Italy had waited thirteen years for a Team Relay world title. It came back on the opening day of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Val di Sole-Trentino, running from August 26th to 30th, in the spectacular mixed-category event that sets the tone for the week.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 26th, Juri Zanotti, Martina Berta, Fabio Bassignana, Valentina Corvi, Paolo Costa and Giorgia Pellizotti were crowned Team Relay World Champions. Switzerland took silver and the United States bronze.
The medal programme had opened in the morning with the e-Mountain Bike Cross-country races, where Jérôme Gilloux gave France the men’s title and Anna Spielmann put Austria on the top step of the women’s podium. But the first big roar of these Championships was Italian, and it came with a dedication to Chiara Teocchi, the Italian World Cup rider recovering after her crash at La Thuile.
CORVI’S LAP TURNS THE TEAM RELAY ITALY’S WAY
Italy opened with Elite rider Juri Zanotti, and the European Championships silver medallist gave the hosts the start they wanted, handing over a few seconds clear of Switzerland’s Nicolas Halter, with the Czech Republic, Austria and the United States further back.
Austria’s decision to send its men out in the first three legs paid off in the short term, with strong rides from Elite rider Mario Bair and Junior Michael Hettegger moving them to the front, Italy second and Switzerland third.
Paolo Costa and Martina Berta then stretched Italy’s advantage over the Swiss, before Anina Hutter pulled Switzerland back into contention on the fourth leg.
The fifth leg decided the race. Valentina Corvi produced the lap of the afternoon, taking 1 minute 35 seconds out of Austria’s Johanna Piringer, dropping her before the end of the lap and opening a decisive gap on Switzerland as well ahead of the final change-over.
That left Fabio Bassignana around a minute to manage on the last leg, and he crossed the line with both arms raised in front of a packed Val di Sole crowd. Switzerland took silver at 51 seconds and the United States bronze at 1 minute 31 seconds. Austria paid for its early gamble on the final leg and finished sixth, behind Canada and Denmark.
“Starting our home World Championships like this is a dream,” said Juri Zanotti. “We dedicate this win to Chiara Teocchi. We would have loved to have her here with us, we are all wishing her well and this one is for her. The relay is the only time we get to race as a real team. Today we were perfect, and I want to take my hat off to the women, because they are the ones who made the difference.”
“Winning in the Italian jersey at a home World Championships is a special feeling,” said Martina Berta. “I think it is incredible for all of us. Juri went out very hard, then we were all excellent, with some outstanding individual rides. Beating a very strong Swiss team makes us particularly proud.”
E-XC: FIFTH UCI WORLD TITLE FOR GILLOUX
The pre-race favourite lived up to expectations as Jérôme Gilloux claimed his fifth e-Mountain Bike Cross-country UCI World Championship title, his fifth in six years. The Frenchman won his first world title in the discipline right here in Val di Sole in 2021, and today in Daolasa di Commezzadura, he had to dig deep to overcome the challenge of Switzerland’s Joris Ryf, the 2023 World Champion and the only rider other than Gilloux to have won gold in the last six editions.
After a blisteringly fast start from Ryf, Gilloux embarked on a determined pursuit, taking four laps to close a gap of around ten seconds. Behind them, Stéphane Tempier consolidated third place, with Italian rider Daniele Braidot following 31 seconds behind.
On the fifth lap, the Frenchman finally bridged the gap and caught Ryf. Two laps later, Gilloux made his decisive move, opening up a lead of a few seconds that he managed to hold all the way to the finish.
Gilloux crossed the line 8 seconds ahead of Ryf and 2 minutes 10 seconds ahead of Tempier, a true mountain bike veteran who claimed his fourth World Championship medal across three different disciplines: Cross-country Olympic, Team Relay and e-Mountain Bike Cross-country. Braidot was the top-placed Italian, finishing fourth, 2 minutes 41 seconds behind the winner.
SPIELMANN CROWNED E-XC UCI WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN
The Women’s race followed the script too, with Austria’s Anna Spielmann taking the win and successfully defending the title she claimed in 2025 in Valais, Switzerland.
