The SCOTT SRAM team stays, but other historic XCO teams are on the brink

There are only two races left for the XCO World Cup 2025 to end and there is still a lot at stake. Until a couple of seasons ago, all the attention was focused on the fight for the overall classification, but this year there is an even more decisive issue that could shape the future of several teams.

The new UCI regulations put historic XCO teams in check

With the new UCI regulations, only the teams that finish within the Top 15 of the team ranking, as of October, will be guaranteed a spot in all the races of the 2026 season. The rest will depend on specific invitations and exceptions, which will only allow some riders to compete based on their individual results and victories.

This makes the last two stops of the calendar true finals for several squads that still do not have their place secured among the top fifteen.

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A clear example is the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team, which until a few weeks ago was in a very compromised situation: it was in 16th position and could not count on two of its key riders to score, Filippo Colombo, injured, and Nino Schurter, already retired. However, the team led by Thomas Frischknecht played a key card by incorporating Fabio Puntener just before the ranking deadline. The Swiss, currently number one in the world, allowed all his points earned this year to be added, which catapulted SCOTT-SRAM up more than five positions and gave them peace of mind for 2026.

The situation is very different for other historic teams in the World Cup such as BMC Factory Racing, Ghost Factory Racing, BH Coloma Team, or Mondraker Factory Racing XC. They have all had a complicated season, marked by various setbacks and the high level of new cyclists and emerging structures. As a result, they have missed out on secure positions and will play their immediate future in the last two races of the season.

This is the Top 25 of the UCI team ranking as of September 30. In October, the final list will be confirmed, with the top 15 securing their spot in the XCO World Cup 2026:

1. SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING - 6034 pts
2. DECATHLON FORD RACING TEAM - 5705 pts
3. THÖMUS MAXON - 5499 pts
4. CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING - 5463 pts
5. CANYON CLLCTV XCO - 5433 pts
6. WILIER-VITTORIA FACTORY TEAM - 5390 pts
7. ORBEA FOX FACTORY TEAM - 5065 pts
8. SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING TEAM - 4888 pts
9. CUBE FACTORY RACING - 4830 pts
10. BIXS PERFORMANCE RACE TEAM - 4307 pts
11. TREK FACTORY RACING - PIRELLI - 4268 pts
12. ORIGINE RACING DIVISION - 4213 pts
13. GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM - XC - 4149 pts
14. KMC RIDLEY MTB RACING TEAM - 3810 pts
15. LAPIERRE RACING UNITY - 3804 pts
16. GHOST FACTORY RACING - 3634 pts
17. BH COLOMA TEAM - 3585 pts
18. MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING XC - 3385 pts
19. LIV FACTORY RACING - 3188 pts
20. KTM FACTORY MTB TEAM - 3092 pts
21. BMC FACTORY RACING - 2633 pts
22. MASSI - 2631 pts
23. LEXWARE MOUNTAINBIKE TEAM - 2538 pts
24. CABTECH RACING TEAM - 2458 pts
25. THÖMUS AKROS - YOUNGSTARS - 2302 pts