The UCI Mountain Bike World Series is looking forward to a big weekend of racing when Lenzerheide, Switzerland, hosts the first round of the UCI Downhill World Cup alongside the second round of the UCI Cross-country Olympic and Short Track World Cup. This iconic venue has long been a stalwart of the UCI World Cup calendar, hosting an event for the seventh consecutive year in 2023. In that time, the Bike Kingdom, as Lenzerheide has become known, has grown into one of the most revered bike parks in Europe. And with a record 800 riders getting between the tapes, this weekend’s event is destined for the history books. In the Cross-country Olympic (XCO) racing, all eyes will be on Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team), a rider who is synonymous with Lenzerheide having taken some of his most famous wins, including the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, on his home course. However, a victory this weekend would be extra special as it would cement him more XCO wins than any other rider - a win on Sunday would be his 34th. Nevertheless, there’ll be a strong field of riders doing their best to stop him. Round one winner Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) won’t be taking the start, leaving the field wide open for the rest of the pack. Joshua Dubau (Rockrider Ford Racing Team) rocked the established order with his second place finish at the opening round and will be looking for more of the same. In the women’s XCO, round one victor Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the favourite, but faces stiff competition from reigning UCI World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) and Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLTV). Switzerland’s own Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing XC) will also be looking to turn it on for her home crowd and can never be discounted from a podium finish. Meanwhile the opening round of the UCI Downhill World Cup will kick start its season with a new look, thanks to the addition of a semi-final race, that will determine the top 30 men and top 10 women who progress to the final. In the women’s competition, reigning overall title holder Valentina Höll (Rockshox Trek Race Team) will be looking to get her 2023 campaign off to the best possible start with a win. However, Switzerland’s Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal) will no doubt be buoyed by her home crowds and out for victory. Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) is a notable absence while she recovers from a concussion. However, a last minute announcement from Rachel Atherton (Continental Atherton) that she plans to race definitely has the potential to mix up the standings. Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) will undoubtedly start the season as the man to beat, having not only won the overall last season, but also taking the win in Lenzerheide in 2022. However, staving off fellow Frenchmen Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) will be no easy task. Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) and Andreas Kolb (Continental Atherton) also have podium form at this venue and no-one would rule out their chances of having it again. For the full schedule and more information on this week’s races click here. This weekend’s action will be available to view on Eurosport, discovery+ and globally on GCN+. Full details about where to watch are available here
Sam Hill has graced the history books of mountain biking with some of the most memorable race runs known to man. We caught up with the flat pedal champion as he returns to downhill racing in Lenzerheide, Switzerland in the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup. Sam has big goals to get back on the DH podium, and how good would it be to see him there? You can watch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from Lenzerheide, Switzerland on Eurosport and discovery+ and globally on GCN+. To find out more head to Where to watch: Lenzerheide.
After an incredible 2022 season of ups and downs which saw her take UCI Downhill World Cup overall title despite a broken collarbone, Camille comes into 2023 confident and ready to get back to racing! We caught up with the Dorval AM Commencal rider before the first round in her home race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland to learn how she's feeling before the season gets underway. You can watch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from Lenzerheide, Switzerland on Eurosport and discovery+ and globally on GCN+. To find out more head to Where to watch: Lenzerheide.
