UCI Announces 2022 MTB World Cup Calendar

Evie Richards races in Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic (Image credit: Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool)

The UCI has announced dates and venues for the 2022 mountain bike World Cup calendar. Nine cross-country- and eight downhill rounds make a full schedule of racing action for riders and fans alike, a welcomed sight after the 2020 and 2021 seasons having been abbreviated due to COVID-19.

Downhill racers will have an early start to the season in Lourdes, France on 26-27 March. At the last World Cup in Lourdes in 2017, rainy conditions spoiled the fun for the elite men riders, with Alexandre Fayolle taking the win.

Cross-country riders will make their season debut at a brand new venue in Petropolis, Brazil on 8-10 April. With the World Cup calendar being extremely European-centric in recent decades, a race in South America is welcomed.

Aaron Gwin races in Lousa, Portugal (Image credit: Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool)

After that, cross-country racers will head back to Europe for two rounds at the longtime venues of Albstadt, Germany and Nove Mesto Na Morave, Cech Republic. In May, downhill riders will return to the legendary course in Fort William, Scotland.

Cross-country and downhill riders will then converge for a series of combined rounds starting in Leogang, Austria. Leogang hosted the 2020 World Championships, which was notable for the rainy, muddy and slippery conditions. The downhill track featured a new-and-improved lower section through steep wooded terrain, which we hope to see again.

After Leogang, the location of the next round in July is yet to be confirmed, but it can be assumed that it will be somewhere in Europe since the round after that is in Vallnord, Andorra.

Gee Atherton races in Lousa, Portugal (Image credit: Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool)

The racers will take a summer trip to the East coast of North America, stopping in Snowshoe in West Virginia, which made its World Cup debut in 2019, and Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec, which hosted the 2019 World Championships.

The 2022 World Championships will be held in Les Gets, France 24-28 August before the final World cup round in Val di Sole, Italy 2-4 September.

2022 Downhill World Cup Calendar

26-27 March: Lourdes, France
21-22 May: Fort William, Scotland
10-12 June: Leogang, Austria
8-10 July: TBC
15-17 July: Vallnord, Andorra
29-31 July: Snowshoe, U.S.A
5-7 August: Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada
2-4 September: Val di Sole, Italy

2022 Cross-Country World Cup Calendar

8-10 April: Petropolis, Brazil
6-8 May: Albstadt, Germany
13-15 May: Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic
10-12 June: Leogang, Austria
8-10 July: TBC
15-17 July: Vallnord, Andorra
29-31 July: Snowshoe, U.S.A
5-7 August: Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada
2-4 September: Val di Sole, Italy

Ryan Simonovich has been riding and racing for nearly a decade. He got his start as a cross-country mountain bike racer in California, where he cultivated his love for riding all types of bikes. Ryan eventually gravitated toward enduro and downhill racing but has also been found in the occasional road and cyclo-cross events. Today, he regularly rides the trails of Durango, Colorado, and is aiming to make a career out of chronicling the sport of cycling.

Rides: Santa Cruz Hightower, Specialized Tarmac SL4