Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC) benefited from a mechanical issue for Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to win the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup at Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ (Czechia), as Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) took glory in the elite men’s race. Across the weekend, the event welcomed 24,000 spectators, adding to the electric atmosphere on site.
Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) made a brilliant return from her road campaign to win the UCI Cross-country Short-Track (XCC) World Cup on Saturday. The UCI XCO World Champion looked determined to double up on the weekend when taking an early lead and pressing the pace. But she suffered a puncture on lap three to drop back down the field. She made a charge back through the pack but could not sustain the effort and came home in 13th, 1:59 behind Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC).
In the Elite Men’s race, all eyes were on Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) on his return to mountain bike action, but the Dutch star crashed twice on the start loop before pulling out. With no Van der Poel to worry about, Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) showed his class as he kept himself towards the front of the race before stepping on the gas on the penultimate lap. The American celebrated with low fives with the crowd on the home straight, such was his dominance, as he doubled up after taking UCI XCC World Cup glory on Saturday.
In the U23 action, Ella MacPhee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) emerged victorious in the Women’s UCI XCO World Cup, as Isabella Holmgren suffered a crash and there was a dramatic finish to the Men's race, as Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) beat Rens Teunissen van Manen (KMC MTB Racing Team) in a sprint finish.
MITTERWALLNER RETURNS TO FORM AS PIETERSE’S DREAM OF WEEKEND DOUBLE DASHED
Puck Pieterse’s dream return to the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series action on Saturday turned to a nightmare 24 hours later, as a puncture ruined her chances of a weekend double. The Dutch star produced a blistering finish to win the elite women’s UCI XCC World Cup on Saturday, and looked good when taking an early lead in the XCO race, but things went wrong for her on the third lap of the Vysočina Arena, as a rear puncture sent her back through the pack. She was unable to make up the lost ground and came home in 13th behind Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC).
Pieterse blasted off the line to secure a prominent position going into the first corner. Nina Graf (Lapierre Racing Unity) led her into the tech zone for the first time and held that position down the Visit Czechia Steps. 12 months ago, the roots were wet and treacherous, but the women’s race took place under a cloudless sky in 2025, and it was a smoother passage for the riders.
Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) led a group of seven at the end of the start loop, as she stopped the clock at 6:24. Pieterse lifted the pace heading into the first lap and went to the front, followed by Rissveds and Graf. Reigning UCI XCO World champion found the ideal line through the Rock Garden section for the first time to put daylight between herself and the chasers entering the WHOOP Wall, but the gradient was so steep that even her was forced sideways on occasions during the ascent.
Pieterse’s early attack caused time gaps further back, and the advantage afforded her the luxury of being able to pick the best lines through the technical sections.
At the end of the opening lap, Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) and Candice Lill were the only riders in touch with Pieterse.
The pattern of the race quickly developed, as Pieterse laid down the power on the climbs to gap her rivals. She got out of shape on the Rock Garden for the second time, but her strength rescued the situation, and it did not check her momentum.
At the end of the second lap, Pieterse, Keller and Lill stopped the clock at 30:03, with over 10 seconds back to Rebecca Henderson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) and Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team). Rissveds, who was sick and missed Saturday’s XCC race, dropped through the field and stepped off her bike at the end of the second lap as the winner of the second race in Araxá failed to pick up any points.
There was drama on the third lap, as Pieterse suffered a rear puncture in the Rock Garden shortly before the WHOOP Wall and she shipped 1:33 and 23 places after limping to the tech zone. At the end of the third lap, Keller, Lill and Maxwell formed a three-rider group at the head of the race, as Pieterse cut the gap to 1:16.
Henderson and Mitterwallner joined the front three at the head of the race on the climb up the WHOOP Wall on the fourth lap. Pieterse made up ground and places rapidly after her tyre change, but her momentum stalled on the fourth lap and she stopped the clock one minute behind Maxwell’s leading time of 54:11.
Mitterwallner pushed the pace towards the end of the fifth lap and crossed the line at 1:05.55, five seconds ahead of Maxwell, Lill and Keller. Pieterse missed a couple of bottles in the feed zone after her tyre change, and went backwards in the later stages to finish in 13th.
Series leader Maxwell made her move on the final lap and gapped Mitterwallner but an error on a climb saw her bike get tangled in a piece of meshing marking the edge of the course. She had to unclip and lost the lead to Mitterwallner.