Gold for Ronja Blöchlinger in the U23 Cross-country Short Track. It was Swiss rider Ronja Blöchlinger (LIV FACTORY RACING) who showed her pace to take the win at home in Switzerland, with her compatriot Ginia Caluori (THÖMUS AKROS - YOUNGSTARS) losing out by 11 seconds. Sofie Pedersen (WILLIER – PIRELLI FACTORY TEAM XCO) of Denmark completed the podium in third. Speaking after the race, Ginia Caluori had this to say: It's incredible. I always thought that short track wasn't my discipline, that it was enough right here is all the cooler. I'm more than happy, I never would have thought that. The cheers from the crowd gave me extra motivation. It was a great experience. Results XCC U23 Women Top 5: Ronja Blöchlinger (SUI | LIV FACTORY RACING) 21:10 Ginia Caluori (SUI | THÖMUS AKROS – YOUNGSTARS) 21:21 Hebi Sofie Pedersen (DEN | WILIER – PIRELLI FACTORY TEAM XCO) 21:22 Zoe Cuthbert (NZL) 21:43 Noëlle Buri (SUI) 21:45 Dario Lillo shows his class in Lenzerheide. Swiss Dario Lillo (SCOTT DAVOS MTB PROJECT) stamped his authority on the race to finish seven seconds ahead of Adrien Boichis (TRINITY RACING MTB) in second and Carter Woods (GIANT FACTORY OFF ROAD TEAM - XC) in third. Dario Lillo had this to say about his win: It's always a special race in front of a home crowd. I felt good because I've been training well at altitude in Davos for the past few weeks. I wanted to aggressively drive the race forward and with five or six laps to go I suddenly found myself across the start and finish line on my own. I didn't want to push it that hard, but then I saw my chance and tried to consistently set my lap times. That's exactly how it worked out. Results XCC U23 Men Top 5: Dario Lillo (SUI | SCOT DAVOS MTB PROJECT) 20:21 Adrien Boichis (FRA | TRINITY RACING MTB) 20:28 Carter Woods (CAN | GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM – XC) 20:30 Vedersø Oliver Sølvhøj (DEN) 20:31 Luke Wiedmann (SUI | THÖMUS MAXON) 20:31 The World Cup downhill season kicks off with Junior qualification. It was Colombian Valentina Roa Sanchez (TRANSITION FACTORY RACING) who took the first win of the year in the Juniors, beating Erice Van Leuven (COMMENCAL LES ORRES) of New Zealand into second place by an incredible 5.9 seconds. French Lisa Bouladou would take bronze. In the men’s Junior race it was German Henri Kieffer (CANYON CLLCTV PIRELLI) who pipped Canadian Bodhi Kuhn (TREK FACTORY RACING) into second with Lucas Lagneau (CANYON CLLCTV PIRELLI) of France in third. The full results from today’s races can be found here. For the schedule of the upcoming races of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lenzerheide please click here. More information on where to watch which race is available here.
The first UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in the iconic Lenzerheide, Switzerland is almost underway! It is a new era for top-flight mountain bike racing and for many fans of the sport, there isn’t much that can wet the appetite like shiny new race bikes. Before racing gets underway, we headed to the pits to find some of the very fastest…
With the firepower of one of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters behind the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, there will be more live coverage and more ways to watch the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country, Cross-country Short Track and Downhill World Cup in Lenzerheide. Friday 9 June Live on UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel:13.10 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup - Junior Women13.55 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup - Junior Men Live on Eurosport and discovery+, and globally on GCN+:17:00 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Short Track World Cup - Elite Women17:45 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Short Track World Cup - Elite Men Saturday 10 June Live on UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel:10:30 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup - Elite Women Semi-Final11.15 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup - Elite Men Semi-Final Live on Eurosport and discovery+, and globally on GCN+:12:45 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup - Elite Women13.50 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup - Elite Men Sunday 11 June Live on UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel:08:25 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Olympic World Cup - U23 Women10:15 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Olympic World Cup - U23 MenLive on Eurosport and discovery+, and globally on GCN+:12:30 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Elite Women15:00 CEST UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Olympic World Cup - Elite Men Head to the UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel for post-event highlights, in-depth bike checks, course previews and exclusive behind the scenes content. Do you have what it takes to compete against the world’s best mountain bike race courses alongside the world’s best racers? Then you need to check out Open Racing for enduro and marathon riders Secure your place on the historic startlines of the Enduro of Chatel and the Marathon of Morzine during the UCI Mountain Bike World Series Festival, Haute-Savoie (September 7 - 17) and the Marathon of Snowshoe in the USA on September 27 - Oct 1. Swiss fans can also follow the racing for free on Swiss TV channel SRG SSR. Internationally you can follow via Claro in Latam, L’Equipe in France, Zhibo.tv in China, Supersport in Sub-Saharan Africa and Czech TV in the Czech Republic.
A new season of UCI Mountain Bike World Series racing got underway in Nové Město na Moravě in the Czech Republic last month. The racing was bar-to-bar all weekend and saw established big names battling new-comers and some lesser known/now very much known names. The stage is perfectly set for the first Cross-country and Downhill double-header of the season this weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Missed any of the action from Round 1? Don't worry, we've got you covered: You can watch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from Lenzerheide, Switzerland on Eurosport and discovery+ and globally on GCN+. To find out more head to Where to watch: Lenzerheide.
