Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah. All photos courtesy the UCI

The UCI Mountain Bike “World Series” has long claimed the venerable name, despite offering very little in the way of globally dispersed competition venues. Over the past few decades, competition has been heavily weighted in Europe.

In 2024, the UCI added the first South American host city ever: Mairiporã, Brazil. In 2025, they continued the Brazilian connection with Araxá. The full 2026 calendar has not yet been revealed, so we can’t confirm if Brazil will still be represented in 2026.

However, we’ve just learned that the World Series will be returning to Asia for the first time in 25 years and to the Western USA for the first time in 21 years.

Soldier Hollow, Midway, UT.

First mountain bike world cup competition in the Western USA since 2005

A world cup-level mountain bike race hasn’t been held in the Western USA since 2005, when Angel Fire, New Mexico, hosted both cross-country (XCO) and downhill (DHI).

Today, the UCI announced the addition of an XCC and XCO stop at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. According to a press release from the UCI, “the site demonstrated its mountain bike pedigree by hosting the 2024 Pan American Mountain Bike Championships and is also a highly regarded winter sports venue, set to stage events during the Olympic Winter Games Salt Lake City-Utah 2034.”

The trails in Midway are located close to the legendary singletrack network in Park City. In recent years, the Wasatch Trails Foundation (WTF) has taken charge of the network of trails surrounding Heber Valley, which is home to Midway. Currently, the organization manages over 175 miles of trails in Wasatch County, and they’re building several new trails in 2025. Earning the first World Cup stop in the Western USA in over 20 years is yet another substantial feather in the region’s cap.

“Bringing on board one of the world’s premier Cross-country destinations in Utah reinforces our commitment to delivering the sport at its highest level, and I am incredibly proud to bring these partnerships to life,” said Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe.

Yongpong Resort, South Korea

South Korea will host 3 UCI disciplines in 2026

PyeongChang, South Korea, is set to host “the first-ever Asian UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) and UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cups and first UCI Downhill (DHI) World Cup on the continent for 25 years,” according to a press release. The wording in that quote is a bit unclear, but based on my research, this will be the first XCO and XCC rounds held in Asia. Furthermore, it will be the first downhill (DHI) World Cup held in Asia in 25 years.

Arai Mountain in Japan hosted World Cup downhill races in 1998, 2000, and 2001, though it seems that no other World Cup DH or XCO races have been held in Asia since then. In 2022, a World Cup cross-country eliminator (XCE) race was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The opening round of racing in 2026 will take place at a venue that hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 2018, which the UCI says offers “challenging terrain and elite-level infrastructure.” A photo included in the release shows a surprisingly hilly ski resort which appears to be Yongpong Resort.

Mountain Bike World Series Goes worldwide

If the UCI Mountain Bike World Series retains a South American venue and adds Asia and Western North America to the mix, the series will have taken major steps toward being a truly global competition series. Even so, most of the competition is still anchored in Europe, and Australia/New Zealand are a big miss on the calendar. But if this trend continues, the race schedule could look very different in the coming years.