Photo Credit: Bartek Wolinski
The 2026 World Cup season is kicking off in Mona YongPyong, South Korea, and that is a pretty wild way to start the year. The opening round runs May 1–3 and will host both cross-country and downhill races, marking the first-ever Asian UCI World Cup rounds for XC and the Downhill World Cup held in Asia in 25 years. Since I’m more of a downhill guy anyway, that’s where I’m putting most of my attention.
A new venue always makes the first round a little harder to predict. New course, new travel logistics, and usually at least one rider who comes out swinging way earlier than expected. Still, if I’m looking at who feels like the safest bet to be in the mix right away, these are the names I’d circle coming into the 2026 downhill season.
[button]Shop Mountain Bikes[/button]
2026 DH Men Favorites
Asa Vermette is the first name I’m circling, and not just because the 19 year old is ridiculously fast. He’s moving into the Elite ranks in 2026 with Frameworks Racing / TRP after a huge junior run, and he already looked like one of the most exciting young riders in the sport last year. Not to mention he had the fastest time last year at Mont-Sainte-Anne over the elite men, as a junior! There’s also a little Colorado bias here for me too. Asa being a Colorado local is just sick, and after racing a BME at Purgatory a few years back, I can absolutely see how riding that place could help shape someone into a full-on weapon.
Jackson Goldstone has to be right at the top of the list too. He’s the reigning men’s overall Downhill World Cup champion, and he came back from injury in 2025 looking like he never left. When the defending overall champ is rolling into a new season with that much speed and confidence, it’d be pretty dumb not to have him as one of the main favorites.
Loïc Bruni is still Loïc Bruni, which basically means he belongs on this list every single year until proven otherwise. He won the opening round of the 2025 downhill season in Bielsko-Biała and, more importantly, he is still one of the smartest and most dangerous racers in the game when the pressure gets high. He just always feels like a guy who can show up and win anywhere.
Rónán Dunne is another rider I’d keep in the mix no matter what. He already has World Cup wins to his name and has been one of the biggest breakout names in downhill over the last couple seasons. There is a bit of an injury cloud around him right now after a preseason crash, but even with that, he still feels like one of the guys who could completely change the shape of the season once he’s back up to speed.
Amaury Pierron is the classic “if he’s healthy, he can win literally anywhere” pick. He bounced back from a collarbone injury to win at Lenzerheide in 2025, and his official World Series bio still reads like one of the strongest resumes in the field: two overall World Cup titles and 13 World Cup wins. That is not exactly random dark horse territory.
2026 Women DH Favorites
On the women’s side, Vali Höll still feels like the benchmark. She came out of 2025 with another overall Downhill World Cup title, and even in seasons where she doesn’t look untouchable every single weekend, she still finds herself right there at the top when it matters. Until somebody consistently takes that spot from her, she’s still the rider to beat.
Tahnée Seagrave is one of the easiest names to put on this list. She opened the 2025 World Cup season with a win in Bielsko-Biała, added another win in Pal Arinsal, and her official athlete profile lists 12 Elite World Cup victories. When she’s healthy and things are clicking, she’s still one of the fastest and most dangerous riders in the world.
Sacha Mills is the wildcard pick here, but not in a random way. She’s still young, officially listed by the UCI as an Australian rider born in 2006, and she’s already putting together legit results in 2026, including winning a round of the Oceania Mountain Bike Continental Series. She’s not the household-name pick yet, which is honestly part of why she’s such a fun one to watch.
Gracey Hemstreet feels more and more like the real deal, not just a breakout story. She picked up World Cup wins in Loudenvielle and Leogang in 2025, and by the end of the year she looked fully capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone in the field. At this point, putting her on a favorites list is not hype, it’s just being honest.
Harriet Harnden is the one I think a lot of people are going to keep a closer eye on this season. Her World Series athlete profile says 2026 will be her second full downhill season after dominating in enduro, and she just opened her year by winning the British National DH opener by a huge margin. She’s still a bit of a different pick than the usual downhill-only names, but that’s also why she’s interesting.
Final thoughts
The cool thing about this list is it’s a really fun mix of proven killers and newer names that could make the season weird in the best possible way. Goldstone, Bruni, Pierron, Höll, and Seagrave are the obvious heavy hitters, but riders like Asa, Gracey, Sacha, and Harriet are exactly what make early-season downhill so fun to watch. New venue, new year, and a whole lot of chaos. Perfect.
Who are your favorites this year?
[button]Shop Mountain Bikes[/button]
[button]All Bikes[/button]
