The UCI Enduro World Cup will not continue in its current format beyond the 2026 season. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports and the UCI confirmed the decision on 19 August 2026, in a statement titled "A New Chapter for Enduro".

The UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships will continue and become the flagship events for the format from 2027. The 2026 World Championships take place in the Finale Outdoor Region, Liguria, Italy, from 16 to 18 October. Enduro and E-Enduro are also confirmed as part of the UCI Cycling World Championships in Haute-Savoie, France in 2027, with Morillon among the venues selected, the same location that hosted last week's 2026 World Cup finale, which attracted more than 500 professional and amateur riders.

The statement cites a belief that each mountain bike format needs its own tailored structure, and points to declining participation as a factor. The statement says organisers, venues and other stakeholders are in discussions to explore new options, including the possibility of Enduro Open side events at selected WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series weekends.

We don't normally cover elite racing series on iBikeRide, our focus is UK trails and the venues that host them. But this one is worth flagging: it connects directly to the UK grassroots enduro story we've been following, and to the wider question of trail and event sustainability that sits behind our events calendar.

Photo by Clement Delhaye on Unsplash

What's actually changing

It's worth being clear about what these two formats mean, since the announcement's framing can make this sound like a lateral move rather than a downgrade. A World Cup is a season-long series of multiple rounds at different venues, with points awarded at each event and an overall champion crowned based on consistency across the whole season. A World Championships is a single, one-off event held once a year, whoever wins on the day takes the title, with no season-long standings involved.

Going from a World Cup to a Championships-only format means a significant reduction in the amount of top-level international racing, coverage and touring calendar, not simply a rebrand. The "flagship event" language in the announcement is accurate, but it describes one race a year replacing what was previously a full season of them.

Crankworx moves in within 24 hours

A successor of sorts arrived fast. One day after the UCI and WBD statement, Crankworx announced plans for its own global Enduro race series, starting in 2027, built around what it describes as a return to Enduro's roots: participation, adventure and showcasing riding destinations. The Canadian Open Enduro at Crankworx Whistler is already confirmed as part of the calendar, with further venues and format details still to be announced. Destinations interested in hosting a round have been invited to contact Crankworx directly.

Part of a wider pattern

This is the international end of a story we have been following at grassroots level in the UK for some time. The Welsh Enduro Series confirmed 2025 as its final season, following TweedLove's decision to step back from delivering enduro events and the cancellation of the Valleys Enduro Series' remaining 2024 events.

TweedLove's exit also prompted the formation of a new Scottish Enduro Association, which we covered in Scottish Enduro: A new dawn or uncertain future? At the time, we noted that riders should expect less opportunity before more, as national bodies and grassroots organisers worked out a way forward. Getting on for two years later, that caution looks warranted. The pressures we described at grassroots level, rising costs, a harder sponsorship environment, organiser capacity and burnout, are now showing up in near identical language from the UCI and WBD, who cite declining participation and the need for a tailored structure.

Our take

Both of this week's announcements are commercial decisions, not community ones, whatever the language around participation and community engagement suggests. WBD is a broadcaster and rights holder pulling back from a series that was, by most outside accounts, struggling to draw an audience and sponsorship at the level required to justify running it. Crankworx is a for-profit festival brand with its own sponsors and media deals, stepping into the resulting gap within 24 hours. That timing alone suggests this was less a community-led rescue and more two commercial operators making commercial calls, one exiting a loss-making property, the other spotting an opening. Neither is necessarily bad for riders, but it is worth being clear-eyed about what is actually happening here, rather than taking the "new chapter" framing entirely at face value.

How the wider cycling press is reading it

Coverage elsewhere has leaned into the idea that enduro was never suited to a World Series format in the first place, arguing it is fundamentally a participation sport rather than a spectator one, and that imposing an international series structure on it was always an awkward fit. Other outlets have pointed to WBD's wider financial position and low UCI team registration numbers for 2026 as contributing factors, though these are not confirmed by the official UCI and WBD statement itself, which cites only declining participation and a desire for a format-specific structure.

What we know

• The UCI Enduro World Cup ends its current format after the 2026 season.
• The UCI Mountain Bike Enduro and E-Enduro World Championships continue and become the flagship events from 2027.
• The 2026 World Championships run 16 to 18 October in the Finale Outdoor Region, Italy.
• Enduro and E-Enduro are confirmed as part of the 2027 UCI Cycling World Championships in Haute-Savoie, France, with Morillon among the venues.
• Crankworx has confirmed plans for its own global Enduro race series from 2027, with the Canadian Open Enduro at Whistler already on the calendar.

What we don't know

• The full calendar, format and destinations for the new Crankworx Enduro series.
• Whether Crankworx's series will include any UK rounds.
• Whether Enduro Open side events at WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series weekends will also go ahead alongside it.
• What any of this means, in practical terms, for UK riders currently competing at UCI level.

UK grassroots enduro carries on regardless

Whatever happens at UCI and Crankworx level, local and regional enduro racing in the UK is continuing largely as planned. Ard Rock, Southern Enduro, the Tartan Enduro series, the Scottish Enduro Series, Pedalhounds and a number of other series and one-off events all have 2026 dates on the calendar, alongside newer additions like Trans Caledonia. You can find the full list on our MTB Event Calendar.

Let us know what you think. Does a new Crankworx series change how you see this, or does it confirm that enduro's future, at every level, is being shaped by commercial decisions rather than the riders themselves? Share in the comments below.