The iXS Downhill Cup is older than most of its participants. Very few people know about the beginnings of this successful mountain bike downhill series, which was founded back in 2003 and has been flying the flag for the best sport in the world for over two decades now. Here we take a look back at its history.

The beginnings of the iXS Downhill Cup

It all began in 2003: Downhill racing was still in its infancy at the time, and iXS, a Swiss brand belonging to the Hostettler Group, which was very active in motorcycle racing, had only a modest product portfolio for mountain bikers. Nevertheless, iXS became the main sponsor of the Swiss Downhill Cup. Racing teams were few and far between at the time, so the crew from the protective gear specialist simply took over race support for all starters at every race. 

Once we had to remove a child seat from a bike so that it could be ridden in a race.

Pascal Haf, Managing Director of iXS

The iXS Cup crosses the Swiss border

The German Cycling Federation (BDR) took another decisive step in the development of the Swiss Downhill Cup into the iXS Downhill Cup. With its withdrawal in 2004, the BDR withdrew the Bundesliga designation from the German racing series that existed at the time. In 2005, Mountainbike Rider Magazine stepped into the sponsorship gap and became a partner of the series for one year. In 2006, iXS took over this role as the most important supporter. In doing so, the brand not only ensured the continued existence of German downhill sport, but also laid the foundation for the success story of the iXS Downhill Cup. This, in turn, became the cornerstone of many great careers.

Talent factory and career ladder

Over the years, the various series of the iXS Downhill Cup have developed into real talent factories. After the iXS Swiss Downhill Cup and iXS German Downhill Cup series were merged in 2018, there was now an international series that was held in various countries, but which sought its target audience more in popular sport and less in professional teams. In addition, the iXS European Downhill Cup was formed in 2007, which is seen as a springboard to the World Cup. With the changes to World Cup entry requirements under Warner Bros. Discovery, the series has become even more important and will continue to deliver future stars to the world stage. 

In addition to the racing series for adult competitors, the iXS Rookies Cup was founded in 2008. Since then, children from the U11 age group onwards have been able to get a taste of racing. Since 2016, this junior series has been running under new title sponsors. In addition, the biggest highlight for young riders is probably the iXS Rookies Championships for the U13 to U17 age groups, which have been held annually for the past ten years. The UCI does not hold an official world championship for these age groups, so this format represents the unofficial world championships for these categories. All four world champions in 2025 (elite and juniors) were iXS Rookies Champions in previous years, which once again impressively underlines the importance of this competition.

And as if the three racing series weren't enough, Racement and the MTB Agency have launched the VPACE Kids Cup to offer the youngest talents an international platform. For several years now, children from the age of five have been competing there and are introduced to the Rookies Cup in a playful way. 

The most famous face from this early promotion is four-time world champion Valentina Höll: after starting in the iXS Rookies Cup, her path took her via the iXS Downhill Cup (until 2018: German Cup) to the iXS European Downhill Cup. The rest is history... Some of the current stars on the scene show that the European Cup is the perfect preparation for the World Cup. Most recently, riders such as Vali Höll, Nina Hofmann, Max Hartenstern, Henri Kiefer and many more have made the leap into the world elite.

Trip to South America

But there are also a few stories outside of the normal races within the racing series. For example, in 2017 and 2018, two races per year were held in Argentina and Chile during the European winter under the name iXS Downhill Cup South America. The response was not only huge locally, but also received a lot of media attention, as it was the silly season in the northern hemisphere. 

iXS NotARace in Schladming

Another highlight, thanks to the relentless drive of the Racement crew, was the spectacular iXS NotARace in 2020 and 2021, which was born out of necessity during the coronavirus pandemic. Races were not allowed to be held, so we teamed up with Bikepark Schladming to organise a session with the world's best riders to give them a platform to practise their sport even in these difficult times.

More than 20 years of commitment – what else is there to say?

We, the iXS team, would like to thank all the riders, supporters, partners, friends and volunteers. Thank you for making this success story possible. As a brand, we are incredibly proud of what has been achieved over the years. Our goal is not only to provide riders with the best possible protection with our products. We love mountain biking and want to do our part to help even more people experience its fascination. Supporting the iXS Downhill Cup therefore means much more to us than just displaying our logo at the side of the track. The real message lies in the continuity with which we are committed to the sport we all love so much...