponsor for 2025...

Sad fact of the day: there are no North and South American cycling federations, only a Pan American one. Somebody is going to have their work cut out for them organising that continental series.

For sure "Continental Series" sound good and almost plausible until you realise that for most, the travel costs involved won't be dissimilar to an existing World Cup. They've just made everything next level expensive, for everyone.

For sure “Continental Series” sound good and almost plausible until you realise that for most, the travel costs involved won’t be dissimilar to an existing World Cup

The costs for UK racers racing over to EU races is honestly horrible. You're looking at £300 in train/ferry costs, then £300-400 to get to the location and back home. Add in even the cheapest accomodation for 3-4 nights and you're up at £1200 for the weekend racing. At best you could arguably do it for £900 if you camp and eat cheaply out of the van. But it's still a lot of cash. Add in £125 for race entry for an IXS and you're over a grand for the weekend.

None of that of course includes anything else like tyres, pads, chains, spares etc etc.. Just the direct costs.

One day on the thread for my lad i may put on a total in terms of yearly costings.... but i'm not sure i want to scare myself that much 😀

Looked at the IXS calendar for next year, lots of the races are doubled up on consecutive weekends and adjacent countries. So doing 2 races isnt double the cost.

Still a huge amount, I clearly dont have the "racer" mindset as I could have a much better time on my bike with that amount of money and time invested.

Looked at the IXS calendar for next year, lots of the races are doubled up on consecutive weekends and adjacent countries. So doing 2 races isnt double the cost.

Certainly an option for us yes, but then you've still got 5 extra days you need to either camp for or Airbnb etc.

Where you seeing 2025 dates ? I can only find Willingen

@ayjaydoubleyou

Got a link for that calendar? I was under the impression that they're only organising a smattering of German C2 races next year.

Beaten to it by Weeksy's edit

Preview of La Thuile track for next year:

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-first-tracks-on-the-fresh-la-thuile-downhill-world-cup-course.html

Apparently steeper than it looks, and hopefully not as bike-parky either.

Knowing the Aosta Valley a bit, I reckon they can pull something good off.

Ah... my mistake, googled 2025 dates, clicked the link, didnt realise I was looking at this years <facepalm emoji>

UCI website has

https://www.uci.org/calendar/mtb/1voMyukVGR4iZMhMlDfRv0?discipline=MTB&searchTerm=IXS&raceCategory=ME&raceType=DHI

Three dates, Willingen in May, Ilmenau in Auguest, and un-named Swiss venue in OCtober.

None on consecutive weekends (not even consecutive months!) so ignore my previous comments...

No worries, thanks for trying buddy