Years, editions, and accumulated experiences are not enough to transform an event into a great classic: something more is needed. And when that something is there, you can feel it: on Sunday 22nd June, the roar, the roar of the audience of Val di Sole, collected at Daolasa for the show of Cross Country with WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, has explained better than anything else why this Trentino valley has become one of the world capitals of off-roading, loved and celebrated by all the greatest protagonists in almost 20 years of history at the highest levels.
Source: press release
Many were waiting for the duel between the legend Nino Schurter and the World Cup dominator Chris Blevins, but on a day when – in addition to the legs – it was necessary to know how to dare, the strongest was the martin vidaurre, who four years ago in Daolasa had won an U23 World title.
For the Chilean, it was the first victory in the Elite World Cup (for him and for his country) but above all the awareness of being able to play a leading role in the coming years. Behind the Specialized Racing athlete, two other emerging names of this first part of the season, the French Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing) and the Swiss Fabio Punter, and an Italy that convinces, with Luke Braidot (Wilier-Vittoria), fourth after a head-to-head race with the strongest, and the European Champion Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria), ninth at the finish and author of a powerful comeback in the second half of the race.
Braidot himself gave the numerous (and noisy) audience of Daolasa a very strong emotion with an all-attacking interpretation of the race. It was the Friulian who gave the first jolt to the group of the best together with the Swiss Philip Columbus, with the Cannondale duo formed by Martin e Aldridge in pursuit.
After half the race, they took the stage, first Azzaro, with a very incisive action during the sixth lap, and then Vidaurre, while Colombo was slowed down by a puncture. The Chilean champion made up positions, between the sixth and seventh laps, overtaking Braidot and catching up with Azzaro.
An action that left no escape for the opponents, overwhelmed by the day of grace of the talented South American. Behind him, Azzaro easily held second place while a mistake by Braidot at the end of the penultimate lap paved the way for the top-3 for Puntener, despite the chase with the last remaining strength.
Behind Vidaurre, Azzaro, Puntener and Braidot, Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale) closed out the top-5. Eighth was World Cup leader Blevins, just ahead of Avondetto; thirteenth was the World Champion Hatherly, fourteenth Schurter.
“It's incredible: I love Italy, I love its people, they gave me great energy today,” declared the winner. “I have wonderful memories of the U23 World Cup I won in 2021. Throughout the race I told myself 'you can do it', I kept pushing and I achieved my goal. I'm very happy, also for my people and my country: I really needed a victory like this.”
“I knew I was okay, even if I didn't believe it to this extent,” Luca Braidot admitted. “If I had raced contenting myself with getting on the podium I would have gotten there, but I wanted to try to win in front of this fantastic crowd. I struggled a bit too much in the first half of the race because Colombo kept breaking away. In the final I made a mistake, and there I lost the podium. I'll try again next year, with the rainbow jersey at stake.”
Blevins remains firmly in the lead of the XCO World Cup with 1282 points, ahead of Vidaurre (952) and Koretzky (866).
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1. |  | VIDAURRE KOSSMANN Martin (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) | 1:27:42 |
| 2. |  | AZZARO Mathis (ORIGINE RACING DIVISION) | 1:28:05 +23 |
| 3. |  | PUNTENER Fabio | 1:28:21 +39 |
| 4. |  | BRAIDOT Luke (WILIER-VITTORIA FACTORY TEAM) | 1:28:29 +47 |
| 5. |  | ALDRIDGE Charlie (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) | 1:28:35 +53 |
| 6. |  | SCHELB Julian (KMC RIDLEY MTB RACING TEAM) | 1:28:42 + 1: 00 |
| 7. | | SCHÄTTI Luca (BIXS PERFORMANCE RACE TEAM) | 1:28:51 + 1: 09 |
| 8. |  | BLEVINS Christopher (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) | 1:28:55 + 1: 13 |
| 9. | | AVONDETTO Simone (WILIER-VITTORIA FACTORY TEAM) | 1:28:55 + 1: 13 |
| 10. | | COLUMBUS Philip (SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING TEAM) | 1:29:06 + 1: 24 |
GENERAL WORLD CUP
Val di Sole archives one of the most beautiful editions in recent memory, rewarded by the compliments of the professionals and the enthusiasm of the 22.000 enthusiasts who attended the show during the three days of competition. The best way to start a new world championship adventure: the path towards the World Championships Val di Sole 2026 (26-30 August) starts tomorrow.
