The UCI MTB World Championships is always the centre piece of mountain biking and this year’s event in Les Gets, France proved exceptional. In front of a record-breaking crowd and on home soil, Specialized Gravity’s Loic Bruni lay claim to his sixth Downhill Men Elite world crown.

It was a strong day on the hill for MOTOREX supported teams with Dakotah Norton (Intense Factory Racing), Aaron Gwin (Intense Factory Racing), Henry Kerr (Propain Factory Racing) and Benoit Coulanges (Dorval AM Commencal) all joining Bruni inside the top 10.

While there was no medal success in the Women Elite class, Dorval AM Commencal’s Camille Balanche put in a heroic ride for fourth, despite having broken her collarbone just 20 days earlier. Her teammate Monika Hrastnik completed the top five with fifth.

Cementing herself as a future star in the making, Pivot Factory Racing’s Jenna Hastings earned her first rainbow stripes jersey by becoming the Junior Women Downhill World Champion. In the Junior Men, Propain Factory Racing’s Remy Meier-Smith took home a silver medal for second.

In the Cross-Country World Championships, Thömus Akros Youngstars’ Monique Halter delivered the goods in the Women Junior Cross-Country Olympic. With a world title now in her back pocket, the future certainly looks bright for this young Swiss athlete. Elsewhere, Thömus Maxon’s Alessandra Keller took the Silver Medal for runner-up in the Women Elite Cross-Country Short Circuit, before going on to place fifth in the Cross-Country Olympic race. The Men Elite Cross-Country Olympic race saw Specialized Factory Racing’s Jordan Sarrou take sixth.

In the eight-round UCI MTB Downhill World Cup, Dorval AM Commencal’s Camille Balanche won her debut Elite Women’s title. The Swiss star was the standout performer, racing to three wins and six podium results. Despite breaking her collarbone at the penultimate round, she dug deep for fifth at the series finale in Italy to become champion.

In the Elite Men’s competition, Specialized Gravity’s Finn Iles secured a debut race win to finish the series in third overall. With two podium results, Pivot Factory Racing’s Bernard Kerr enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career to take fifth overall. Dorval AM Commencal’s Benoit Coulanges finished inside the top five three times to finish seventh. Intense Factory Racing’s Aaron Gwin came on strong in the final half of the season to grab two podium visits. With Gwin signing off the year in eighth, it ensured four MOTOREX supported teams placed inside the top 10.

In the hotly contested UCI Cross Country World Cup, 2022 marked a coming-of-age season for Thömus Maxon’s Alessandra Keller. The Swiss rider claimed her debut Cross-Country Olympic World Cup win at a mud-filled Snowshoe venue in the USA. She then went on to clinch the Women Elite titles in both the Cross-Country Short Track and Cross-Country Olympic.

The eight-round 2022 Enduro World Series saw multiple levels of success for MOTOREX supported teams. In the overall team standings, Pivot Factory Racing were the dominant force and raced ahead to become this year’s Enduro World Series Team Champions. In total, four MOTOREX supported teams ended the year inside the top 10 overall.

In the individual Men’s standings, Yeti / FOX Factory Racing’s Richie Rude was in contention for the title all year. Taking three race wins and four podium results, he ended his campaign as vice-champion. It was a stellar year for Pivot Factory Racing’s Ed Masters, who claimed a podium result along with four top five finishes to place fifth overall. Specialized Racing’s Charlie Murray took eighth overall, with Pivot Factory Racing’s Matt Walker in 10th. Lucas Cole was 12th for the Ibis Enduro Team.

Always at the sharp end of the results, Pivot Factory Racing’s Morgane Charre was a title contender in the Women’s category. Claiming a race win on home soil in France, while finishing on the podium in six out of eight races, she ended the year as a worthy runner-up.

The Under 21 Men’s class was fiercely contested between Pivot Factory Racing’s Luke Meier-Smith and Intense Factory Racing’s Seth Sherlock. With the category seeing the best five results count towards the overall classification, Meier-Smith won all five of the races he competed in to lift the title with a perfect score card. Sherlock also picked up two races wins en route to finishing second overall.

There was further success for MOTOREX in the eMTB Enduro World Series (EWS-E). Specialized Racing’s Sofia Wiedenroth took a race win to end her season as vice-champion. In total MOTOREX supported three teams competing in the full EWS-E championship - Specialized Racing, Yeti / Shimano Racing and Husqvarna E-Bicycles Racing.

The enduro racing season came to a close in Finale Ligure, Italy for the prestigious Trophy of Nations. The New Zealand trio of Ed Masters, Matt Walker and Charlie Murray took the Men’s victory, while Morgane Charre helped France to victory in the Women’s class.

The UEC European Championships saw another large medal haul for MOTOREX supported athletes. Dorval AM Commencal’s Monika Hrastnik successfully defended her crown in the Women Elite Downhill. Her teammate Camille Balanche finished behind her as runner-up, while Benoit Coulanges took third in the Men Elite class to ensure a great result for the team in Maribor, Slovenia. Generation Specialized’s Izabela Yankova also took home Gold in the Junior Women Downhill race. At the Cross-Country championships in Portugal, Thömus Akros Youngstars’ Monique Halter claimed Gold in the Under 19 Women Cross-Country Olympic.