New historic change in mountain biking: the UCI presents the MTB Continental Series

The International Cycling Union has announced another significant change in the development of competitive mountain biking with the creation of the Continental Series, set to debut in 2025. These new events will be included in the UCI international MTB calendar and aim to expand opportunities for cyclists from all regions of the world to reach the UCI World Cup.

UCI Launches Continental Mountain Bike Series in 2025 as a springboard to the World Cup

Last September, the UCI Management Committee approved a series of events in Zurich, Switzerland, as part of a collaboration with the promoter of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD).

These Continental Series events will award points equivalent to those of Hors Classe (HC) events, and offer cyclists a great opportunity to advance in the UCI Individual Ranking.

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The Continental Series will feature 28 events distributed across three continents:

• America: 12 events (7 XCO and 5 DH)
• Europe: 9 events (4 XCO, 4 DH plus 1 double)
• Oceania: 7 events (2 XCO, 4 XCO and 1 double)

Golden Tickets to participate in World Cup events

It is worth noting that starting in 2025 participation in all World Cup events will be restricted only to the top 15 ranked teams plus another 5 invited by the organization. Apart from those, only a few external cyclists will be able to compete based on different classifications, such as those of the Continental Series.

In the Anglo-Saxon world, Golden Tickets are direct passes that allow you to enter a race, and one of the key points of these Series is the possibility to qualify for World Cup events:

• Top 5 in each race: The top five cyclists in each Continental Series event will have access to an invitation to a World Cup event.
• Top 5 in the overall ranking: The top five in the overall ranking of the Continental Series will have the right to participate in all rounds of the following season.

The creation of these Series follows the path of total renovation that mountain biking has started since the UCI and Warner Bros partnered a couple of seasons ago.