Wilier-Vittoria: Lake Placid - UCI MTB World Series 2025, Round 9 - Full Recap

It was a weekend of highs and lows for the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team at Lake Placid, in the first of two North American rounds closing out the UCI Mountain Bike World Series season. The team could celebrate strong performances from Simone Avondetto, Gustav Heby Pedersen, and Ella MacPhee, but also had to come to terms with a heavy crash and a broken collarbone for Luca Braidot.

The Italian Champion went down hard during the Short Track, forcing him to withdraw and miss Sunday’s XCO race. Braidot has since returned to Italy and will undergo surgery in the coming days — his season, unfortunately, has come to an early end.

The XCC didn’t go smoothly for Vice World Champion Simone Avondetto either, who had to fight his way back from 26th position in Sunday’s XCO. The Piedmontese rider mounted an impressive comeback, rejoining the front group and eventually sprinting to 5th place, just a few seconds behind winner Christopher Blevins.

“It was a really fast and tactical race,” said Avondetto, now 6th in the overall World Cup standings. “Starting a bit further back, I had to spend more than the others to get into the lead group, but I managed to stay up there. I tried to attack on the penultimate lap but couldn’t make the difference. I was aiming for the podium, but it came down to a sprint, and the guys ahead were simply stronger. Now it’s time to focus on finishing the season well in Canada.”

Juri Zanotti took 36th in the XCC and 45th in the XCO, while Sofie Heby Pedersen finished 17th and 31st respectively in the elite women’s races.

Across the Atlantic, Gustav Heby Pedersen continued to shine. The young Dane claimed another XCC U23 podium with 3rd place, followed by a strong 5th place in the fast-paced XCO race. With just one round to go, he now sits 2nd overall in the U23 XCC World Cup standings and 3rd in the XCO rankings.

“It was another good weekend,” said Gustav. “I had to push really hard — I think I set some power records between the start and the final sprint! A year ago, during the U.S. races, I felt I could compete at this level, and it’s great to see that feeling come true. Now the goal is to finish this amazing season on a high note.”

After a few challenging weeks, Ella MacPhee was also back to her best, climbing from 21st to 4th place in the U23 XCO. It was a strong and confident performance ahead of her home race next weekend in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada. The Canadian rider remains 2nd overall in the U23 XCO standings and 3rd in XCC.