The 2026 Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships take place in Mentougou, Beijing, China, on 17 October 2026 and return as a standalone event after being incorporated into the wider UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 2025. It will be the first time China has hosted the UCI Pump Track World Championships.
The history of the UCI Pump Track World Championships
2018 saw the first Pump Track World Championships in Arkansas, USA, where Swiss riders David Graf and Christa von Niederhäusern took the men’s and women’s titles. A year later, the first UCI-sanctioned Pump Track World Championships happened in Köniz-Oberried near Bern, Switzerland. Nearly 100 riders competed after qualifying events held worldwide. American Tommy Zula took the men’s crown while countrywoman Payton Ridenour won the women’s title.
The 2020 edition was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but returned in style in Lisbon, Portugal in 2021, where France’s Eddy Clerté and Belgium’s Aiko Gommers won the men’s and women’s UCI world titles, respectively. In 2022, UCI Pump Track World Championships played out in Santiago, Chile. Switzerland’s Christa von Niederhäusern won the women’s title for the second time, while the Netherlands’ Niels Bensink romped home in the men’s. Hosting the event in South America revealed the ever-growing popularity of the sport.
In 2023, the Championships were held indoors for the first time, at Area 47 bike park in Tyrol, Austria. American rider Alec Bob won the men’s title, while von Niederhäusern became the first rider to retain a UCI Pump Track World Championship title. It was also her third world crown.
A new generation emerged in 2024, as Australia’s Ryan Gilchrist and Czech rider Sabina Košárková took the honours in Durban, South Africa. Gilchrist’s victory proved particularly significant as he became the first rider from the Southern Hemisphere to win the UCI world title. Then in 2025, France’s Eddy Clerté became the first man to win the championships twice after his 2021 victory, while Košárková retained her crown.
The format
The UCI Pump Track World Championships are one of the most distinctive events in cycling, as they combine elements of BMX Racing, mountain bike and freestyle riding. Riders balance on the pedals and pump with their arms, legs and body to move forward. Successful riders are those who possess the ability to generate speed through subtle body movement, while optimising the track through a mix of tactical awareness and precise handling.
Many youngsters start their cycling journeys on pump tracks, specially designed circuits that feature a series of rollers, undulations, berms (banked corners) and bridging sections where riders need to maintain momentum.
Its name derives from the standout skill of the discipline: the pumping technique. This is where riders push their bodyweight down onto the bike at the relevant parts of the track and ‘unweighing’ it over rises, in an effort to create forward momentum. Optimising the contours of the circuit also generates speed, which is needed as pump track racing is a timed competition.
Riders must qualify for the UCI Pump Track World Championships at one of the events of the qualifying series, which in 2026 concluded with the Dutch qualifier in Loosdrecht at the end of September.
The competition format is usually broken down into…
Practice. As the name suggests this is where riders undertake a designated practice session where they can learn about the minutiae of the track, hone which lines are quickest (and avoid lines that are slowest) and mentally prepare for the fierce competition ahead.
Timed qualification. This is where riders complete timed runs to establish their ranking for the elimination rounds. This can involve individual runs or an open session where riders can complete multiple laps, with their fastest lap counting.
Elimination rounds. The fastest riders progress through successive rounds. This progression flows from the top 32 to the top 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, depending on the event’s field size and format. At the 2026 Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships, the first elimination round is the top 16
‘Small final’ and ‘big final’. The two slower semi-finalists contest the ‘small final’ for third place, while the two fastest contest the ‘big final’ for the world title. In these finals, each rider has one run and the fastest time wins.