iBikeRide has changed how Trail of the Year ratings and reviews are counted, moving from a calendar year system to a campaign-to-campaign cycle.

Under the new system, each campaign cycle runs from the close of one campaign to the close of the next. The 2026 campaign closed on 18 July 2026, with Comrie Croft Mountain Bike Trails announced as the winner. Ratings and reviews posted from that date onward count towards the next campaign, expected to close around July 2027 (date to be confirmed).

If you have rated or reviewed a trail recently, or plan to, that rating still counts. It simply now goes towards the next Trail of the Year campaign rather than the one that has just finished. No rating or review written at any point is wasted.

Why the change was made

When the campaign was first launched, it ran from January to December, so being calendar year specific made sense. In more recent years it moved to a spring campaign, so that winning trails have most of the season left to celebrate the award. That earlier change left a gap, though: reviews posted after voting closed in July did not count towards any live campaign until the following spring. Running each cycle from campaign close to campaign close closes that gap, so every review posted from 18 July 2026 onward counts towards the next campaign instead of falling into dead time.

What happens next

For now, the site continues to focus on the 2026 winner and top ten. From around October and November, attention shifts towards the UK Trail Index, which runs and updates all year round. Promotion of the next Trail of the Year campaign begins again in spring next year.

Trail of the Year covers five categories: Bike Park, Trail Centre, Community Trail Network, Urban Bike Park, and Pump Track.

Read more about how the categories and Trail Index work.

Keep rating and reviewing the trails you ride. Every one counts towards the campaign that is open at the time you post it.