2026: what awaits us and what will Nové Město BE LIKE?

In just a few weeks, the new racing stories of the 2026 season will slowly begin to unfold in the southern countries. However, we will have to wait until May for the first World Cups, so there is still plenty of time to discuss what it will be like. And thus whet your appetite for the strong sports stories that undoubtedly await us in the new season!

Endurance disciplines

The UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES calendar will be significantly changed in 2026, with three of the season's nine XC races taking place in completely new locations. The most traditional host, Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada, is leaving the series for 2026, having hosted World Cups and World Championships every year since the first year that mountain bike competitions at this highest level were established (1991). Val di Sole, another traditional host, is also missing from the calendar for the 2026 season, as the Italians will host the World Championships at the end of August. However, there are rumors in the pits that Val di Sole may not return to the SERIES after the World Championships. However, this is unconfirmed information for now, only time will tell us more. The South American stop in Araxá, Brazil, which was very difficult to access and organizationally and financially complicated for most of the competitors, teams and other ensemble, will not be repeated either.

The very first part of the 2026 series will unfold in a completely new territory: the race will be held in South Korea in early May at the iconic Olympic MONA YongPyong resort, where the first ever Asian UCI XCO and XCC World Cup race and the first UCI DHI World Cup race on this continent in 25 years will take place! The next new stop of the series is planned to La Thuile in Valle d’Aosta, Italy (early July), where the downhill and enduro World Cup races were held in 2025 and cross-country will be added from this year. And at the end of the season, also to Utah, USA, where the race will be held at another Olympic racetrack in Soldier Hollow, known primarily as the venue for the biathlon World Cup races.

In addition to new locations, the endurance calendar will include a number of traditional stops, such as our home event of Nové Město, followed by Austrian Leogang and Pal Arinsal in Andorra, where the best Czech rider Ondřej Cink traditionally thrives, or Swiss Lenzerheide, French Les Gets and the American Lake Placid, which has been well-tested over the past 2 years.

Nové Město will innovate again!

Nové Město is planned as the second stop of the series and, like every year, it has a number of new things prepared for the fans and riders alike! Many of them are related to the recent announcement that the 2029 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS will be held on Czech soil! There will be a program for the whole family: specifically, activities for women, smaller and older children and of course for men, regardless of age and cycling preferences. There are many interesting fringe events for lovers of trails and enduro in negotiations, as well as a special program for e-bikers. New accompanying activities, such as skills contests, will delight primarily sports-oriented visitors. New program will be introduced also for schools and school groups from the Vysočina Region (Thursday, Friday)! But we already wrote about all this in detail in the previous article, as well as about free Saturday tickets.

Gravity disciplines

In downhill and enduro, the calendar also experienced a year-on-year changes. Downhillers will enjoy a completely new track in the aforementioned South Korea at the start of the season. Then they will complete a series of more or less proven European racing venues in the following order: Loudenvielle (France), Leogang (Austria), Lenzerheide (Switzerland), La Thuile (Italy), Pal Arinsal (Andorra) and Les Gets (France). The most important and most anticipated stop will come at the end of September, when they will race for the first time in the iconic Canadian resort of Whistler. The penultimate race of the season will be held there, and the following week the riders will finish the season in Lake Placid, USA.

On the enduro calendar it is worth noting that all the stops will take place in Europe and unfortunately there are only 6 of them, which makes enduro the least numerous series compared to the other disciplines of the SERIES: cross-country, short track and downhill have all 9 stops. In addition, out of the six enduro races, 2 will take place in Italy and 2 in France - the international scope of the series is therefore reduced compared to previous years. Three of the races will take place as separate events (enduro only), the remaining three are part of larger events where other disciplines are also competed.

The enduro riders will first present themselves at the end of May in Loudenvielle, France (together with the downhill riders), before moving on to Leogang, Austria, where one of the two mega-events of the 2026 season will take place, in which all 4 WORLD SERIES disciplines will be presented side by side. The next enduro event will be more intimate: the Italian Val di Fassa traditionally organizes a race only in enduro. On the other hand, La Thuile (the following week and the first weekend in July) will follow with another mega-event with all other disciplines. The next Swiss stop at the Aletsch Glacier will again be more intimate, and the last enduro stop in Morillon, France will feel calmer as well: although it takes place very close to Les Gets, where the XC disciplines and downhill is held, the enduro race takes place a week earlier, so the accumulation of all competitors here will not be as notable as in Leogang or La Thuile earlier in the season.

2026 will be worth it

The 2026 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES will feature a total of 14 race weekends spread over 6 months from May to October. Four stops will be held at iconic Olympic venues, the series will also visit the spiritual mecca of mountain biking in Whistler, and other stops will rise at popular sporting venues on three continents. The world’s best riders will be taking part in the event, and that’s the best invitation we could ask for! Are you excited?