Maxwell made a big effort to get back to the wheel of Mitterwallner on the WHOOP Wall, but was gapped again as the latter produced a brilliant final descent. Mitterwallner hit the home straight with a two-second lead and although Maxwell was closing all the way to the line, Mitterwallner held on in a time of 1:29.32 for her first win since 2023. Lill completed the podium, 25 seconds adrift of the top two.
"I can’t really describe it," Mitterwallner said of her win, the first for Mondraker. "It has been a long time to be on the top of the UCI World Cup podium, and to do it in Nové Mĕsto Na Moravě, the most original place of cross-country. I have always dreamed of it, and I really can’t believe it.
"The team worked super hard. It is never easy to start a new project, but everyone was super motivated. We are having a good time too."
Maxwell came through from 25th for second and was delighted with her effort but rued the error on the final lap: "We got up to the climb and my pedal got wrapped in the meshing barrier, so I came off," she said. "It would have been alright, but I could not mount my bike quickly, so that was a bit of a shame”.
“I am just super proud with the way I’ve been racing this year, super composed and knowing when to burn matches and when to sit back. I am really proud."
BLEVINS ASSERTS DOMINANCE AS VAN DER POEL FAILS TO FINISH
Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) continued his sizzling start to the season with his second UCI XCO World Cup win of the year.
After a win and a second place in Araxá, Minas Gerais (Brazil), the American extended his lead in the overall standings with a powerful display in Czechia.
While it was a day in which Blevins celebrated up the home straight to highlight his dominance, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) had an afternoon to forget. The Dutch star returned to mountain bike action following a stunning spring campaign on the road that yielded wins at Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix.
Arriving at Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ, Van der Poel’s stated aim was to work his way into top shape for a crack at the UCI World Championships. But his first dip in the water in 2025 did not go to plan as he crashed twice on the start loop before abandoning on the third lap.
Starting in 32nd, Van Der Poel clipped handlebars when trying to pick his way through traffic and went into the netting. Things got worse for the Dutchman a short time later, as he hit the lip of a jump and went over the front of his handlebars. Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) led at the end of the start loop, while Van der Poel’s tumble left him down in 88th position.
Aside from Van Der Poel, the favourites got through relatively unscathed as Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing), Blevins and Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team-XC) joined Schwarzbauer in a lead group, but Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) suffered a mechanical shortly after the tech zone and dropped through the field to come home in 40th place.
Hatherly pushed on at the end of the first lap and took Schwarzbauer with him, with the duo stopping the clock at 15:26 - eight seconds ahead of a chase group led by Blevins and Koretzky - with Van der Poel down in 72nd, 88 seconds adrift of the leaders.
A group of seven - Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division), Koretzky, Blevins, Hatherly, Schwarzbauer, Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team) and Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon) came together at the end of the second lap. Van der Poel was unable to make any inroads on the leaders and elected to pull out of the race on the third lap.
The leaders’ pace dipped heading into the fourth lap, and it brought a host of riders into the picture, as Blevins, Koretzky and Martín Vidaurre formed a threatening three-man fighting force for Specialized. But defending overall champion Hatherly, in his first race of the season after a spell on the road, was in no mood to let Specialized control things and upped the pace on the fifth lap.
Overall leader Blevins had a serious moment on the fifth lap, as he got out of shape, unclipped and did superbly to stay on his bike. After a spell of riders looking at each other, Vital Albin (Thömus Maxon) lit up the race on the sixth lap - taking Blevins with him, as Hatherly, Koretzky, Azzaro and Fabio Puntener worked hard to get back in touch going into the final couple of laps.
Up the WHOOP Wall on the seventh lap, Blevins put down the hammer and the turn of pace opened up the race as no other rider could fashion a response. The American produced a supreme descent and entered the finishing straight for the penultimate time with an eight-second advantage. Taking the bell in a time of 1:16.09, Blevins led a chase group of six by 10 seconds, and there was no unity in those behind.
Blevins took a number of looks over his shoulder but had a nine-second lead up the WHOOP Wall for the final time. A huge final effort was enough to sniff out the threat from behind and it enabled him to celebrate on the finishing straight, low fiving with the crowd, as he did the double at Nové Mĕsto Na Moravĕ. A superb three-man sprint for the podium saw Azzaro take second from Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon) - with Koretzky the man to miss out.