Six times UCI Downhill World Champion, six times World Cup overall champion, holder of 39 World Cup wins and the first downhill racer to ever deliver a “Perfect Season” Rachel Atherton has done it all. The 35 year old has effectively been away from racing ever since she snapped her achilles during practice at Les Gets back in 2019. Recovery from injury was followed by the birth of her daughter Arna in August 2021, for more than three years Rachel didn’t set foot on a racetrack… But in July 2022 Rachel made a last minute decision to ride at one race only, at Lenzerheide. She said at the time: I wanted to benchmark myself and to show that you can have a baby and still do sport. I wanted to see if I would still feel that passion, whether it was even enjoyable anymore, if it was even possible. Sixth place that day saw Rachel just one spot off the podium. It proved to her that she is still very much a racer! Rachel admits that it was hard not to be annoyed at missing a medal, but acknowledges that it would have been too easy. You shouldn't be able to rock up to a World Cup and get straight back on the podium with no preparation. Rachel admits that for the longest time she couldn’t even contemplate training again, she says: I’ve always been open about the fact that being a mum hasn’t been easy for me, I’ve really struggled, despite great support from my mum and my partner Olly. The lack of sleep was so hard, the lack of focus and routine wasn’t good for me either – especially as I never committed to a decision of either retiring or carrying on racing! It was a bit of a limbo time. Arna sleeping through the night (a quite recent milestone) has meant that I’m in a better mental state, I feel like it’s allowed me to make good decisions. I’m loving the routine of training again and it’s really helped my mental health regularly training, exercising again, and it helps with sleep too! I’ve remembered that I love racing! But I’m glad I’ve taken my time returning to sport and I’m glad I gave myself nearly two years to just be with Arna 24/7 and to just be a mother and be there for her, I’ve always wanted to try and put Arna “first” by breastfeeding on demand and that’s been so amazing but also limiting. She’s still going to travel with me because I feel more relaxed when I get to hang out with her in between the stresses of competition. I think leaving her behind would be worse as I’d miss her so much, my mum is coming as nanny and that’s awesome! So I’ll be travelling to the first World Cup of 2023 with the ultimate goal of getting selected for the World Championships in August on our home turf of Fort William. But what’s most important is to be part of the team again, to enjoy the process. I’m excited to just compete and see what happens. You can watch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from Lenzerheide, Switzerland globally on GCN+, as well as Eurosport and discovery+ 08 -11 June. Don’t miss out!
FMD Racing’s Tahnée Seagrave is looking fast in her new video as she attacks a run of Lousa in Portugal’s infamous DHI track. Seagrave, the 2013 UCI Junior DH World Champion, has had an injury-blighted couple of seasons with first a harrowing leg break suffered in 2020 followed by a concussion injury suffered after the opening round of the 2022 season. Now though, the 27 year-old looks to be bouncing back and finding the speed that she needs to reassert herself right at the sharp end of the elite women’s UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup. You can watch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from Lenzerheide, Switzerland globally on GCN+, as well as Eurosport and discovery+ 08 -11 June. Don’t miss out!
Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) has always been a Frenchman in a hurry. He missed a large slice of the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup season due to injury but triumphantly returned to take the UCI World Championships title, his sixth set of rainbow stripes in Les Gets. Bruni has been racing in the elite category since 2013, this year marks his tenth year in the top tier. A lot has changed in the last decade and Loïc has been out front for most of it. We sat down with the UCI World Champion to talk about the new season: You can watch all the action from the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from Lenzerheide, Switzerland globally on GCN+, as well as Eurosport and discovery+ 08 -11 June. Don’t miss out!
