Tom Pidcock wins his 2nd Elite XCO Mountain Bike World Championships title as Van der Poel fails to feature

After the women’s race at 1:00 p.m., in which Puck Pieterse finished fourth, it was the men’s turn at 3:15 p.m. in Val di Sole.

"Starting from the fifth row obviously reduces my chances. In Les Gets (where Van der Poel finished second last week—ed.), I saw once again just how big a difference it makes to start closer to the front row: you're right in the mix from the start," Van der Poel said realistically before the start.

The French riders Martin and Boichis knew they had the advantage of their starting position in the first lap, so they got off to a flying start. Van der Poel struggled to get to the front on the narrow climbs in Val di Sole during the so-called “start loop,” where he passed through in about 25th place. Pidcock and defending champion Alan Hatherly were strong allies.

Van der Poel didn't rush things, which was partly a deliberate choice. The Dutchman said in Val di Sole that he had learned from last year’s World Championships in Crans-Montana, where Van der Poel hit his limits after a fast start. He wanted to try to avoid that scenario at this year’s World Championships, he said in the run-up to the race.

Pidcock found his rhythm fairly quickly and passed Van der Poel. While the Brit was already in eighth place after 6.6 kilometers of cycling, Van der Poel remained stuck around 20th to 25th place for a long time. At the front, Boichis, Mathis Azzaro, Luca Martin, Martin Vidaurre, Simone Avondetto, Dario Lillo, and Charlie Aldridge pulled away and continued to widen the gap with Van der Poel: after two laps, he was 45 seconds behind.

Just as Pidcock seemed to be closing in, his compatriot Aldridge put on a strong surge at the front. Boichis and Vidaurre moved up with him, while Martin had to drop back. Shortly after the halfway point of the race, Pidcock, along with Canadian Cole Punchard, finally managed to catch up with the leaders. Van der Poel moved up to as high as seventeenth place in the pack, but then dropped back to around thirtieth.

Pidcock attacked from the very front in lap six, effectively crushing top favorite Boichis. A lap later, Vidaurre also fell behind, leaving the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider with only his compatriot Aldridge in his wake. Aldridge was subsequently dropped as well, leaving Pidcock to safely complete the final lap.

1. Tom Pidcock
2. Charlie Aldridge
3. Cole Punchard