More stability, less renewal: how have the UCI World Cup XCO teams changed?

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup has already presented its list of World Series teams for the 2026 season. A highly anticipated announcement as it is the first made under the new qualification criteria, a system that on paper seemed complex and was expected to provoke deep changes.

We analyze the World Team entries and exits for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2026

Once the final result was analyzed, the conclusion is that the new model barely alters the scenario compared to 2025. In fact, in the Endurance (XCO) category, there is only one real entry and one exit, with a single team that can be considered the big loser of the system.

What would have happened if sports criteria had been followed?

The 20 World Series spots for XCO in 2026 almost entirely correspond to the Top 20 of the UCI team ranking at the end of the 2025 season (October 28).

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If access had been decided solely by sports ranking, the result would have been practically the same. The only relevant difference is that Lapierre Racing Unity, which occupied the 15th position in the ranking, does not enter in 2026 as it has dissolved, and the KTM Factory MTB Team, 20th in the ranking, loses its spot despite meeting the sports criteria.

Instead, the organization has opted to include BMC and Alpecin, teams situated outside the Top 20 of the UCI ranking.

Top 20 of the UCI ranking (October 28, 2025)

1. Specialized Factory Racing 
2. Decathlon Ford Racing Team 
3. Canyon CLLCTV XCO 
4. Cannondale Factory Racing 
5. Thömus Maxon 
6. Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team 
7. Orbea Fox Factory Team 
8. Cube Factory Racing 
9. Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team 
10. BIXS Performance Race Team 
11. Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli 
12. Origine Racing Division 
13. KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team 
14. Giant Factory Off-Road Team - XC 
15. Lapierre Racing Unity 
16. Ghost Factory Racing 
17. BH Coloma Team 
18. Liv Factory Racing 
19. Mondraker Factory Racing XC 
20. KTM Factory MTB Team 

Direct comparison between teams 2025 vs 2026 (Endurance): BIXS enters and KTM is the big loser

If we now focus only on the changes from 2025 to 2026, the only truly new entry in the 2026 World Series list is the BIXS Performance Race Team. The Swiss team, which in 2025 had to compete without a fixed spot, had one of the best seasons of the year and closed the ranking within the Top 10, earning its place solely through sports results.

Their entry coincides with the exit of Lapierre Racing Unity which officially announced its dissolution a few weeks ago, freeing up one of the spots. Because although Ghost also announced its closure, we have finally learned that its structure has changed to a new Lapierre PRX, "only" a name change.

If the spots had been assigned strictly by the Top 20 of the UCI ranking, the result would have been identical… with one important exception: the KTM Factory MTB Team.

The Austrian team finished 2025 in the 20th position in the ranking, which in a purely sports system would have guaranteed access. However, the organization has prioritized other structures and has granted a spot to BMC (26th in the ranking) and to Alpecin, which closed the year in the 32nd position and had already competed in 2025 thanks to a wildcard.

This makes KTM the team most clearly harmed by the application of the new model.

The debut of the new World Series system leaves the impression that it changes the form, but not the substance. The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2026 maintains the Endurance paddock practically intact. Stability is greater, but so is the difficulty for new projects to enter the elite.