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Personal life aside I’m sure BK is aware that he can’t count on himself as the only consistent podium threat on the team, the question is how does he fund it? The core members of that team seem like a super tight group that would be tough for BK to drop. Maybe Matt Walker’s retirement will free up some budget but probably not enough to bag a top 10 DH rider.
Sub.
I believe the situation is good for pivot factory. It's well known that BK does everything on a very small budget compared to other major brands. Even without exceptional results, it brings great visibility to the brand (I think Jenna's story is only noticed by sports nerds), and now Roger has brought a new perspective.
For 2026, it's a big question mark. After all, there won't be enough points, so something will change: either there will be investment in new names, or it will become a wildcard team, continuing with reduced investment and some visibility in the pits.
I personally don’t think Bernard has to do world cups to get plenty of coverage for the brand. Eddie is as much as an asset injured as he is on the podium with his personality and media. Jenna’s best results are at crankworks events. Bk is a former king of crankworks. Hardline was always bks top event of the year. Roger could provateer his events while the enduro crew do the same.
if bks budget is truly as small as he makes it out to be. And he really only gets paid bonuses and what’s left at the end of the year. I think world cupping would not be the wise financial decision. But I couldn’t really blame him if he wants one more shot at it. Especially if essentially the extra costs from that decision would come out of his pocket. I think the number pivot says is his budget will be the same regardless if bk is racing a full wc schedule or focusing on different events.
Bernard at some monster pros would be sick. at snowshoe it seemed like pivot’s van always had a few fans around it. He could actually afford pit space at monster pro.
2026 World Cup calendar revealed
WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES 2026 CALENDAR UNVEILED
Round 1 / May 1-3: Race of South Korea, South Korea (UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups)
Round 2 / May 22-24: Nové Město Na Moravě, Czechia (UCI Cross-country World Cup)
Round 3 / May 28-31: Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, France (UCI Downhill and UCI Enduro World Cups)
Round 4 / June 11-14: Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland, Austria (UCI Cross-country, UCI Downhill and UCI Enduro World Cups)
Round 5 / June 19-21: Lenzerheide, Switzerland (UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups)
Round 6 / June 26-28: Val di Fassa - Trentino, Italy (UCI Enduro World Cup)
Round 7 / July 3-5: La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta, Italy (UCI Cross-country, UCI Downhill and UCI Enduro World Cups)
Round 8 / July 8-12: Pal Arinsal, Andorra (UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups)
Round 9 / July 17-19: Aletsch Arena - Bellwald, Valais, Switzerland (UCI Enduro World Cup)
Round 10 / August 14-16: Haute-Savoie, France (UCI Cross-country and UCI Downhill World Cups)
Round 11 / August 21-23: Haute-Savoie, France (UCI Enduro World Cup)
Round 12 / September 19-20: Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah, USA (UCI Cross-country World Cup)
Round 13 / September 25-27: Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia, Canada (UCI Downhill World Cup)
Round 14 / October 2-4: Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York, USA (UCI Cross-country and UCI Downhill World Cups)
The dates, venues and rounds of next year’s WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series have been announced, featuring 14 race weekends over six months with stops at four Olympic venues, Downhill’s spiritual home in Whistler, and the return of fan favourites.
26th August 2025 - The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports confirm the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series calendar for the 2026 season. The fourth year of the revamped format for mountain bike’s different UCI World Cups - launched in 2023 to unite almost all of mountain bike’s major formats under a single brand for the first time - will visit three continents and nine countries across 14 events between May and October and will feature the best athletes in the sport’s Endurance (Cross-country Olympic, XCO and Cross-country Short Track, XCC) and Gravity (Downhill, DHI and Enduro, EDR) formats.
The series kicks off with a landmark weekend of Cross-country and Downhill racing at the Race of South Korea in MONA YongPyong – the first-ever Asian UCI XCO and XCC World Cup rounds and first UCI Downhill World Cup round on the continent in 25 years. After this, the action moves to Europe for the summer, with Nové Město Na Moravě (Czechia) welcoming the Endurance formats and Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France) welcoming the Gravity formats – the UCI Enduro World Cup starting outside of Italy for the first time since 2023.
The following weekend sees the first of two XCO/XCC/DHI/EDR quadruple-headers at long-term partner venue Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland (Austria), before riders get a week’s break leading into the start of five back-to-back WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series race weekends.
Lenzerheide (Switzerland) and Pal Arinsal (Andorra) welcome both the Cross-country and Downhill contingent, while Val di Fassa - Trentino (Italy) and the 2025 UCI Enduro World Championships venue Aletsch Arena-Bellwald, Valais (Switzerland) are the proving grounds for Enduro. In the middle of the five-week run is La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta (Italy), which hosts the second quadruple header of the series. Cross-country has also been added to the schedule following a successful debut for the venue in 2025 which saw the steepest Downhill track in the series’ history as well as the world’s first Enduro night stage.
After a summer break, the European leg of the season concludes with back-to-back race weekends in Haute-Savoie (France) – one Cross-country and Downhill, the other the Enduro finale – before the Series jets off to North America for three rounds and two new venues. The first will see Cross-country contested on the trails of Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) – a venue hosted by the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, home to the USA Olympic biathlon team training centre and a regular on the IBU Biathlon World Cup circuit. With the region preparing to co-host the Olympic Winter Games in 2034, Soldier Hollow brings Olympic pedigree and world-class credentials to the closing stages of the season.
