The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports have published the list of UCI teams for mountain bike for the 2026 season.
There are two types of UCI teams for mountain bike: WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Teams and UCI Mountain Bike Teams. The former, numbering 40, are divided into two categories: Endurance (cross-country Olympic and short track) and Gravity (downhill and enduro). Each of these categories has 20 teams.
In total, including all types of teams, 83 UCI teams for mountain bike from 20 countries (on three continents) have been registered for the coming season. The full list can be found on the UCI website.
Under the UCI Mountain Bike Regulations, the status of WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team guarantees teams' participation in all rounds of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in their respective speciality. Fifteen of these teams (per category) obtained this status based on the annual UCI Team Ranking (as of 28 October 2025), in accordance with Article 4.18.002 of the UCI Mountain Bike Regulations. Of these, the 10 top teams in each category (Endurance and Gravity) have been awarded WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status for a period of two years. The other five teams (per category) have been awarded a wild card for the season – based on an assessment of several criteria, including their place in the 2025 UCI Team Ranking and the profile of their athletes – giving them WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status and therefore the right to participate in all WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series events in their speciality.
For teams that have not been awarded WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team status, eight wild cards per format are available for each round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. The teams benefiting from these wild cards are chosen taking into account factors – among others – such as their position in the UCI Team Ranking for the current season and the profile of their athletes.
The following athletes will also be eligible to participate in rounds of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series:
Olympic Champions (cross-country Olympic), UCI World Champions, Continental Champions and National Champions in their respective formats;
any Elite category athlete ranked in the top 100 or any Under 23 category athlete ranked in the top 200 of the latest UCI cross-country Olympic Individual Ranking established before the registration deadline;
any Elite category athlete ranked in the top 50 or any Junior category athlete ranked in the top 100 of the latest UCI Individual Downhill Ranking established before the registration deadline.
In addition, extra places are reserved for the best athletes from the Continental Championships and the UCI Mountain Bike Continental Series according to a set of criteria. Each National Federation also has the option of registering three additional athletes per round, who will wear their national colours (ref. Article 4.18.002 of the UCI Mountain Bike Regulations).