After a watershed 2025 season on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series standings, kiwi riders will take their first pedal strokes of the new season with renewed confidence and new challenges.
Fourteen kiwi riders were ranked in the top 10 on the 2025 global standings, with a number of them stepping up to the elite competition with a new wave of rising hopes looking to make their mark this year.
The 2026 UCI MTB World Series begins this weekend in the new venue of South Korea before heading back to the MTB homeland of Europe for six rounds and the world championships before finishing with two rounds in North America.
Mona YongPyong is the first-ever Asian venue for UCI Cross-country Olympic and UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cups and first UCI Downhill World Cup on the continent for 25 years.
New Zealand riders look to continue their significant impression in gravity competition across the grades, with several of last year’s impressive junior riders, moving up to the elite ranks.
Rotorua’s Lachie Sevens-McNab was 14th on the elite downhill standings, despite a crash in the final round as the Trek Unbroken rider zoned in on a top-10 finish.
Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (MS Racing) returns to be joined in elite by Luke Wayman (Continental Atherton, Christchurch), James MacDermid (Alliance, Hamilton) and last year’s third placed junior Tyler Waite (Yeti Fox, Clive).
Kaikoura’s Oli Clark moves to elite riding for Mondraker Factory Racing, although his debut in the elite ranks will be delayed after significant crash in training at home.
At the other end of the spectrum, media star Wyn Masters is back, while Christchurch enduro prospect Joe Millington (Forbidden Outset) will test himself in elite downhill.
Auckland’s Sacha Earnest (Trek –Unbroken) topped the kiwi females last year, finishing eighth overall after a superb season, and joined by multi-national champion Jess Blewitt, 10th on the rankings, who makes an exciting move to the Scott Downhill team.
The Rotorua elite trio are led by the in-form Jenna Hastings (Pivot Factory), her younger sister Kate and Bellah Birchall (The Alliance), top 10 in juniors last year.
Another exciting young prospect moving to the elite ranks is Tauranga’s Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Synd), who was third overall in junior last year.
There are a bunch of kiwis competing in junior downhill including Queenstown’s Malik Boatright, 13th overall last year, who has been snapped up by the high-profile Continental Atherton team.
Other young kiwis in action include Seppy Binsbergen (New Plymouth), Kalani Henderson (New Plymouth), Cole Hulsebosch (Tauranga), Monte Lieshout (Auckland), Dexter Lock (Taranaki), Camden Rutherfurd (Taranaki), Sterling Stevens-McNab (Rotorua).
Most young kiwi prospects will look up to Palmerston North rider Jonty Williamson who finished fifth overall on the junior rankings last year.
The opening round also comprises cross-country with the elites led by the remarkable Anton Cooper, who has dominated the Oceania scene for more than a decade, and moves to the Lapierre PXR team this year. He is joined by Paris Olympian Sam Gaze (Alpecin Fenix), competing after his podium exploits in the recent Cape Epic.
With last year’s champion Samara Maxwell having a sabbatical this year, Christchurch rider Amelie Mackay is the sole elite kiwi female XCO rider.
Another New Zealander who will take a key role in the championship this year is popular official, Rotorua’s Jeremy Christmas, who has been appointed President of the UCI Commissaires Panel.
Competition begins on Friday with short-track XCO races from 1.35pm (NZL) followed by downhill qualifying from 2.30pm. The downhill finals are on Saturday from 2.30pm (NZT), with the XCO races on Sunday from noon (NZT), finishing with elite men at 6.30pm (NZT).
Sacha Earnest in action in 2025.