RESULTS - World Championships XCO 2

Warm, dry and dusty conditions paired with an unrelenting steep and technical track greeted the competitors at the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championship Cross Country Olympic race in Val di Sole. Thousands of cheering fans lined the course in the Trentino region of Northern Italy as Elite Women navigated five laps of the winding track followed by Elite Men pushing through six laps. The diversity of the course with extended, grinding climbs and awkward, rock-filled technical sections caused riders to focus on their strengths as the field would yo-yo back and forth depending on their position on track.

Great Britain's Evie Richards took a convincing gold-medal-win in the Elite Women's race by over a minute, besting Anne Terpstra in second and Short-Track race winner, Sina Frei in third. Olympic gold medalist, Jolanda Neff, was just out of medal contention inches behind Frei in 4th.

In the Elite Men's race, Swiss riders, Nino Schurter and Mathias Flueckiger broke out early to open up a gap mid-way through the race. Nino has found success in Val di Sole many times with a U23 World Champs win in 2008 and multiple World Cup XCO victories at the venue. Ondrej Cink played chase on his own for a lap until Victor Koretzky reeled him in as lap 5 started. Mid-way through lap, Cink's shifter failed, locking him into a hard gear, dashing his hopes for a medal leaving Koretzky all alone in 3rd. As the bell rang for the final lap, Nino and Flueckiger were wheel-to-wheel and remained that way until the final sprint to the line. Flueckiger would try to attack, but Nino would hold his wheel as they'd recover together. When they hit the final descent, inches separated them until one of the last flat corners where Nino used his technical skills to sneak by with an incredible inside line pass on Flueckiger. Nino lead the sprint to the line and Flueckiger could not keep up. Nino Schurter earned his 9th gold medal in XCO. He now holds the title of the youngest World Champion and the oldest with this win. Mathias Flueckiger earned silver and Victor Koretzky bronze.

Elite Women XCO Results

Elite Men XCO Results

U23 Women XCO Results

U23 Men XCO Results