The UCI announces the 40 "first division" teams in MTB

With just over a month to go until the start of the 2025 MTB World Cup, the International Cycling Union (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports have announced the official list of teams that will compete in the top category of the global MTB.

UCI announces the first Mountain Bike World Series Teams

Since the arrival of WBD Sports to the UCI MTB World Cup, the competition has experienced some of the most significant changes in the sport's history since its creation in 1991. According to the organizers, these modifications have been made to increase the competitiveness of each event and establish a clear path for the development of new talent in elite mountain biking, with this new team classification standing out among them.

A total of 40 teams have secured their top-level status, guaranteeing their participation in all rounds of the series within their respective disciplines: Endurance (XCO and XCM) and Gravity (Downhill - DHI).

For the 2025 season, the UCI implemented new registration requirements. All interested teams had to register to be recognized as a UCI Mountain Bike Team or as a WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team (previously known as UCI MTB Elite Teams).

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In total, 101 teams from 22 countries and 4 continents applied for the 2025 season. Of these, only 40 teams achieved the status of WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team. The theoretical selection was based on their UCI points, the top 15 plus 5 invitations, in each category.

Endurance Category (XCO/XCM)

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

Gravity Category (Downhill - DHI)

1. AON Racing - Tourne Campervans
2. Axess Intense Factory Racing
3. Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team
4. Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres
5. Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction
6. Continental Atherton
7. Cube Factory Racing
8. Frameworks Racing / 5DEV
9. Giant Factory Off-Road Team - DH
10. Mondraker Factory Racing
11. MS-Racing
12. Norco Race Division
13. Orbea / FMD Racing
14. Pivot Factory Racing
15. Santa Cruz Syndicate
16. Scott Downhill Factory
17. Specialized Gravity
18. Trek Factory Racing DH
19. Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team
20. YT Mob

Wildcard Teams and Individual Riders

For those teams that did not secure a spot on the official list, the UCI has allocated eight Wildcard spots per discipline in each round of the MTB World Cup. These spots will be assigned based on UCI rankings and the profile of the cyclists from each team.

In addition, individual riders can still compete in the series if they meet certain requirements, such as being national, continental, world, or Olympic champions. They can also qualify if they are within the Top 100 of the UCI XCO ranking or the Top 50 of the UCI DHI ranking.

Another classification system is the Golden Ticket, which is awarded to the top five cyclists in each race of a Continental Series, allowing them to compete in a WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series event within the same season.

Starting in 2026, the top five cyclists in each category in the final ranking of the Continental Series will automatically gain access to all rounds of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, provided they are not registered with a top-level team.