The second round of the UCI Marathon World Cup saw new winners crowned amongst the iconic surroundings of Finale Outdoor Region. Competitors set out from the ancient village of Finalborgo to take on a huge 100km course that featured nearly 4000 metres of climbing. Taking in every type of terrain imaginable, the race played out beneath a blazing Italian sun that pushed riders to the limit. The men were the first to cross the line, with Colombia’s Diego Alfonso Arias Cuervo securing the win with an impressive 1:12m lead ahead of Martin Stosek (Canyon Northwave MTB Team) in second and Italy’s Fabian Rabensteiner (Wilier-Pirelli Factory Team MX) in third. Speaking after the race, Cuervo said: The race was really hard. I had a tough time because there were a lot of climbs and they were really rough. Around the 60km mark I started upping the pace, I was tied with the second placed rider but during that climb I was able to pick up some space and distance between us and that’s when I managed to make a bigger gap and win the race. It’s the second most important win of my career after the 2021 World Championships in Elba. In the women’s competition it was Adelheid Morath from Germany who claimed victory, after a strong start to the race saw her lead quickly become unassailable. Round one winner Lejla Njemcevic was forced to settle for second, whilst Vera Looser rounded out the podium in third. Morath commented: I think it was the hardest race in my whole career, it was super tough. The course was like 3700m of climbing but in a very technical terrain, so steep and loose, but beautiful. The first part was rooty and a little bit wet and then the last part was so dry, steep and hot. It was brutal with the sun, so there was some suffering. I tried on the first climb to make a gap and I felt good, so about 10km in I got the gap and I kept it to the finish, it was incredible. It means a lot to me that now we have world cup racing in marathon, it’s a big step and also for women’s racing, so it really meant a lot to me, I'm very emotional. Today was a day that I will keep in my mind for a lifetime. Full results from today’s race as well as updated series rankings can be found here. The UCI Marathon World Cup returns on September 16 for round three at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series Festival Haute-Savoie, taking place in Chatel, Les Gets and Morzine.
It was a full throttle day of racing across the hillside above Pietra Ligure for the third round of the UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup and opening round of the UCI Mountain Bike E–Enduro World Cup. The Finale Outdoor Region has a history soaked litany of drama-filled enduro racing so it felt like a fitting place to host the first of the European legs of the Gravity season. You won’t have long to wait before we get to go racing once again at the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Marathon World Cup. Racing gets underway today with highlights to follow. You can follow along with all the action on GCN+ globally, Eurosport and discovery+ plus lots of free content on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel.
Morgane Charre (Pivot Factory Racing) and Jesse Melamed (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team) stamped their authority on the trails of Pietra Ligure to triumph at the UCI Mountain Bike Enduro World Cup in Finale Outdoor Region. The pair took two stage wins apiece and were simply too consistently fast for their rivals on six fast, chunky and technical tracks above the azure waters of the Ligurian Sea in Italy. After a huge 56km day, France’s Charre had a fairly comfortable win margin of nearly 14s over second-placed local hero Gloria Scarsi (Canyon CLLCTV Dainese). Last year’s champion Isabeau Courdurier (Lapierre Zipp Collective) was third. Charre came out swinging and won the first two stages of the day - both around 10-minutes riding and the longest in the race by some margin. As a result she led all day despite a strong challenge from Scarsi, who took a later stage and was buoyed by a vocal and partisan local crowd to her best-ever result on the world stage. Scarsi, who lives in nearby Albenga, harnessed the power of the crowd In the men’s race - the third round of the 2023 season - it took Canadian Melamed a stage to get going but then he found his pace, took a stage win and held the lead for the rest of what was a massive day in the saddle with more than 2,000m of climbing and 3,100m of descending. Melamed’s biggest threat came from his countryman Rhys Verner (Forbidden Synthesis Team) who took the first stage of the day along with the fifth. That meant, at the close of play, he was only five seconds back after nearly 30 minutes against the clock. Frenchman Alex Rudeau (Commencal Enduro Project) won a stage and had two seconds places to finish less than a second behind Verner in third. Melamed was clinical once he took the lead In the U21 race, it was a dominating win for Canadian Emmy Lan of the Forbidden Synthesis Team, France’s Lily Planquart was second and Lan’s compatriot Elly Hoskin was third. The U21 men was a win for Specialized Enduro Team’s Raphael Giambi, Scotland’s William Brodie was second and Giambi’s fellow Frenchman Alexis Icardo (Canyon CLLCTV Dainese) ended up third. Team of the day were Canyon CLLCTV Factory Enduro Team but after three EDR rounds in 2023, Yeti/Fox Factory Racing lead the team standings. The e-enduro riders were also in action earlier in the day, as Finale Outdoor Region played host to the first round of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike E-EDR World Cup. The nine-stage race ended up with wins for a resurgent Laura Charles (Miranda Factory Team) and for mountain-bike legend, former UCI World Cup Downhill champion Fabien Barel. Charles hardly missed a beat all day and Barel was excellent on the gravity stages but also competitive on the two power stages, which gave him the edge. Laura Charles was hugely impressive winning six of nine stages In the women’s race, Flo Espineira Herreros (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) was second and another mountain bike legend and former UCI Downhill World Champ, Britain's Tracy Moseley was third. In the men’s it was an all-French podium with Lapierre Zipp Collective’s Antoine Rogge in second and Florian Nicolai (WeRide Fulgur Factory Team) in third. Full EDR and E-EDR results are here The Team standings are here The action continues in Finale Outdoor Region tomorrow when the second round of the UCI Marathon World Cup gets underway. The top EDR and EDR-E riders will be back in action in two weeks time in the Austrian Alpine resort of Leogang from June 15 to 18.
