In October 2024, the International Cycling Union announced a number of changes to the regulations that came into force in January 2025. One of these is that there will only be three places on the podium in future, instead of the previous five. According to the UCI, this change was decided after extensive consultation and with the involvement of all stakeholders as well as representatives of the paddock. However, there is displeasure among the World Cup athletes in cross-country and downhill. They feel ignored and not listened to by the UCI and Warner Brothers Discovery, who have held the broadcasting and marketing rights since 2023. This criticism has now been articulated by 120 XC and 61 Downhill pros in the form of an open letter, calling for a return to the five-man podium.

The issue is also causing controversy in the Ride editorial team. While Stefan Michel is in favor of the change to the regulations and thus the three-rider podium, Steffen Kanduth is against it. Below, the two explain why they think so

Stefan Michel is PRO three-rider podium - because the MTB World Cup doesn't have to be a sheltered workshop

The five-rider podium is a quirky specialty of the Mountain Bike World Cup. Its origin, which is now being widely reported again, fits in with this: Because a certain Cadel Evans, 17 years old at the time, narrowly missed out on the podium at the World Cup race in Cairns, the organizers unceremoniously extended it by two places. It was therefore a measure to offer more athletes a place in the sun or in the media spotlight. However, this does not make them any better, nor does it raise the standard of the sport. Widening the podium merely spreads the honor of the best over more heads.

Just as it doesn't make a team stronger if it lowers the selection criteria for an international championship in order to bring more athletes to the start line. Top-class sport is brutal, performance-oriented and the distribution of rewards is often unfair. The winner doesn't exactly get everything, but the biggest slice of the cake. And all over the world, in every sport, the top three are honored by being placed on a podium. Fourth and fifth place are also the consequence of a huge achievement. But it is part of the drama of sport that someone has to finish fourth and thus just miss out on a place in the spotlight.

Unless the athlete was active in the Mountain Bike World Cup. The five-man podium also reminded me of the ski school races, in which all but the fastest three were classified as fourth. As likeable as this ranking system is for children, professional athletes should not need such a protected workshop. Like the Olympic Games, the World Cup could have awarded a diploma to the top eight. You can bet that such a diploma would be even more insignificant than all the Olympic certificates presented to athletes for their fantastic performance. Or can you name a female athlete who has won an Olympic diploma off the top of your head?

I think it's nice to honor more female athletes for their performance and I don't begrudge them their sponsor's bonus for finishing fourth or fifth on the podium. But I could never take it seriously. It's like when the stronger athlete lets a weaker one win. Or if the UCI were to decide: In our case, the runner-up is also the winner. Now the old braid has been cut off. The UCI usually has at least two new ideas for every one it abandons. Perhaps the seven-rider podium will be next.

Steffen Kanduth is CONTRA abolition of the five-rider podium - because a place on the podium can save careers

In the summer of 2022, downhill pro Andreas Kolb's career finally really took off. 5th place at the World Cup in Leogang, 4th place in Lenzerheide. Two podium finishes gave him the boost he needed after years of drought without a World Cup podium, as he says today. He is currently starting the World Cup season as number 3, is a regular on the winners' podium and is one of the hottest stocks on the World Cup circuit. All of this might have turned out very differently if he hadn't managed these podium finishes. Suddenly he received media attention, which in turn helps with sponsorship deals, which ultimately secures an athlete's livelihood. Because prize money alone is not enough in mountain biking. For a victory in the Downhill or XC World Cup in 2025, an athlete receives exactly 3750 euros, second place brings 2100 euros, third place still brings 1250 and from fourth place it goes into three figures with only 800 euros, for fifth place there is 600 euros. The athletes are therefore dependent on their sponsors, who in turn want publicity in return. The fact that those who earn good money from marketing their performance are now reducing the podium places cements this imbalance.

In addition to the filthy lucre, it is also an emotional issue. Five riders on the podium means five times the joy, five times the emotion and five times the fans cheering at the bottom. It doesn't diminish the performance of the first three on the podium one bit if there are two more standing there and celebrating. On the contrary, the exuberant parties that are celebrated on the podium after a thrilling race are a cherished part of this sport and ultimately its culture. It therefore makes no sense to say that you have to conform to others who also only honor the top three. Mountain biking has always been a little different and the five-rider podium is an expression of this. For XC pro Mona Mitterwallner, this intervention by Warner Brothers in the soul of the sport is the reason to support the protest, as she explains.

The supposed tradition of the triple podium is not as old as you might think and was first mentioned in 1930. Our colleague Stefan has already explained how the five-man podium found its place in the Mountain Bike World Cup. For Cadel Evans, finishing fifth on the podium was also an important moment that he built on. Four years later, he won the overall MTB World Cup and the rest is history.