Val di Sole is ready to host the most eagerly anticipated week of the year, when Trentino will become the beating heart of the global mountain bike scene. The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole-Trentino will officially get underway on Wednesday, August 26th, with Tuesday, August 25th marking the start of the on-site action. The event will run until Sunday, August 30th.
While there will be no medals up for grabs just yet – those will have to wait until Wednesday – the venue will already begin to embrace the ‘rainbow’ atmosphere, with the first training sessions taking place on the Cross-country and E-Mountain Bike Cross-country tracks.
From 09:00 to 12:00 CEST, riders from all Cross-country categories will take to the course in alternating sessions. These first runs are particularly important for athletes competing in Wednesday’s Cross-country Team Relay, taking place on the Cross-country course, with France defending the title won last year in Switzerland ahead of Italy. Each national team will enter six riders: two riders – one male and one female – in each of the Elite, U23 and Junior categories.
At 13:00 CEST, the E-Mountain Bike Cross-country riders will get their first taste of the Daolasa course. Among them is France's Jérôme Gilloux, crowned E-Mountain Bike UCI World Champion for the first time right in Val di Sole in 2021.
Once the riders have completed the training sessions, the celebrations will move to Malé, the administrative centre of Val di Sole. The Opening Ceremony of the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will take place at 18.00 CEST, with 52 delegations parading through the town and bringing the colours, stories, cultures and dreams of every corner of the globe to Trentino. Guests expected in Malé include the Sport’s Councilor of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Mattia Gottardi, and the UCI Vice President, Enrico Della Casa.
Huge expectations surround the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, fuelled by the presence of some of the biggest names in cycling, including Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock.
Thanks to the production delivered by Gravity Media Italy, Nitida Immagine and Movicom, TV coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole will reach all five continents.
Eurosport and HBO Max secures pan-European coverage with live, delayed and/or highlights coverage of the live produced race, alongside national broadcasters in key cycling markets providing extensive coverage of the event. These include VRT and RTBF in Belgium, Czech TV in the Czech Republic, TV2 in Denmark, L’Equipe in France, MTV in Hungary, NOS in the Netherlands, Rai in Italy, RTV in Slovenia, SRG in Switzerland, TVE in Spain, and the BBC and TNT in the United Kingdom. Internationally, coverage will also be available through FloBike in Canada and the United States, Sky in New Zealand, SuperSport in Pan Africa, DirecTV across Latin America, Stan in Australia, and Astro in Malaysia.
Tickets for the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Val di Sole-Trentino are available at www.valdisolebikeland.com
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