After Switzerland’s Kathrin Stirnemann made a fast start, the 28-year-old Tyrolean gradually closed the gap on the second lap, stepping up the pace through the middle section of the race. Once she had built a lead of around ten seconds, Spielmann focused on managing her advantage over the final laps, securing Austria’s first gold medal of the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. Waiting for her at the finish was her partner Lukas Pöstlberger, the 2017 Giro d’Italia pink jersey and winner of the 200 km race at The Traka last May, today in the unfamiliar role of her mechanic.
Behind Anna Spielmann, Stirnemann took silver, finishing 11 seconds behind the winner. Bronze went to another Austrian, Tamara Wiedmann, who crossed the line in third, 44 seconds back. Italy’s Anna Oberparleiter was fourth at 1 minute 47 seconds after a solid ride from start to finish.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27TH: SIX UCI WORLD TITLES UP FOR GRABS IN JUNIOR CROSS-COUNTRY OLYMPIC AND CROSS-COUNTRY SHORT TRACK
A total of six titles will be contested on Thursday, August 27th at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole-Trentino. The day’s programme will begin in the morning at Daolasa di Commezzadura with the Junior Cross-country Olympic races. The women’s event will start at 09:30 CEST, followed by the men’s race at 11:15 CEST.
The Cross-country Short Track programme will then start at 15:30, featuring the shortest of the five disciplines contested at this year’s UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole: a 1 km circuit with 25 metres of elevation gain, raced in around 30 minutes. This will see the Women’s U23 race at 15:30, followed by the Men’s U23 at 16:30, the Women’s Elite at 17:45 and the Men’s Elite at 18:30 (all times CEST).
The Junior Cross-country Olympic races are arguably the most unpredictable events in the entire UCI World Championships programme. This is partly due to the limited opportunities young riders have to compete against one another on the international stage. At the recent European Championships in Monteceneri, Switzerland, France’s Mathieu Ghibaudo won the men’s race, ahead of Austria’s Michael Hettegger and Germany’s Elias Hückmann. In the women’s race, Anja Grossmann of Switzerland took the title. Riders from the United States and Canada could also be in contention for the top spots.
The Cross-country Short Track races will feature several of the leading riders from the UCI World Cup season. A number of high-profile contenders are expected to join the battle, particularly in the elite men’s race. These include reigning Cross-country Olympic World Champion Alan Hatherly of South Africa and reigning Cross-country Short Track World Champion Victor Koretzky of France. France’s team will also include other top international riders, such as Adrien Boichis, Luca Martin and Mathis Azzaro. American Bjorn Riley, Chile’s Martin Vidaurre and Switzerland’s Dario Lillo are also ones to watch, while Italy will be led by Simone Avondetto.
In the elite women’s race, Sina Frei of Switzerland is the clear favourite. She was the first-ever UCI Short Track World Champion, claiming the inaugural title in Val di Sole in 2021. Her main challengers include Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds, reigning Cross-country Olympic World Champion, the USA’s Savilia Blunk, Austria’s Laura Stigger, Switzerland’s Nicole Koller and Ronja Blöchlinger, New Zealand’s Samara Maxwell, the Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse and Canada’s Isabella Holmgren.
In the women’s U23 race, the spotlight will be on Austria’s Kathrin Embacher. The main riders in the spotlight in the Men’s U23 race will be Germany’s Paul Schehl and Denmark’s Gustav Heby Pedersen.
Meanwhile, the Downhill riders will also take to the track on Thursday on the Black Snake course, where the track walk was held today – the traditional on-foot inspection that officially gets the discipline’s programme underway.
The evening will see the first side event at Daolasa di Commezzadura, with the 4X Pro Tour qualifying rounds scheduled to begin at 21:00 CEST.
Access to the races scheduled on Thursday, August 27th, is free, as it is for the events of Friday, August 28th, while tickets will be required for Saturday, August 29th (Downhill) and Sunday, August 30th (Cross-Country). Tickets are available at www.valdisolebikeland.com.
