IN BRIEF
Cannondale is closing its official World Cup mountain bike programme, Cannondale Factory Racing (CFR), at the end of the 2026 season. A programme more than 30 years old, which produced world champions and World Cup victories. In January 2027, it will be replaced by the “Cannondale Rogues”, a collective combining racers, content creators and community ambassadors.
The news broke on 24 June 2026, in the middle of Eurobike: Cannondale is ending Cannondale Factory Racing after the current season. More than three decades at the very top of world cross-country mountain biking will come to a halt with the team’s final pedal stroke in 2026.
A heavy legacy to carry
The programme’s record speaks for itself. In 2024, Alan Hatherly took the elite men’s world championship title, while Mona Mitterwallner and Simon Andreassen claimed marathon titles. More recently, Luca Martin won an XCO World Cup round at Lenzerheide.
The current line-up includes Charlie Aldridge, Luca Martin, Jolanda Neff, Ana Santos and Cole Punchard. All of them will see their 2026 season turned into an official celebration of the programme, according to the brand’s announcement.
The Cannondale Rogues instead
In January 2027, Cannondale will launch the “Cannondale Rogues”: a hybrid collective mixing competitive racers, content creators and community figures. A model very different from a conventional World Cup team.
The brand will also remain a partner of the EF team on the road, and of the St. Michel team on the women’s side. Investment in racing is not disappearing entirely — it is changing shape.
For cross-country mountain bike fans, the end of CFR feels like the closing of a founding chapter. The brand that helped define world XC will no longer be present as an official team. It is a turning point.
