Team USA

Mountain Bike

UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP ATHLETE ELIGIBILITY,  REGISTRATION, AND PETITION PROCESS

UCI MTB World Cup Eligibility Criteria 

Per UCI regulations, the downhill (DHI) and cross-country (XCO) UCI World Cups are competitions limited to athletes meeting one of the following criteria:

CategoryOne of the below mentioned criteria needs to be fulfilled


XCO - men elite (aged 23 and over) XCO - women elite (aged 23 and over)

  1. Having obtained at least 60 UCI points in the UCI XCO individual reference ranking (*).
  2. The national federations may enter a maximum of 6 supplementary riders per category. These riders must wear national team clothing.


XCO - men under 23 (ages from 19 to 22)
  1. Having obtained at least 80 UCI points in the UCI XCO individual reference ranking (*)
  2. The national federations may enter a maximum of 6 supplementary riders per category. These riders must wear national team clothing.
  3. The national federation of the organizing country may register a supplementary team B of maximum 6 riders (wearing national team clothing)
  4. Riders belonging to a UCI elite MTB Team or a UCI MTB Team


XCO - women under 23 (ages from 19 to 22)
  1. Having obtained at least 20 UCI points in the UCI XCO individual reference ranking (*)
  2. The national federations may enter a maximum of 6 supplementary riders per category. These riders must wear national team clothing.
  3. The national federation of the organizing country may register a supplementary team B of maximum 6 riders (wearing national outfit required)
  4. Riders belonging to a UCI elite MTB Team or a UCI MTB Team


DHI - men elite (aged 19 and over) DHI - women elite (aged 19 and over)
  1. Having obtained at least 40 UCI points in the UCI DHI individual reference ranking (*).
  2. The national federations may enter a maximum of 3 supplementary riders per category. These riders must wear national team clothing.
  3. Riders belonging to a UCI elite MTB Team or a UCI MTB Team


DHI - men juniors (aged 17 and 18) DHI – women juniors (aged 17 and 18)
  1. Each national federation may enter a maximum of 6 riders per category (wearing national outfit required).
  2. The national federation of the organizing country may register a supplementary team B of maximum 6 riders (wearing national outfit required).
  3. Riders belonging to a UCI elite MTB team or a UCI MTB team.
XCC – men elite (aged 23 and over) XCC – women elite (aged 23 and over)A maximum of 40 riders per gender (40 men elite and 40 women elite) already registered and confirmed for the elite XCO event taking place during the same weekend shall be allowed to start in the XCC event. The riders shall be selected as per article 4.9.015 to reach a total number of 40 riders per gender. No online registration is required for the XCC event.

The same bike must be used for XCC and XCO. For XCC, the minimum tyre width must be 45mm.

(*)The date of such reference rankings is fixed and communicated by the UCI for each event of the UCI mountain bike world cup on the UCI website.

(text modified on 1.02.12; 1.07.12; 1.11.13; 4.04.14; 1.01.16; 1.01.17; 1.01.18; 1.01.19; 1.01.20; 1.01.22).

All UCI regulations can be found here.



Athletes must have a valid international license and be U.S. citizens to enter through USA Cycling.

As posted above, athletes may automatically qualify for a UCI MTB World Cup start spot according to their accumulated UCI Individual Ranking points on the posted date in the “Entry Ranking” column of the UCI World Cup’s Entry Ranking and Registration timetable found on the UCI Mountain Bike website.


UCI World Cup Event Registration Process

All athletes who are members of UCI Elite or UCI MTB Teams must go through their team to register for each World Cup event. 

Athletes who meet the minimum UCI Individual Ranking point requirements, posted above, but are not members of UCI Elite or UCI MTB Teams and wish to register for a World Cup event must fill out the respective registration/petition form below.

