Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) appeared to take control of the Elite Women’s race early on, pulling away with a 25-second lead on the first lap. In the end, however, she had to settle for second place after a thrilling duel. Just behind Sina Frei and ahead of American Madigan Munro (LIV Factory Racing).

Rissveds applies pressure immediately, and only Frei and Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) are able to keep up at first. Evie Richards (Trek - Unbroken XC) misses her pedal at the start and has a difficult day, which also includes a hard crash.

Shortly thereafter, Rissveds pulls away completely and appears to be seamlessly building on her form from the previous season, heading for her third consecutive victory. But she falls back on the second lap, allowing Frei to catch up again after she had distanced Blunk.

While the difficult conditions continue to cause problems in the peloton, Frei, Rissveds, and Munro engage in an intense duel with alternating attacks. Munro attacks Frei as the bell rings for the final lap.

But the Swiss rider counters, first catching up to Munro—who achieves the best result of her career with third place—and then closing in on Rissveds, who leads every lap until the decisive final lap.

As Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) closes in from behind, Rissveds makes a mistake at the decisive moment. This gives Frei the lead she needs to secure her first XCO victory, just a few months after breaking her hand.

Lillo secures dominant debut victory

With reigning champion Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) missing the XCO opener due to a broken collarbone sustained during training in South Korea, the Elite Men’s field is wide open, and the young riders impressively seize their opportunity.

The entire podium consists of riders aged 25 or younger, while Finn Treudler (CUBE Factory Racing) is also among the most notable riders in his first Elite World Cup start. However, his race is hampered by several technical issues that he, as a rookie, struggles to get under control. But even without these difficulties, it would have been hard to keep up with the outstanding Dario Lillo.

Like Rissveds, Lillo builds a comfortable 17-second lead over Treudler as early as the first lap. Treudler is the only rider who initially stays within 30 seconds. Although Treudler keeps up for another lap, a first chain drop costs him any chance of victory, and further mechanical issues ultimately drop him back to twelfth place.

In the men’s race, equipment plays a bigger role than in the women’s. Some riders, including Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon Factory Racing), switch to intermediate tires—just like in Formula 1—while Martin Vidaurre (Specialized Factory Racing) also drops out of contention for the lead due to an early flat tire.

Instead, the spotlight shifts to Cannondale Factory Racing riders Luca Martin and Charlie Aldridge. Riding the distinctive Cannondale Lefty fork, which performs particularly well in the mud, they ride to second and third place, 1:46 and 2:39 minutes behind winner Lillo.

Corvi and Halter win the U23 categories

Valentina Corvi (Canyon XC Racing) attacks immediately and builds a 40-second lead as early as the first lap, which she continuously extends as the race progresses. In the end, she wins with a 3:28-minute lead over Elina Benoit (Lexware Mountainbike Team), while Bailey Cioppa rounds out the podium.

Upon her return to the category she won last year with a 178-point lead, Corvi immediately makes her mark. Benoit proves to be the clear second-strongest rider and shows that she wants to improve further after finishing seventh in the 2025 overall standings.

Nicolas Halter (Thömus Akros - Youngstars) doesn’t have quite as clear a race as Corvi, but also leads every lap and ultimately wins with a 35-second lead. Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) made a strong comeback on the final lap, closing the gap by nearly half a minute and riding to second place, 35 seconds behind. Third place goes to Thibaut François Baudry (Canyon XC Racing), 41 seconds behind Halter.

Full results