Leaked document reveals MTB World Cup plans for 2025

In a leaked document titled ‘2025 MTB Reform, Evolution of Mountain Bike Racing’, the UCI and Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) set out proposed changes for the racing year ahead.

Now, obviously this document has been leaked to us, and perhaps it’s a ‘pre-production prototype’ to be replaced by a future draft, but its contents certainly match much of what the pit-talk has been recently.

For an in-depth discussion of this document among those who frequent the race circuit, talk to team managers on a regular basis, and are in daily contact with pro-riders, we recommend you tune in to the Making Up The Numbers podcast. Here’s our take – and questions – about how next year’s season will shape up, and the potential impact for the industry. Remember – this is what we think we’re seeing, and the document we have is of the presentation variety, rather than a full UCI rule book or race handbook.

The Disciplines

It appears that there are plans to tighten up the categories, with 0-100mm travel being XC, Enduro being restricted to 140-160mm, and DH being 180mm and up. At least, we think that’s what’s being suggested – it’s not completely clear if it will be a UCI-style technical restriction, or just that courses will be designed with these types of bikes in mind. E-Enduro’s World Cup is to be ‘paused’, although it appears that the E-Enduro World Series may continue.

For bike companies that have invested in the burly 170-180mm travel enduro race bikes, this may come as quite a blow – although these will surely remain a popular choice among the bike park riding public. Likewise, brands that have invested heavily in lightweight e-enduro race bikes may also feel short changed. The document suggests that during the ‘pause’ there will be discussions with brands as to the future format – one might assume that this will be looking to define some of the technical parameters, such as battery capacity, torque, and perhaps whether you can swap batteries during the event? Whatever decisions are made here, it will be interesting to see whether the consumer market is all that bothered – like performance cars vs daily drivers, you might well imagine that the average e-MTB rider doesn’t care too much for the race performance stuff, instead seeking out durability and ride quality.

There is to be a rule change to allow ‘HC’ events (Hors Category, the top level courses) to take place in more countries – currently, events can only be classified as HC after three years of being a C1 event, as well as other conditions associated with the level of riders attending the event. Changing these rules could potentially allow brand new events to enter the calendar – potentially creating an opportunity for countries or locations wanting to create an Olympic-like spectacle to spotlight the scene. On the one hand, this could make things interesting and open up new riding destinations – but on the other perhaps there’s a risk of ‘highest bidder’ destinations, as we’ve arguably seen happen in football and the Olympics.

There’s a clear expectation that DH will be ‘3 minutes of racing’. We already saw the Fort William track being sped up and straightened out to reduce the race times – will long courses like it be a thing of the past?

The Teams

There’s big news here for teams, in that there will be a maximum of 20 World Series Teams for Gravity (Enduro and DH), and 20 World Series Teams for Endurance (XC and Short Track). These teams will get the ‘all inclusive’ package of hospitality, paddock access, and race entries. 15 of the teams will be invited to be ‘World Series Teams on the basis of their previous year’s results, while 5 will be ‘wildcards’ given invitations on the basis of a matrix (more on that in a minute). Top 10 teams will be given ‘World Series Team’ status for two years. This level of team must field at least one rider at every World Cup event for DH or XCO.

The 5 wildcards will be given invitations to attend all races in a year on the basis of a matrix scoring system, which will take into account:

• UCI MTB team ranking, current & previous season
• Profile of any individual athletes
• Team composition (multi-category, multi-gender)
• Profile of team sponsors (out of industry, global, etc.)
• Media profile of team (social media, etc.)
• Any injury issues during current or previous season
• Anti-doping history

There will also be ‘UCI Mountain Bike Teams’ who can apply to be in the wildcard pool for individual events. These are pitched as a sort of ‘development team’ for the World Series Teams, and teams will be able to partner up. The UCI Mountain Bike Teams will not get guaranteed entry to races, and will have more limited race-side perks.

Teams can have a minimum of 3 riders and a maximum of 10 riders. Each team can field a maximum of 4 riders per event, and a World Series Team can field a partnered development team rider for an event if desired.

Eight of the ‘UCI MTB Teams’ in the wildcard pool will receive invites to individual events on the basis of a matrix, which takes into account:

• UCI MTB team ranking, current & previous season
• Profile of any individual athletes
• Team composition (multi-category, multi-gender)
• Profile of team sponsors (out of industry, global, etc.)
• Media profile of team (social media, etc.)
• Any injury issues during current or previous season
• Anti-doping history
• Home country of team
• Continental Series team standing

The ‘profile’ elements are interesting. Will we see influencers and/or big brands getting invites over the top of low-key but fast riders? It would certainly add a new layer of nuance to team structures and sponsorship. The pressure to take on a high profile sponsor regardless of their ethics or fit with the sport might well grow – is this a huge sports-washing opportunity in the making?

While there’s the potential for those outside the (can we say cosseted?) World Series teams to get into a race, and perhaps even into finals, the invitational element seems to stack things against them. The document we’ve seen says invitations will be issued 4 weeks prior to the event – which doesn’t leave much room for booking flights, hotels, mechanics, support etc. They certainly won’t be able to book travel etc months in advance and take advantage of lower prices.

The attendance requirement will surely favour teams with a budget big enough to afford riders on the bench – or a development team partner. Perhaps there’s a risk here that riders on smaller teams may find themselves under pressure to compete before injuries are fully healed, in order to meet the attendance quota?

On the plus side, it’s good to see that multi-gender teams will be favoured – this should encourage teams to have more women than many do at present.