There is no doubt that when it comes to mountain bike racing, E-Enduro is the format on the move. The youngest of the race formats is riding the back of the boom in the popularity of E-MTB’s and is the proving ground for the world’s biggest bike and component manufacturers as the arms race continues to heat up with almost daily tech advances coming on a daily basis. The race around the stages of the stunning Pietra Ligure in the Finale Outdoor Region is set to be one of the sport’s milestones as it will see it ascend to full UCI World Cup status - not bad for a format which began life as recently as 2020! What is an E-EDR course like? E-Enduro, as you may have guessed, strongly resembles Enduro (EDR) in terms of how the racing goes down. The course itself is (in the case of Finale Outdoor Region) 58km in length and sees a number of timed stages each of which each rider has a start time on. There are two battery changes scheduled in and those start times are devilishly tight - riders have no option but to attack the adjoining liaisons at full speed in order to make them. That’s what makes E-EDR such a challenge; yes you have battery assistance, but you need every watt of it to even get you into the running on the time sheets. What is a power stage? There is a key difference for E-EDR over regular EDR however; power stages. These are a unique concept when it comes to mountain bike racing and are timed technical climbs. Typically short in duration they test a riders ability to blend riding skill with their bikes drive unit output. It’s a fundamental part of what makes E-MTB’s so entertaining to ride and come race day a chance to make or break overall times. Who are the riders to watch? Just as the bike tech improves almost constantly, picking a winning rider can prove tricky in E-EDR. In the elite women’s field France’s Melanie Pugin (WeRide Fulgur Factory Team) won the first ever round back in 2020 but in more recent headlines it was Flo Espiñeira (Orbea Fox Enduro Team) who took the 2022 title and who now stands as perhaps the most accomplished all-rounder in the field. In the elite men’s class the French have really made their presence felt and have won just about every round in the previous two seasons. Yannick Pontal (BlackBox Test Pilot Program) is the reigning overall title holder and has proven himself to be hard to beat in just about every set of terrain. Pontal is on a new bike in the form of a Transition Relay for this season however, which will be pivotal. Orbea Fox Enduro Team’s Edgar Carballo has found a home in E-MTB racing and will be looking to challenge Pontal’s dominance this season. Living legend Fabien Barel, a maestro amidst the rocks of the Finale Outdoor Region, will be on the hunt too for Canyon CLLCTV and is many people’s dark horse to take the win. Where can I watch it? You can stay abreast of the full day’s racing from the first ever UCI Mountain Bike E-Enduro World Cup right here with all our live timing and race coverage on 03 June. The race day highlights will be available on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube page on the same evening.
