MACPHEE & PACCAGNELLA ON A ROLL—ANOTHER PODIUM IN ARAXÁ FOR WILIER-VITTORIA

The Brazilian trip ends on a high note for the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team, with another double podium in the books. In the XCO races of Araxá, valid as Round 2 of the UCI MTB World Series, both Ella MacPhee and Elian Paccagnella—who won the short track yesterday—claimed impressive 3rd-place finishes in the U23 women’s and men’s categories.

On a more demanding course than last week’s, MacPhee fought her way back into podium position, finishing 1’19” behind the unstoppable Isabella Holmgren, who has now won every XCC and XCO race so far.

“It was a great fight for the podium with Cortinovis—she was stronger on the climbs, I was faster on the descents, and in the end, it went my way," said MacPhee, now also 3rd in the overall World Cup standings. “I crashed early in the race and had to chase the whole time, but the top two were just on another level today. Hopefully I can stay with them in the next races. I'm proud of these two weeks in Brazil—I had fun, loved the atmosphere, and really felt like a warrior. I can’t wait to come back next year.”

U23 Italian champion Paccagnella finished 51 seconds behind winner Finn Treudler, but backed up his XCC win with another top result, holding onto 2nd in the overall standings.

“What an incredible weekend. Yesterday I fulfilled a dream, and today, getting on the XCO podium is another huge achievement," said the rider from South Tyrol. “The course this week suited me a bit better, with more climbs and descents where I could recover. For a moment I thought I had a shot at 2nd, but Handley had a bit more in the final lap, so I focused on defending the podium.”

Gustav Heby Pedersen had a tougher day, dealing with a mechanical issue that limited him to 10th place.

Among the elite men, Simone Avondetto put in a strong ride on a course that suited him far more than last week’s. He finished 4th, just 17 seconds off winner Christopher Blevins, despite being isolated and heavily marked by riders from the same team. Luca Braidot finished 11th, and Juri Zanotti came in 15th.

Now it’s time to pack up and head back to Italy after two incredibly positive weeks for Wilier-Vittoria, full of strong performances and encouraging signs from every rider.