A big week looms in Val di Sole, Italy for the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.<\/p>\n
Racing begins tonight in the Trentino region and runs through to Sunday encompassing cross-country, downhill and E-MTB world championship battles.<\/p>\n
Val di Sole is a known commodity for the international mountain bike paddock, with the Italian destination having already hosted the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 2008, 2016, and 2021.<\/p>\n
It’s also a longstanding host of the discipline\u2019s UCI World Cup, most recently welcoming a stopover of the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, which featured UCI World Cup rounds for cross-country Olympic (XCO), cross-country short track (XCC) and downhill.<\/p>\n
An ARA Australian Cycling Team of 28 will fly the flag over the next five days, notably led by cross-country star Rebecca Henderson racing at her last World Championships after announcing<\/a> this season would be her last on the international circuit.<\/p>\n “My first World Championships were in Val di Sole. To do my last Mountain Bike World Championships at the same place where I started \u2013 there were three World Championships that I’ve been to in Val di Sole and I was at them all \u2013 is kind of nice. It’s an amazing place,” she told Pinkbike<\/a> a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n Henderson’s XCO World Cup season best this year was 11th in Leogang back in June; her XCC season best of fifth also came in Leogang.<\/p>\n On the downhill side, reigning elite national champions\u00a0Elleni Turkovic\u00a0and\u00a0Luke Meier-Smith will be in the mix, as will veteran Troy Brosnan on his 16th World Championship appearance.<\/p>\n Brosnan enters Val di Sole ranked eighth in the Downhill World Cup standings as the top Australian after a consistent season.<\/p>\n A standout season from Western Australian Connor Wright provides plenty of promise for Thursday’s Junior XCO.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old has two UCI XCO Junior Series wins to his name from Nov\u00e9 M\u011bsto na Morav\u011b and Heubach.<\/p>\n Wright was back racing on the mountain bike earlier this month after a successful stint on the road and recorded finishes of third and first at two Vittoria-Fischer MTB Cup races in Switzerland.<\/p>\n Tilly Boadle has also impressed at the Junior Downhill World Cup level this year courtesy of third in Mona YongPyong, fifth in Pal Arinsal and sixth last weekend in Haute-Savoie.<\/p>\n ARA Australian Cycling Team – 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World ChampionshipsCross-countryElite WomenRebecca Henderson (Canberra Off-Road Cyclists \/ ACT)\u00a0U23 MenHarry Doye (Red Hill Riders MTB Club \/ VIC)Jack Ward (Yarra Ranges Mountain Bikers \/ VIC)Junior Men\u00a0Oliver Grande (Canberra Off-Road Cyclists \/ ACT)\u00a0Connor Wright (Ferguson Valley MTB Club \/ WA)\u00a0Junior Women\u00a0Freya Buckmaster (Shredding Betties \/ TAS)Alana Fletcher (Bendigo Mountain Bike Club \/\u00a0VIC)\u00a0DownhillElite WomenSacha Mills (Kooralbyn Valley MTB Club \/ QLD)Elleni Turkovic (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club \/ NSW)Elite MenZac Bradley-Hudson (Jindabyne Cycling Club \/ NSW)Troy Brosnan (Inside Line DH \/ SA)Jackson Connelly (Jindabyne Cycling Club \/ NSW)Oliver Davis (Albury Wodonga Mountain Bikers \/ VIC)Luke Meier-Smith (Maning Great Lakes Tip Riders \/ NSW)Jed Stanton (Red Hill Riders MTB Club \/ VIC)Patrick Ward (Yarra Ranges Mountain Bikers \/ VIC)\u00a0Junior WomenZuri Acheson (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club \/ NSW)Tilly Boadle (Red Hill Riders MTB Club \/ VIC)Matilda Henness (Jindabyne Trail Stewardship \/ NSW)Rebecca Sams (Tamworth Mountain Bikers \/ NSW)\u00a0Junior MenByron Best (Outlook Riders Alliance \/ QLD)Jesse Bocking (Jindabyne Cycling Club \/ NSW)Oliver Colthup (Toowoomba MTB Club \/ QLD)Bryn Couzin (Western Sydney MTB Club \/ NSW)Bailey Mills (Kooralbyn Valley MTB Club \/ QLD)Jonte Tummon (Hobart Wheelers Dirt Devils \/ TAS)Daniel Turkovic (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club \/ NSW)Rhys Wellings (RATS Cycling Club \/ QLD)Full schedule<\/p>\n All times listed in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).<\/p>\n Day 1 – Wednesday, August 2618:00 | Women Elite E-MTB Cross-country19:30 | Men Elite E-MTB Cross-country01:00 (+1) | Mixed Team RelayDay 2 – Thursday, August 2717:30 | Women Junior XCO19:00 | Men Junior XCO23:30 | Women U23 XCC00:30 (+1) | Men U23 XCC01:45 (+1) | Women Elite XCC02:30 (+1) | Men Elite XCCDay 3 – Friday, August 2818:30 | Women Junior Downhill – Qualifying18:30 | Men Junior Downhill – Qualifying23:30 | Women Elite Downhill – Qualifying23:30 | Men Elite Downhill – QualifyingSaturday, August 2917:15 | Women Junior Downhill – Final18:00 | Men Junior Downhill – Final21:20 | Women Elite Downhill – Final23:00 | Men Elite Downhill – FinalSunday, August 3017:00 | Women U23 XCO19:00 | Men U23 XCO21:00 | Women Elite XCO23:15 | Men Elite XCOHow to watch<\/p>\n Select events will be live streamed on Stan Sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n Friday, August 28 from 01:35 AEST: Elite XCCSaturday, August 29 from 21:05 AEST: Elite DownhillSunday, August 30 from 20:50 AEST: Elite XCOWhere to follow results<\/p>\n You can view start lists, live timing and final results on Tissot Timing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Feature picture: Ed Sykes\/SWpix.com<\/p>\n