Riders from the Giant Factory Off-Road Team kicked off the new year with victories across different disciplines and in different countries around the world. With the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series about to begin, they look to carry that momentum into the heart of the season.
Whether it was Luke Meier-Smith piloting his Glory Advanced to a fourth consecutive Australian downhill title or world champion Alan Hatherly setting a new course record at the Big-5 MTB Challenge in South Africa aboard his Anthem Advanced SL, the theme was consistent—riders resuming their winning ways in the new year.
Meier-Smith started the year with a trio of DH wins. His fourth Australian national championship followed victories at Crankworx Christchurch and Crankworx Rotorua, where teammate Dane Jewett finished second. Read more about Luke's Australian title here.
On the XC side, Hatherly added a win at the opening XCO round of the UCI C1 South Africa Cup to his Attakwas and Big-5 victories.
The reigning world champion wasn’t the only Giant rider finding form. Dario Lillo won the XCO at the UCI C1 VTT Chabrières in France, while his teammate Jens Schuermans finished second. Carter Woods took the XCC and placed second in the XCO at the UCI C1 Canada Cup in Langford, British Columbia. Schuermans also won the Watersley XCO Challenge—the second stop of the 3 Nations Cup in The Netherlands—and Lillo claimed an impressive second at the Shimano Super Cup Massi Banyoles in Spain.
READY TO ROLL
All eyes now turn to the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series, which opens in early May with a landmark combined XC/DH round at an all-new venue in South Korea. It will be the first-ever Asian UCI XCO and XCC World Cup, and the first UCI DH World Cup on the continent in 25 years.
The series will visit three continents and nine countries across 11 events between May and October, with the season finale deciding both the XCO and DHI World Cup winners at the Lake Placid Olympic Site in New York.
Giant ambassador Sascha Kim recently visited the World Cup venue in Yongpyong, Pyeongchang—close to where the 2018 Winter Olympics were held—on a trip that opened his eyes to South Korea's rich mountain bike culture. Read his story here.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Meier-Smith arrives at the World Cup as one of gravity racing's most on-form riders. He enjoyed a breakthrough World Cup victory at Lake Placid to close out 2025 and will be aiming to stand on the top step again in 2026. Alongside him, veteran Rémi Thirion brings 18 years of professional racing experience to bear. Get to know Rémi in this recent Ride Unleashed film.
Thirion, Meier-Smith, and brothers Dane and Jakob Jewett will work with newly added DH team performance coach Mark Wallace, who makes his role with the team official after his introduction on the team's social channels earlier this year.
Jakob will miss the early rounds as he recovers from shoulder surgery following a crash at Val di Sole last June. The team is supporting his return and will share updates as his timeline becomes clearer.
On the XC side, Hatherly—who also spent the spring racing on the road with Team Jayco AlUla and had a third-place overall finish at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali—will miss the first two World Cup rounds as he focuses on road racing. He's expected to begin his MTB World Cup campaign at Leogang or Lenzerheide in June. His top goal for the season will be defending his rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, in late August.
Eleven rounds. Nine countries. Three continents. The Giant Factory Off-Road Team is ready.
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