"I have to say Nové Mĕsto means so much to me, means so much to the sport," Blevins said. "I’ve been here 11 years now, cried in the woods after bad races at Junior, cried after bad races at U23. I felt all the emotions after winning my first European World Cup in this iconic stadium. It is a beautiful day and I am really grateful."
On his issue on lap five when he unclipped and almost came down, Blevins said: "That hurt in a spot you don’t want to hurt. I looked at Victor and he kind of shook his head at me as he saw the sketchy moment. These roots are pretty slick even when they are dry, and when I am on the limit I sometimes make mistakes. I am working on that. Thankfully I kept it up today, but had to just regroup and be as perfect as I can be every lap."
MACPHEE SECURES BREAKTHROUGH WIN AFTER HOLMGREN CRASH
Ella MacPhee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) won the Women’s U23 UCI XCO World Cup race, after series leader Isabella Holmgren suffered a crash in the Rock Garden. The Canadian rider took some time to get to her feet but was seen walking away - albeit holding her arm. With Holmgren out of the race, the door was open for a new name in top spot - and it was MacPhee who secured her maiden win.
MacPhee and Fiona Schibler were towards the front throughout, and the former pushed the pace on the fourth lap. There was drama on the final lap as MacPhee unclipped on a climb after losing momentum. But she was ahead at the time and her error impacted Schibler who also had to get off and run up the remainder of the climb.
MacPhee regrouped, pushed on up the WHOOP Wall for the final time, and got to the top with a three-second advantage. From there, MacPhee stormed away and stopped the clock 17 seconds ahead of Schibler, with Sara Cortinovis (Ghost Factory Racing) completing the podium.
Victory coupled with Holmgren's failure to finish enabled MacPhee to move to the top of the standings.
"I don’t have any words, it’s just crazy," MacPhee said. Asked for her thoughts on Holmgren’s crash, she explained: "I did not know Bella was out until I came through the feed. I don’t know what happened. I am really sorry and it is too bad to see her out and I hope she is okay."
SCHEHL BEATS TEUNISSEN VAN MANEN IN SPRINT FOR FIRST UCI WORLD CUP WIN
Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) went into the race as the rider to beat after taking both legs in Araxá. He led over the line after the start loop, albeit at a relatively sedate pace. It was a similar scenario to how his race played out in Brazil, and he adopted a similar gameplan by pushing the pace on the second lap.
Rens Teunissen van Manen (KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team) went with Treudler, with a chunky gap to the chasers. While in Araxá, Treudler was able to ride away for wide-margin wins, he never looked comfortable and had no answer when Teunissen van Manen pushed the power.
Blue sky from earlier in the day gave way to clouds and rain, which made the conditions far more difficult than during the earlier races. With conditions deteriorating, there were a series of tumbles - Alexander Woodford suffered a spectacular fall over his handlebars in the Rock Garden.
Owen Clark had a tough day, as he dropped a chain when coming down near the feed zone and later suffered a crash through the rocks, while there was the sight of Alexandre Martins running to the tech zone with his tyre separated from his wheel.
Treudler appeared to have an issue with his gears and was forced to get off and run on a series of occasions. He was unable to recover the ground lost to Teunissen van Manen and Schehl.
Taking the bell, there was nothing to separate Teunissen van Manen and Schehl. Schehl was in front going up the WHOOP Wall for the final time, but Teunissen van Manen slipped past. The elastic did not snap and it boiled down to a sprint, with Schehl edging ahead in the final 50 metres and Treudler defying mechanical issues to take third and cement his position at the top of the overall standings.
"I did not expect it," Schehl said. "I had a huge crash in the first round of the UCI World Cup, and had a big bruise and could not go on my bike for three weeks. The last three to four weeks getting back to training was like a rollercoaster. I really did not expect to win. I felt technically super strong but could not recover the whole time. The race felt amazing."
After an incredible weekend of cross-country racing in Nové Město Na Moravě, which saw 24,000 spectators turn out to witness the action, the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series rolls on next weekend as the Gravity disciplines take centre stage in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, France, with round 2 of the UCI Downhill World Cup and round 3 of the UCI Enduro World Cup.