Downhill will then take to its spiritual home in Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia (Canada), delivering on decades of anticipation with a stage set for unforgettable racing. The iconic venue, which hosted the Olympic Winter Games 15 years ago, will welcome the world’s best downhill riders for a UCI World Cup for the first time. The final weekend will see both the UCI Cross-country and Downhill World Cups decided in Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York (USA).
Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “The 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series was always going to be about bedding in the major reforms that we introduced at the start of this year, and the competitiveness and excitement of each format shows that the changes are working. For 2026, we’re doubling down on our successes and pushing the sport even further into new territories.
“The 2026 calendar will witness 14 gripping events that take in the world’s best destinations, including four proven Olympic venues, with half returning under multi-year agreements reflecting our sustained investment in the sport’s growth. Every venue we've introduced since 2023 has quickly become a favourite among athletes, highlighting WBD’s commitment to pushing the limits of performance while prioritising safety and expanding a world-class, global calendar. We’re continuing to expand the reach of the sport by bringing Cross-country Olympic racing to Asia for the first time, growing our footprint in the USA, and will fulfil a long-term wish from fans, teams and athletes alike by adding Whistler – one of the world’s most iconic mountain bike destinations - to the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series calendar from next year.”
UCI President David Lappartient said: “Bringing together three different UCI World Cups, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will see many stories unfold in 2026 as the weekends of competition progress. The succession of races throughout the season means athletes must strive for consistency, and logically there will be ups and downs along the way. The experience of seasoned riders and the sheer audacity of younger athletes always makes for thrilling competition across the different rounds.
“In 2026, the UCI World Cups for cross-country Olympic, cross-country short track, downhill and enduro will span 14 weekends in the space of six months with exciting new hosts joining some of the series’ favourite venues. I am particularly pleased that the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will expand into Asia in 2026, adding a new dimension to the series and providing a prestigious opening to the season.”
^^^Most “world” WC schedule we’ve seen in a minute
Finally we all got what we wanted... the chance to complain about how a proper ‘world series’ prices out smaller teams and privateers.
I mean it was doing that to everyone but the euros already.
Will Whistler make a new track?
i believe they will be using the 1199 track. i believe it was stated when it was announced that their intent was to ultimately use it as a WC track.
Nice, thanks.
gonna be hard not to try and go to that!
He is coming across like the "Sham-Wow" infomercial guy pushing his brand. It get's a little tiring.
Hi I'm Berny Scott and this is pivot bang.
Yeah, I don't disagree. I unsubscribed from his YT channel earlier this year as I got tired of his presenting style and the videos increasingly becoming more about his dog than the riding. Having said that plenty of people seem to love it.
FWIW I met him years ago and in the brief chat we had he seemed personable enough. I wish him no ill will, it's just not for me.
If Pivot/BK folds wonder where Ryan Griffith and RMS go. Both of those two (well the whole DH team) has had a rough year. The transition into this new format is brutal if you have a few injuries.
problem with this is no team vehicle can make it from Whistler to Lake Placid in that time period. ESPECIALLY if DOT regulated.... which the SRAM rigs for example are.
what about Mineral Oil regulated? (i'm kidding...that's going to be a HIKE across the country).
Back to the days of NORBA when big players had West Coast rigs and East Coast rigs.
Whistler will get the big rigs and Lake Placid will get rented popup tents and bare minimum needed.
Anyone know what the current attendance records are? I'd be willing to bet Whistler is going to smash them.
Most teams don’t have their full setup in North American but rely on the local reps for support. At least as far as vehicles go. Tents can be easily shipped.
Except that Whistler is DH only, and lake placid is everything. that would bring the full rigs to lake placid if i was a marketing guy having to make the call.
Clearly, but for those that do (SRAM, Fox, Yeti, and Shimano for example all have support rigs, and that is just off the top of my head). You would still need to ship two setups for popups as again, that stuff wont travel across a border in 3 days and setup. Logistically it is a complete mess.
When I had to drive from Snowmass to MSA I basically threw the log book in the back seat and broke the law to make it in late. It isn't even the DOT regs. It is 48hrs of drive time... in 36hrs.
My guess, we see a schedule adjustment sometime in the future...
Your UCI MTB WC Suspension sponsor will not be showing up with a 10x20 at two WC in the same continent they are based out of.....
I'll bet that SRAM puts their biggest setup in Whistler, but they likely still have multiple rigs.
Uh yeah, they have and they will again.
That isnt a single 10x20 with all their crap in a pallet shipped back and forth. very different. This is still their east coast based service rig.
Regardless, the logistics of back to back weekends on opposite coasts of the US is a nightmare and massive cost for a lot of these teams and support staff. and at the end of the day the UCI in all its wisdom still did not take this into account.
We are in a shit budget time for this industry.... this piss poor planning helps no one.
Totally
At Snowshoe they had the minimum
Glad to have the 2026 edition of my favorite forum thread in my inbox. Now, more team swap related hearsay and conjecture, and less MTB TMZ, please and thank you? #MSA2027
Only 9 rounds…I was hoping for at least 12. Enduro is, once again, Europe-based.
I wonder if there will be any home grown teams out of South Korea joining the party? I know nothing about the scene over there. @sspomer, you need to dispatch your keenest investigative reporter to get the scoop!
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