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The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are headed for Val di Sole, Trentino, in northern Italy, from 26 to 30 August 2026, and AusCycling has released the first round of rider selections.
So far the XCO, XCM and DH junior teams have been announced, with the Elite DH team and Enduro teams expected on 5 August and 12 August, respectively.
Val di Sole has hosted the World Champs three times before, in 2010, 2016, and 2021, and it has been a regular World Cup venue since 2010.
It is home to the notorious Black Snake downhill, which drops 550 vertical metres over just 2.1km. This brutally fast and physical track was the scene of heartbreak in 2008, when Sam Hill crashed in the last corner on his quest to defend the rainbow jersey, finishing third behind Steve Peat and Gee Atherton. Tracey Hannah landed on the podium here in 2016, as did Troy Brosnan in 2021.
While 4X has fallen out of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships’ main program — though it will be running as a side event as part of the 4X Pro Tour in 2026 — Caroline Buchanan also snagged a rainbow jersey at Val di Sole in 2016 and in 2017, when the races were split between Italy and Cairns.
The XC World Championships have only been held at Val di Sole twice (2008 and 2021), and an Aussie has yet to crack the podium. Maybe 2026 is the year!
Recently appointed National MTB XCO Coach, Rob Holmgren, tells us that the riders he has been working with are stoked to don the green and gold and represent Australia in Italy.
“The juniors have already spent a few weeks in Europe racing in Czech and Germany, where they all learned some easy and some hard lessons. This being Connor Wright’s second year in U19, he was acutely aware of the level and what is needed to excel on the world stage. Connor was able to draw on his experiences from both the EU Project and the 2025 XCO World Championships and put those learnings to good use. The newcomers learned exactly what the level of racing in the EU is, with ten times larger and deeper fields, and returned home in May, ready to work to raise their level to be more competitive in August in Val di Sole,” he tells Flow.
Of course, racing Worlds is hardly an individual endeavour, and AusCycling is sending a team of support staff to ensure the riders, across all categories, have what they need. Aussie XC legend Donna Dall will serve as team manager with Pete Dowse and Dom Geoghegan wrenching bikes, and sports chiropractor Rachel Mochula is also looking after the riders.
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2026 ARA Australian Cycling Team | XCO and XCC
There will be eight Aussies toeing the line in Val di Sole to race XCO and XCC in the Elite, U23 and U19 categories.
According to the announcement, the team was chosen by the National Selection Panel in accordance with AusCycling selection policies. AusCycling says that no riders in the Elite Men’s category satisfied the selection criteria, including the mandatory event requirements.
| Category | Riders |
|---|---|
| Elite Women |
|
| U23 Men |
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| U23 Women |
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| U19 Men |
|
| U19 Women |
|
2026 ARA Australian Cycling Team | DH
So far, AusCycling has only announced the junior DH team, but there is a stacked roster of 12 youngsters set to face the Black Snake.
| Category | Riders |
|---|---|
| Junior Women |
|
| Junior Men |
|
2026 ARA Australian Cycling Team | XCM
While we’re celebrating exceptional Aussie mountain bikers headed for World Champs, it would be poor form not to shine the spotlight on the XC Marathon team, who are headed for Primiero San Martino di Castrozza, Italy, on 12 September 2026.
- Hayden James
- James Kelly
- Tasman Nankervis
We are beyond stoked for this crop of Aussies set to don the green and gold to race in Italy and on the world’s biggest stage.
Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi!
Photos: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool, Markus Kessler / AusCycling, Flow MTB
The post Here are the Australians headed to the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike.
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[[{“value”:”The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships are headed for Val di Sole, Trentino, in northern Italy, from 26 to 30 August 2026, and AusCycling has released the first round of rider selections. So far the XCO, XCM and DH junior teams have been announced, with the Elite DH team and Enduro teams expected on 5
The post Here are the Australians headed to the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike.”}]] Read More Flow Mountain Bike
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