Race Report: XDS Softail MTB Four Seasons League Summer 2026

Shenzhen, China — July 25-26, 2026 | The temperature at the XDS International Mountain Bike Training Base in Guangming’s new sports district was already climbing when the first riders rolled in, but the real heat came from the racing. Nearly 1,000 competitors from across China — plus a sprinkling of international entries — gathered for the Yishuo Cup 2026 XDS Softail Mountain Bike Four Seasons League summer round, a two-day fixture that the organizers billed as the largest soft-tail mountain bike race of the season in South China.

Spread across four disciplines — XC, downhill, 4X dirt jump racing and the crowd-pleasing NO HAND trick contest — the event delivered the kind of cross-category schedule that is still rare on the domestic scene. For XDS, the Shenzhen-based bike manufacturer behind the league, it was also a statement of intent: the company is building an annual race calendar around its signature full-suspension platform rather than relying on one-off events.

A dirt-jump opening and a lion-dance send-off

The racing began after a 9:30 a.m. opening ceremony that felt closer to a stadium show than a domestic mountain bike race. XDS Bear Team riders launched the manufacturer’s newest full-suspension machines over a kickers-and-berms course, landing almost within arm’s reach of the front row. Following the stunt display, XDS general manager Tan Yancong welcomed the field. In a short speech, he framed the league as part of a broader mission to grow cycling in China, citing the brand’s partnership with the Chinese national mountain bike team and its XDS Astana squad that now competes at the WorldTour level.

Title sponsor Lin Kehua, general manager of Guangzhou Keme Sports Technology, followed by saying the company viewed the Yishuo Cup not just as a naming rights deal but as a long-term investment in China’s off-road riding culture. Athlete representative Zhang Siqi then led the field through the competition oath, a formality that carried extra weight given the weekend’s packed schedule.

The ceremony closed with a southern-Chinese lion dance, a percussion-and-color moment that drew cheers from the grandstands before race officials sounded a compressed-air horn and released a wall of colored smoke above the start straight. The combination of traditional performance and modern gravity-racing imagery set the tone for a weekend that was as much about spectacle as it was about stopwatches.

XC, DH, 4X and tricks: a four-discipline card

On track, the format was the story. XC racers traded positions on a rolling, technical loop that used the natural contours of the Guangming site. Downhill riders dropped into a steep, jump-filled course that demanded both speed and body English. The 4X dirt jump race pitted four riders against each other on a parallel track, while the NO HAND contest put the spot-light on style — barspins, manuals and controlled flair over the jump set.

The field ranged from elite professionals and national-team hopefuls to youth riders and weekend enthusiasts, a mix that reflects both the size of China’s riding population and the lack of dedicated full-suspension events in the region. Organizers said the summer round was designed partly to fill that gap, providing a sanctioned platform for riders who otherwise spend most of their season on unsanctioned training rides or regional sportives.

Off the course, the event leaned into the festival atmosphere. Organizers ran side events including a “mountain bike experience officer” program, a timed shifter challenge, a smart-trainer power contest and social-media check-in stations. The programming was clearly aimed at families and newcomers as much as at the racers — a nod to the Chinese government’s Healthy China push and the city of Shenzhen’s effort to brand Guangming as an outdoor-sports destination.

A UCI-grade training base as the backdrop

The venue itself is not incidental. XDS has built the Guangming base as a UCI-standard mountain bike track attached to a professional training center, one of the first of its kind owned directly by a Chinese bike manufacturer. The facility is intended to serve the national team, the XDS Astana roster and the public in roughly equal measure — a model that mirrors the multi-use sports parks common in Europe and North America but remains uncommon in China.

Tan said the company plans to expand the Four Seasons League beyond a single summer headline, with larger fields, bigger prize purses and tighter brand integration across the year. The long-term target, according to the league’s promotional materials, is to help turn Shenzhen’s Guangming district into a cycling-industry cluster and to accelerate the transition of Chinese cycling from “a big riding country” to “a strong riding country.”

Takeaway

The Yishuo Cup summer round ended with a podium ceremony and a promise to return for the next leg of the Four Seasons League. For now, the clearest signal from Guangming is that XDS is willing to spend on infrastructure, athletes and events in order to own the soft-tail mountain bike conversation in China. Whether that translates into a sustained professional calendar will depend on the next few rounds — but a thousand riders on a UCI-grade track in Shenzhen is a credible opening argument.

Editor’s note: This report is an independent English-language account based on the event information and imagery released by XDS and the Yishuo Cup organizing committee. All photo credits: XDS.