Wilier-Vittoria: UCI MTB World Series 2026, Round 3 Leogang - Recap

Grit, heart, mud and a touch of bad luck. That’s the best way to sum up the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team’s weekend in Leogang, Austria, the third round of the Cross-country World Cup. An already demanding course was made even more challenging by the heavy rain that had fallen in the days leading up to the event, leaving riders to tackle exceptionally tough conditions.

Despite the setbacks, Simone Avondetto has plenty of reasons to be satisfied. The XCO World silver medallist came agonisingly close to what looked set to be a podium finish in the short track before a mechanical issue in the closing moments dropped him back to seventh place. On Sunday, he crossed the line fifth in the XCO before being promoted to fourth following the disqualification of Mathis Azzaro.

“It was an intense weekend,” admitted the Piedmontese rider. “After the disappointment of the XCC, where a mechanical issue took away my chance to fight for the win, I managed to bounce back on Sunday. Fourth place, after Mathis’ disqualification, was the best result I could realistically achieve. I stayed with the lead group for a long time at a very high pace. When I started to lose a few metres, I decided not to overextend myself and instead managed my effort to secure the best possible finish. I’m really happy with my performance. Now we head to Lenzerheide with confidence.”

The elite men’s XCO also saw Juri Zanotti finish 17th and Luca Braidot 20th, giving Wilier-Vittoria three riders inside the top 20.

In the women’s competition, Sofie Heby Pedersen followed up a solid 12th place in the XCC with an unfortunate crash on Sunday that ended her hopes in the XCO. Her brother, Gustav Heby Pedersen, endured a similarly frustrating weekend: after taking eighth in the short track, he struggled in the mud during the XCO and crossed the line in 19th, a result that fell well short of his expectations.

Young Canadian Ella MacPhee also impressed in the short track, finishing fifth and earning a front-row start for Sunday’s race. However, she then had to contend with a course that has never really suited her characteristics, eventually finishing 11th in the XCO.

There is little time to dwell on the weekend, though, as the World Cup moves straight on to Lenzerheide, Switzerland, where the next round is already scheduled for 19–21 June.