Individuals

There appears to still be a pathway to racing for individuals, although the logistics seem stacked in favour of the top flight ‘World Series Teams’.

Individuals will be able to enter through one of the following:

• National Federation quota – Elite: 3 per race, U23 XCO and Junior DHI: 4 per race
• Top 5 individual riders from previous season
• Continental Series overall standing
• Top 5 individual riders from each Continental Series round, ‘Golden ticket’ for 1 round of The UCI World Cup within the current season
• Any current National, Continental, Olympic or UCI World Champion
• In XCO Elite, any rider ranked in the top-100 of the UCI ranking
• In XCO U23, any rider ranked in the top-200 of the UCI ranking
• In DHI Elite, any rider ranked in the top-50 of the UCIranking
• In DHI Junior, any rider ranked in the top-100 of the UCI ranking

That does look to give lots of opportunities for individuals to enter, although we’re not clear on the fees that would be required, or the level of support/facilities available to them. The ‘World Series Team’ status appears to bring with it a degree of all-inclusive comfort and access, so it might be reasonable to assumer that these perks would not be available to individuals or lesser status teams.

What Is The Continental Series?

At present, this doesn’t exist, but the document we’ve seen suggests it will create a pathway to elite racing. However, it’s not clear whether WBD and/or the UCI will be funding these – like Premiership football clubs do with grassroots and youth squads – or whether it’s just a notion at this stage. What WBD/UCI is envisaging is:

• Series consisting of between 4 – 8 rounds per Continent
• Coordinated by Confederations / National Federations
• Comprises events registered on the UCI calendar
• Where possible HC class events (Cross-country, Downhill)
• Separate races for Junior, U23 & Elite
• Open participation, not restricted to only riders from that continent
• Series Standings for individuals & UCI Teams
• Parity across confederations. A rider’s best 4 rounds count for final continental series standings

Riders in the UK with an eye on pro racing may well want to start planning how to spend a chunk of time in Europe…

If the Continental Series get proper funding, it could spell a bright future with clear pathways through racing – but race organising is a tough job, and chasing races across a continent is a big ask for an individual or small team. It’ll take proper funding – and likely some broadcast coverage – to make this viable for many.

Race Day Changes

There are some big changes proposed for Downhill, with rider protection being scrapped. This might be a welcome leveller in a set up that seems like it will be tough for those outside the top flight.

Elite DH finals will see 30 men and 15 women competing. To get there, everyone will have to ride a Q1 qualifying round. The top 20 men and top 10 women will then go straight into the Final. For those outside those top spots, there’ll be a Q2 qualifying round, from which the fastest 10 men and 5 women will be added to the Finals start list.

Have a mechanical or a crash in Q1, and you’ll have to ride Q2 to bag those last Finals spots – even if you’re the World Champion. No protection means no one gets a free entry. Exciting – yes. But it also means that the riders who are likely to be outside the top flight and with the least support are going into the Finals the most tired, with two runs behind them. It’s a strong incentive to do well in Q1, which should make for exciting viewing… except that qualifying is not listed as being broadcast anywhere.

Can We Watch It?

Broadcasting seems to be a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, Juniors and Elites will get live broadcasts for most of the races, but the U23 XC events won’t be broadcast when the weekend is also hosting DH. It’s only Finals being broadcast, with no mention of any coverage for qualifications, or enduro.

There’s a bunch of ‘Fan Activations’ and press conference time listed into the sample weekend schedules, but there’s no track walk, and no details on any other media options. It would have been nice to see other broadcasters being able to show qualifications, for example.

Pick Your Number

It appears that there is to be more emphasis on riders as personalities, and teams as brands, with new rules around kit colours and branding. Riders will also be able to choose a ‘career’ number, so you can follow rider 101 until they retire, or whatever. The current series leader will swap out for plate 01 for each race, and will also get a Leaders’ Jersey.

Who will claim lucky number 7? Should we raise an eyebrow at whoever chooses 88? Will someone cheekily want 69? Or someone new age want 111? Will numerolgy consultants be added to the list of expenses?

In Brief

That’s quite the list. What does it add up to? The document we’ve seen says the goals are:

• Elevate the UCI World Cup – Elevate the pinnacle of the sport through more focused racing. Celebrating the world’s best riders and teams
• Create a pathway – Build a strong sporting pathway for riders and teams. From National to Continental, to UCI World Cup
• Multi-year commitments to teams – Support long-term planning, budgeting, athlete contracts, infrastructure development
• Team focus – Greater exposure for brands, increased value of teams
• Clear rules, build rider identities – Increase the promotion of riders, build heroes and increase fan engagement
• Promotion – To provide more opportunities for marketing, media and fan engagement

It does feel to us like there’s a big emphasis on teams, especially on a handful of elite teams. We can’t help but wonder how many brands will be able to afford it.

While it’s great to watch the best riders duke it out on ever tighter margins on the clock, there has always been a great joy, especially in DH racing, in seeing the privateer who has the run of their life. It seems like the chances of this happening – of a Ronan Dunne of the future – are being made slimmer.

There are the right buzz words being used around progression and pathways, but the reality will depend hugely on the implementation of the Continental Series, and any federation support. Otherwise it’s all a bit like the fable of the stone and the soup – who is going to provide the vegetables?

We’ve asked Warner Brothers Discovery for comment and will update you if we hear back.

How does all this sound to you? Give the Making Up the Numbers podcast a listen too (also linked below), then add your thoughts to the comments.