Pidcock wins XCO world title with spectacular comeback

Tom Pidcock has become elite men's cross-country Olympic world champion for the second time after a commanding performance in Val di Sole. Starting from the fifth row, the Briton fought through almost the entire field and won alone in 1:25:26.

Traffic left Pidcock around 32nd place after the short opening loop, far from the leaders on a narrow circuit where overtaking was difficult. By the start of lap two, however, he had already climbed to ninth. Adrien Boichis initially drove the leading group with Charlie Aldridge, Martin Vidaurre, Cole Punchard and several other specialists, while the double Olympic champion steadily closed the gap.

Pidcock reached the front before halfway despite two small technical errors, then switched from chasing to attacking. His decisive acceleration came on the opening climb of lap six. Punchard and Boichis were dropped first, followed by Vidaurre, leaving Aldridge as the last rider able to resist. Aldridge briefly moved ahead on the 4X descent, but Pidcock responded on the next major climb and began the final lap nine seconds clear.

The gap grew to 18 seconds at the first split and Pidcock rode cleanly to the finish. Aldridge completed a British one-two at 17 seconds, with Canadian Cole Punchard taking bronze at 31 seconds. Vidaurre finished fourth at 59 seconds and Boichis fifth at 1:06.

Mathieu van der Poel endured a very different race. Also trapped around 30th at the start, the Dutchman never produced the same comeback and finished 30th, 4:40 behind, leaving the XCO rainbow jersey as the major world title still missing from his collection. Spain's Jofre Cullell placed 17th at 2:58, while defending champion Alan Hatherly was 43rd.

Pidcock regains the title he first won in 2023 and adds another achievement to a collection that already includes two Olympic MTB gold medals, cyclo-cross world titles and major road victories. His performance in Val di Sole once again demonstrated his ability to change disciplines and dominate even after an apparently disastrous start.