UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and World Championship 2024: Everything you need to know

For many mountain bike fans and riders alike, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and World Championships are the highlights of the competitive season, when the greatest athletes in the world come together to determine who is the best of the best. Whether you’re new to the world of MTB and looking for an easy explainer of the many events, or a long-time fan who wants all the details on this year’s line-up, our guide will walk you through it all.  

What are the UCI MTB World Series and World Championships and what exactly is the difference between them?  

This year, the UCI MTB World Series comprises 14 events in six different disciplines, spanning 10 countries and six months. You might also hear events within the World Series referred to as World Cups. A season-long string of events in each discipline is structured into a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – which is what the riders are competing for at the end of their season. Where it gets a tiny bit confusing is that these World Cups altogether are referred to as the World Series. And to make matters worse, the term ‘World Cup’ is still often used to describe both the season-long competition as a whole, and individual events.  

While some participants may only enter one or two rounds of the Series, the top riders are more likely to compete at each round featuring their discipline (or disciplines). Competitors rack up points as they go, with the end goal of coming out on top at the end of the season.  

The stature of the UCI MTB World Series is huge in elite mountain biking, with around 900 elite riders competing in 2023. 

While the World Series unfolds over six months, the UCI MTB World Championships is a concentrated single event comprising races in four disciplines that take place over five days. It will be held this year in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.  

Riders come from all over the world to compete in their respective disciplines and the winner of each discipline comes away from the race as world champion, and gets to wear the rainbow banded world champion’s jersey for a year – just as with the UCI Road World Championships.  

Both World Series and World Championships are distinct from each other, but both make for fascinating entertainment. We’ll get into exactly where you’ll be able to watch the action later.  

The UCI MTB World Series encompasses five disciplines, each with its own unique characteristics. Enduro is further split into regular and e-bike: 

Description: Cross-country Olympic races are held on a circuit course with varied terrain, including technical descents, steep climbs, and singletrack sections. Riders complete multiple laps of the course.  

Format: Mass start with all riders starting together and racing to complete a set number of laps. Canyon riders will likely deploy the Lux World Cup. 

Description: XCM races are significantly longer than XCO, typically ranging from 60 to 100 kilometers or more, and take place over a single large loop or point-to-point. 

Format: Mass start with a longer endurance challenge, often over mixed terrain including trails, dirt roads, and technical sections. 

Description: XCC races are shorter, high-intensity races usually held on a short circuit of around 1 to 1.5 kilometers. 

Format: Mass start with riders completing a set number of laps, lasting around 20-25 minutes. 

Description: Downhill races are time-trial events where riders descend a steep, technical course as fast as possible. 

Format: Individual timed runs with the fastest time winning. Canyon’s elite riders choose the Sender CFR. 

Description: Enduro races consist of multiple timed downhill stages combined with untimed uphill or liaison stages. Riders are timed only on the descents. 

Format: Riders complete several stages over one or two days, with the total time from all timed stages determining the winner. Our enduro riders use the Strive CFR in competition.

Between the UCI MTB World Series and the UCI MTB World Championships, there are a ton of races to watch in 2024.  

Here’s the full calendar for the World Series:

The UCI MTB World Championships 2024 take place from August 28 to September 1 in Pal Arinsal, Andorra. Through the week, here are the events that will be taking place.  

• Wednesday, 28 August – E-MTB World Championships, Cross-country Team Relay World Championships 
• Thursday, 29 August – Junior Downhill World Championships 
• Friday, 30 August – Junior Cross-country World Championships, U23 and Elite Short Track World Championships 
• Saturday, 31 August – Elite Downhill World Championships 
• Sunday, 1 September – U23 and Elite Cross-country World Championships 

Finally, if longer form MTB racing is more your style, the UCI MTB Marathon World Championships take place on September 21 and 22, in Snowshoe, West Virginia, USA. You can also read all about our cross-country marathon riders in this rundown of their experience at the ABSA Cape Epic, the South African off-multi-stage off-road race.  

The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were first held in 1990, with the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cups being held the following year. The name ‘UCI MTB World Series’ was inaugurated in 2023, to help bring together all the disciplines.  

Over the seasons, the disciplines included in both events have changed. This year, for the first time, enduro and e-enduro will be included in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.  

The MTB World Series has also expanded further around the globe since its inception, now with rounds in South America, with two new locations in Brazil and four other new venues in Europe and North America.  

Learn more about the newest of the UCI’s major World Championships in our guide to the UCI Gravel Worlds. 

This year’s UCI MTB World Series features six new venues as well as several returning favourites.  

Crans-Montana, Aletsch Arena – Bellwald and Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake Placid are all first time hosts. 

The Val di Sole Trentino round sees the Series return to a long-time favourite venue for both downhill and cross-country riders. The cross-country course promises to be technical and demanding and will certainly be a race to watch.  

While the rest of the routes for both the UCI MTB World Series and the MTB World Championship have yet to be released to the public, the venues on the race calendar promise an exciting season of racing.  

Canyon’s pro athletes are out in full force at the 2024 UCI MTB World Series. This year, Canyon has six teams mixing things up in the various facets of the World Series, with athletes competing in all six disciplines.  

Here are some of the Canyon athletes to watch out for over the rest of the UCI MTB World Series.  

In the downhill women’s rankings, be sure to keep an eye on Tahnée Seagrave and her Canyon Sender CFR. The British rider is a veteran of the UCI Downhill circuit, having won eight individual rounds across her career, plus two silver medals in the series rankings. Although she has experienced some big challenges with injury, she has started this season strong, finishing third at Fort William.  

In the downhill men’s rankings, Troy Brosnan and Luca Shaw are two riders who’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. Brosnan won the semis at Fort Bill, before snagging silver in the final, while Shaw’s consistent performances so far see him ranked second in the overall standings with three rounds under his belt.  

In both cross-country and short track, be sure to keep an eye on Loana Lecomte, in the women’s events. Check out Lecomte’s personalised special edition Lux World Cup and discover the impressive performance-driven technologies that help her compete against the best.  

Staying with XC, Sam Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer lead the Canyon charge on the men’s side, sitting in second and third place respectively in the short track rankings. Gaze, of course, is the reigning world champion in the discipline after taking victory at Glasgow 2023. 

In enduro, watch out for Jesse Melamed and Jack Menzies in the men’s events. Canyon also has a rider in the E-Enduro series, so if you are as excited as we are about the inclusion of e-biking in the World Series, be sure to check out Manuel Soares José Borges who competes on his Strive:ON.

Now that you have all of the details on the 2024 UCI MTB World Series and World Championships and you’re ready to watch the best riders battle it out on the courses, how can you do just that?  

The service or broadcaster on which you will be able to watch the events depends a lot on where you’re located in the world. Here are a few streaming services that will be broadcasting the 2024 UCI MTB World Series.  

If you’re in the United States, the MTB World Series is available on MAX, currently with no additional channels required. In Canada, the MTB World Series is on FloBikes.  

If you’re in Europe, you can watch the MTB World Series on Discovery+, Eurosport or MAX. In Australia, it has recently been announced that Stan will be your option for keeping up with the series. For almost everywhere else, StayLive will be your one stop shop for the UCI MTB World Series. If in doubt, UCI MTB World Series website has a comprehensive list of broadcasters. The UCI MTB World Series YouTube channel also uploads highlights of each race, if you only have time for the best parts.   

But where can I watch the UCI MTB World Championships?  

Currently, we don’t have full details on where the MTB World Championships will be available to watch, but its likely that you can find the Championships where you watch the World Series.