Rissveds and Hatherly win the MTB World XCO Championship in Crans-Montana

Jenny Rissveds said after the race that she had never wanted the world championship title more than she did that day. And Alan Hatherly must have felt the same way, repeating his world championship title from last year.

Jenny Rissveds, the 11-time Swedish champion, who already won gold in mountain biking at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and confirmed her form with a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, showed this year in the World Cup with two clear victories that she is a force to be reckoned with. Last year's overall World Cup winner, Puck Pieterse from the Netherlands, has suffered repeated setbacks this season, including at the World Championships on Saturday, where she was held back by breakdowns. Samara Maxwell should have been on your radar, given that she is dominating the 2025 World Cup, but Jenny Rissveds was desperate to win this victory and claim her first and still-missing elite world championship title—she had won the U23 title in 2016. This absolute will to win made the decisive difference to her pursuers. She rode her race from the start, paying less attention to her competition than to staying ahead.

Alan Hatherly had a strong season last year, winning the World Cup, two races, and the World Championship. But this year, he seemed to have vanished, languishing around 20th place. No one expected him; more likely, Christopher Blevins, the World Cup leader, Victor Koretzky, Luca Martin, and Mathis Azzaro, who had achieved strong results this season, were on the radar. Alan Hatherly seemed to have fully focused on the World Championship and left the competition in the dust today. The South African led the entire race with a massive advantage of over 1:32 minutes and ultimately won after nine laps with an impressive lead of 48 seconds, thus repeating his 2024 World Championship title.