The dust from Worlds may have settled, but the races still ring in our ears. The challenging course and weight of expectation gave us differing results from what the odds makers might have predicted. However, consistency and calm, cool-headed pacing helped crown the 2025 World Champions.
Credit: UCI Media
Crans-Montana delivered pure XCO racing: heat, altitude, and a course that punished mistakes and rewarded strength. At the end of the day, Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) and Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) came away with the rainbow jerseys, but their paths to victory couldn’t have been more different.
Credit: UCI Media
Men’s Elite XCO World Championship
Alan Hatherly entered Crans-Montana as the defending champion, but his performances have been anything but consistent. Alan barely cracked the top ten in the World Cup until his last XCO (Haute-Savoie) with a year’s best fourth place. However, that didn’t stop him from going from the gun on Sunday. Victor Koretzky (France) attempted to set a fast pace early. At about lap two of nine, Koretzky made a move, but Hatherly stayed glued to his wheel. Then came the moment: a firm surge after a technical descent on lap two let Hatherly slip free, and he didn’t look back.
Over the remaining seven laps, he rode with surgical precision—judging climbs, linking the flats, and letting no one catch him. Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) surged late to grab silver, closing down time on the final climbs, while Koretzky (France) managed enough damage control to secure bronze.
What stood out was Hatherly’s mastery of pacing under pressure. He knew when to push, when to throttle, and when to hammer, especially given how lapped traffic and technical rock gardens punished hesitation. When he crossed the finish line, he had enough in the tank that he appeared too composed. Casually getting off his prototype Giant Anthem and raising it above his head in triumph.
Where Was MVDP?
Mathieu van der Poel showed flashes of his usual brilliance early, clawing his way from a poor starting position up into the front group in the opening laps. By lap one or two, he was already riding in the top ten and matching surges. But that forward investment came with a cost. As the race dug in, he began to fade. Lap after lap, terrain, fatigue, and the relentless pace pulled him down through the field until he crossed the line in 29th place, over five minutes behind Alan Hatherly’s dominant showing.
Nino’s Last Ride: A Legend Bowing Out With Class
Nino Schurter, mountain biking’s GOAT, made one more lap at the 2025 World Championships in Crans-Montana. This time, not as a contender for the win, but as a farewell tour that felt less like an exit and more like a celebration. The Scott-SRAM veteran, who’s woven his identity into nearly every switchback, rock garden, and podium since 2009, placed 42nd, well back of the sharp end, yet every turn was met with a roar from the Swiss crowd. It wasn’t about the result; it was about presence, legacy, and memory. Crans-Montana marked his final world championship. Next week in Lenzerheide, on home soil and at his favourite World Cup, he’ll take his final competitive bow. The finish line isn’t just an ending; it’s the perfect feat of a career few will ever match.
Credit: UCI Media
Women’s Elite XCO World Championship
Jenny Rissveds showed up not just with legs, but with strategy. Since her return to top competition, there’ve been whispers of what she might do at Worlds, but until now, none quite so definitive. Rissved dominated this season, and the pack knows that if Jenny gets away early, they’ll be racing for second – and that’s exactly what happened. Starting smart, she stayed tucked in behind early leaders like Samara Maxwell (New Zealand) and Alessandra Keller (Switzerland, Thömus Maxon) while the pace swung wide in the opening laps.
By lap three or four, after a series of tempo changes, Rissveds made her move: pushing hard up a climb, creating separation with Maxwell. Keller, despite a crash earlier that cost precious seconds, clawed back (in true Keller style), but Rissveds had already picked her line and her moment. In the final laps, she extended her gap, riding solo with confidence through the rock and root-strewn transitions Crans-Montana is famous (or infamous) for.
Sammie Maxwell 🇳🇿 breaks ahead of Alessandra Keller!
She is on the charge now ⚡️ as she closes a few seconds on Jenny Rissveds, +0:14s ahead.
The Swedish rider is still looking unbeatable out there though, riding her own race at the front! #Valais2025 #CransMontana pic.twitter.com/oUQdCUE1PN
— UCI MTB (@UCI_MTB) September 13, 2025
Maxwell held on for silver, visibly fighting the steep and the technical; Keller, despite dust, mistakes, and recovery after the crash, won bronze. For Rissveds, this isn’t just gold, it’s vindication. After years of chasing and battling setbacks, she finally secured the world title she had been building toward.
How’d the Americans Stack Up?
Team USA came into the XCO world champs with solid expectations, and for the most part, they delivered in spades, even if the top step eluded them in XCO. In the Elite Women’s race, Savilia Blunk broke into the top five, and Vida Lopez de San Roman made waves in U23, showing that the next generation isn’t far off from contesting podiums. The Team Relay saw the U.S. squad finish a respectable sixth. There were no catastrophes, no major DNFs, just performances that quietly suggest U.S. mountain biking is building toward more. Swenson and Courtney both snatched gold in the Marathon XCM races a week before, which only adds to the sense that American MTB is trending upward across disciplines.
What’s Next?
As the leaves start to turn and the seasons shift, the 2025 UCI XCO World Cup still has a handful of marquee stopovers left, with a lot of action still to unfold. After the recent rounds, athletes are headed next to Lenzerheide, Switzerland (18-21 September), followed by Lake Placid, New York, USA (3-5 October), and finally the iconic Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada (9-12 October) to close out the series. These last events carry weight, not just for individual race wins, but for overall standings, national rankings, and rider legacies (don’t forget the wild ard teams). Lenzerheide and Mont-Sainte-Anne, in particular, are places where legends are made: technical terrain, steep climbs, and unpredictable weather – everything XCO thrives on.