The first mountain biking world cup series took place in 1991. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North America—and was sponsored by Grundig.In 2006, cross-country mountain biking events became part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.

There are many types of mountain bike racing-

Freeride - Freeride (FR) competitions are not so much a race as they are a competition of skill.

Downhill- Downhill (DH) racing is a time trial event. Riders start at intervals that can vary from 30 seconds to three minutes-depending on the stage of the competition – and the rider with the lowest time wins.

Cross-country -Cross-country (XCO) racing is held on a varied terrain circuit, it is normally around 6-8 kilometers (km) and is always a massed-start race. In this type of race elite, U23, and Junior Expert riders at UCI sanctioned races, are allowed technical assistance.riders in the same team can help each other at any point in the race.

Super D – Super D (SD) is a blend of cross-country and downhill. Most of the race is downhill, on trails similar to the downhill segment of a cross-country race. There are also short (100–500 m) uphill sections which make the use of downhill bicycles difficult, as a result, most riders use cross-country or ‘trail bikes’.

Dual Slalom/Dual – Dual Slalom (DS) is a ski-inspired event which pits two riders against each other on two identical man-made tracks side-by-side with the same jumps and berms, with a rider on each track, and the first across the line wins.

Four cross -4X also replaced Dual in the UCI World Cup series in 2002.  Inspired by the dual format and by BMX racing, this event pits four riders on the same course from starting gates to finish. There can only be one winner per event, so the races can quickly eliminate riders making the progression faster for a day’s events.

Enduro – Enduro (ND) is a relatively new development that has its roots in Marathon mountain biking.Only one member of the team can be on the course at any one time, and it is a competition not to finish first, but to complete the greatest number of laps before the end of the event.

Bike trials - Slow negotiation of man-made and natural obstacles where setting a foot down constitutes a penalty.

Dirt jumping – Dirt jumping (DJ), similar to freeride, it is a competition of skill, differing that it involves the rider to jump off mounds of dirt to perform the best tricks with the best style.

Stage Races – Stage Races consist of several races – ’stages’ – ridden consecutively, usually over a period of several days.