Wilier-Vittoria in Val di Sole, UCI MTB World Series Round 5 - Full Recap

There’s something truly special about racing in Val di Sole. It’s the energy from the crowd — who see Wilier-Vittoria as their home team — the ultra-technical course that always delivers a show, and the way the riders always seem to dig that little bit deeper here.

At the fifth round of the UCI MTB World Series, the Trentino weekend brought out the best in the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team, with strong, determined performances across the board. In front of the Gastaldello family, who made the trip to Val di Sole for the occasion, Italian champion Luca Braidot lit up the race with an aggressive XCO ride that saw him battling at the front until the very end, eventually finishing a hard-fought 4th.

“I knew I was feeling good, though I didn’t expect to be this strong,” said Braidot, who had finished 11th in Friday’s XCC. “If I had raced conservatively, I probably could’ve made the podium, but I really wanted to go for the win in front of this amazing crowd. I burned a lot of energy early on because Filippo Colombo kept attacking. Then I made a mistake in the final laps, and that cost me the podium. I’ll be back next year to try again — and maybe for the rainbow jersey.”

European champion Simone Avondetto also showed steady progress over the weekend. After a tough short track and a slow start in the XCO, he gradually found his rhythm and crossed the line in 9th. Teammate Juri Zanotti wasn’t far behind, finishing 16th.

“I’m happy — I finally felt like myself again and raced at my usual level. This is a good place to start from,” said Zanotti at the finish. Among the spectators was Italy’s national coach Mirko Celestino, pleased with the performances from his riders.

In the women’s race, Sofie Heby Pedersen also bounced back after a difficult weekend in Leogang, taking 26th place — a solid result to build on for the rest of the season

MacPhee Holds on to Overall Lead

After a couple of challenging rounds, Gustav Heby Pedersen returned to the form that marked his strong early-season performances. The Danish U23 champion finished 7th in the XCO, holding onto third overall in the World Cup standings — and second in the short track classification.

“I’m really happy because I hadn’t been feeling great in the last couple of races, but this weekend I was finally close to my best again,” said Gustav. “Seventh place is a solid result, but more than that, I was looking for good sensations — and I got them.”

It was an emotional weekend, too, for Elian Paccagnella. Racing close to home in the Italian national champion’s jersey — and fresh off his high school exams — he took an impressive 15th place.

“Honestly, I think the Val di Sole XCO is tougher than my final exams,” joked Elian. “Racing at home is something special — all that support really means a lot. It helped me break out of a bit of a dry spell in terms of results. Now I’ve got my oral exam on Wednesday, and after that, I can finally get back to doing what I love full time.”

Ella MacPhee, meanwhile, had to dig deep to defend her lead in the U23 World Cup standings. Despite not feeling at her best, she put in a strong ride to finish 6th and keep the leader’s jersey with five rounds to go.

“I started 19th and finished 6th, so I’d say that’s not bad at all,” said the Canadian. “To be honest, I haven’t felt great in the last two races, so being able to hang in there and still get a result like this makes me proud of the consistency and determination I’m showing.”