Canadian Cross-country star, Emily Batty, has announced that she is retiring from international mountain bike racing. The 34 year-old from Oshawa first signed with Trek World Racing squad in 2010 before spending time on Subaru Trek and laterly Canyon. She appeared on 17 UCI World Cup podiums and won two UCI World Championships bronze medals during her career. © Red Bull Media House Batty’s time at the top spanned some of the sports largest shifts in both course and bike design amongst which she managed to remain one of its biggest stars. Along the way she was partnered with some of its biggest names including Jolanda Neff and Catharine Pendrel at international level. Batty took her social media channels to make the announcement: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Emily Batty (@emilybatty1) Dear fans, supporters, and cherished friends, Today marks a new journey that fills me with nostalgia and anticipation. With mixed emotions, I announce my retirement from professional mountain biking. As I reflect upon my incredible career, I am grateful for the remarkable experiences, victories, and connections that have shaped me into the person I am today. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of you—my dedicated fans and supporters. You have been the driving force behind my accomplishments, the wind beneath my wings. Your unwavering encouragement and belief in me have propelled me to reach the heights I had dreamt of. Whether cheering me on from the sidelines or engaging with me through the digital realm, your presence has made this journey genuinely remarkable. I will forever cherish the memories of standing on the World Cup podiums and representing Canada at two Olympic Games—a testament to the countless hours of training, sacrifice, and sheer determination. To finish twice third overall in the World Cup series and have graced the World Cup podium 17+ times is an achievement that will forever fill my heart with pride. The bronze medals at the World Championships in 2016 and 2018, the fourth-place finish at the Olympics in Rio, and the 9+ Canadian Nationals Championships victories have all become indelible milestones intricately woven into the fabric of my personal story. Throughout my journey as a professional athlete and someone who’s had the opportunity to experience the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows, I have come to appreciate that success extends beyond medals. The true essence of my experience lies in the invaluable lessons learned, the memorable encounters, and the moments of personal growth that arise when confronting challenges head-on. I frequently look back at my first Olympics and representing Canada in London 2012 despite breaking my collarbone three days before the event. It holds a special place in my heart. The rollercoaster experience of pushing through the pain, finishing on the lead lap, and defying the odds remains a testament to the resilience and unwavering spirit of the character as an athlete. Looking back on that incredible journey, I am filled with immense pride, knowing I gave it my all despite the challenges. As I reflect on all these moments, I am reminded that the core of life’s meaning and purpose lies not in pursuing medals and achievements but in the journey of self-improvement through unwavering dedication to our craft, experiences, and skill advancement. It is a testament to our character, reflecting who we are and what we strive for, and how this transformation unfolds beautifully, leading us to become enlightened and better versions of ourselves. Every triumph, setback, and connection made throughout this extraordinary journey has moulded me into the person standing before you today. As I embark on this new chapter, I carry the invaluable lessons, profound friendships, and unwavering support from those who have stood by my side. I am grateful for the chance to contribute to the sport’s evolution and pave the way for future generations of athletes fuelled by resilience and passion. Collaborating and being supported by extraordinary brands has been an honour beyond words. Their unwavering support and belief in my abilities have amplified my accomplishments and helped me make a lasting impact within the industry. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunities they provided, the partnerships we cultivated and continue to cultivate. But beyond the medals, the victories, and the brand affiliations, what has truly touched my soul is the people I have met on this extraordinary journey. Each encounter, whether in person or online, has enriched my life and shaped my perspective. The connections I forged with all of you, my fans and supporters, have been the lifeblood of my motivation. Your energy and passion have fuelled my own. Over time, we cultivated a tremendous digital fanbase of nearly 1 million followers worldwide and continue to do so. The unwavering support and growth I’ve experienced through these digital channels have been precious to me throughout my career, and I am eternally grateful. It has provided me with a platform and a voice to express my true self, showcase the brands I have proudly represented, and share the profound connections I’ve forged along this extraordinary journey. As I step away from professional mountain bike racing and embark on a new journey in the sport, I am faced with the excitement and uncertainty that lie ahead. Having dedicated myself to cycling from age 13, the next chapter of my career will undoubtedly be challenging. Yet, I embrace this challenge with open arms and an eager heart. The possibilities are vast, and I am filled with a sense of purpose to explore new avenues, contribute to the sport of cycling in different ways, and continue growing as an individual. While I may not have all the answers right now, I am brimming with ideas and opportunities that lie in wait. The passion, determination and experiences that fuelled my athletic career will undoubtedly propel me forward into this next phase of my life in cycling. I invite you all to join me on this new adventure as I navigate uncharted territories, discover new passions, and seek to impact the sport in new ways. Thank you, once again, for being a part of this extraordinary ride. Your unwavering support and belief in me have been the driving force behind my success. Don’t forget that you can catch all the action from Lenzerheide, Switzerland as the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country World Cup recommences for its second round on Discovery+, Eurosport and GCN+ 08-11 June.