  1. The UCI requires each athlete to list the accommodations, address, and international cell phone number where they will reside during the World Cup competition. USA Cycling will not accept entry forms without this information. 
  2. UCI World Cup event registration by individuals not belonging to a registered UCI MTB Team is required by the UCI to go through their National Federation. Individuals are not permitted to register for UCI World Cup events on their own. 
  3. Deadlines for submitting UCI World Cup event entry requests to USA Cycling are four weeks prior to the event. Late entries will not be accepted. 
  4. Athletes must submit individual entry requests for each World Cup they would like to enter.
  5. Athletes who have been entered at a UCI World Cup event by USA Cycling will need to check-in at event registration, present their UCI International racing license and pay for event registration. Athletes are to register at least 24 hours in advance for cross-country and 36 hours in advance for downhill. It is the rider’s responsibility to know the event schedule and attend any rider meetings on the UCI World Cup schedule.
  6. Athletes who submit a UCI World Cup Event entry through USA Cycling and are no longer able to attend are required to notify both the UCI and USA Cycling at mtb@uci.org and apasqualina@usacycling.org. Any athlete entering but failing to register at the event will be a charged a full entry fee by the UCI. All fines and fees accessed to the athlete by the UCI will be collected by USA Cycling. Failure to pay USA Cycling will result in a suspension of your racing license.
  7. UCI World Cup Event entry confirmation can be found on the UCI website approximately three days prior to the events.

UCI World Cup Athlete Petition Process 

The USA Cycling athlete petition process for UCI MTB World Cups applies to athletes who are seeking any of the supplementary rider positions as defined by the UCI World Cup entry criteria posted above.

Athletes who are not members of a UCI Elite or UCI MTB Team and do not meet the minimum UCI Individual Ranking point requirements may submit a petition below to be considered for a supplementary rider position. 

DateLocationCountryEventXCO DHI MARATHON
Apr 12-14Mairipora, BrazilBRAXCORegistration / Petition FormN/AN/A
Apr 19-21Araxa, Minas GeraisBRAXCORegistration / Petition FormN/AN/A
May 3-5Fort WilliamGBRDHI

N/A

Registration / Petition FormN/A
May 17-19Bielsko-BialaPOLDHIN/ARegistration / Petition FormN/A
May 24-26Nove Mesto na MoraveCZEXCORegistration / Petition FormN/ARegistration / Petition Form
Jun 7-9Saalfelden Leogang - SalzburgerlandAUTDHIN/ARegistration / Petition FormN/A
Jun 14-16Val di Sole, TrentinoITAXCO/DHIRegistration / Petition FormRegistration / Petition FormN/A
Jun 21-23Cras Montana, ValaisSUIXCORegistration / Petition FormN/AN/A
Jun 28 - Jul 7Haute-SavoieFRAXCO/DHIRegistration / Petition FormRegistration / Petition FormRegistration / Petition Form
Sep 6-8Loudenvielle - PeyragudesFRADHIN/ARegistration / Petition FormN/A
Sep 27-29Mt Van Hoevenberg - Lake PlacidUSAXCORegistration / Petition FormN/ARegistration / Petition Form
Oct 4-6Monte-Sainte-AnneCANXCO/DHIRegistration / Petition FormRegistration / Petition FormN/A

UCI World Cup Supplemental Athlete Guiding Principles 

USA Cycling will use the following guiding principles when considering supplemental athlete starting positions: Prior results in Top Level Competitions - a competition that includes participation by many of the best riders in the world (e.g., as indicated by recent World Championship results, World Cup results and/or current UCI rankings), UCI international competitions, UCI Domestic events, USA Cycling’s National Championships, and top-level domestic events.

Athletes selected as supplemental athletes for UCI World Cups are required by the UCI to wear the National Team competition kit in all training and racing sessions. Failure to do so may result in disqualification and a fine levied by the UCI, which will be the responsibility of the offending rider to pay. Athletes who do not have a competition uniform may purchase a competition kit from USA Cycling.

  • UCI World Cup supplementary athlete petitions must be submitted by 11:59 PM on the Friday 6 weeks prior to the UCI World Cup event you are petitioning for.
  • Riders must fill out one petition for each event for which they wish to be considered
  • USA Cycling will notify supplementary athletes 4 weeks prior to each UCI World Cup event.