Wilier-Vittoria: UCI MTB World Series 2026, Round 5 Lenzerheide - Recap

It was a memorable Sunday for the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, during the fifth round of the Mountain Bike World Cup. The Italian squad was consistently among the front-runners in the XCO races across virtually every category.

The highlight was Simone Avondetto’s 5th-place finish, following an encouraging 6th-place finish in Friday’s XCC race. His result came after an impressive comeback ride: an early puncture dropped him to around 25th position in the opening laps, but Avondetto kept fighting and steadily worked his way back through the field to finish fifth. The performance confirmed both his strong form and excellent riding condition.

Just a week earlier in Leogang, Avondetto had finished 4th, and this latest Top 5 result allows him to climb the overall World Cup standings, where he currently sits in 8th place.

“Luck wasn’t on our side today,” said Simone Avondetto, “but that’s part of the game—these things can happen in racing. I’m disappointed because I was feeling good and would have liked to stay with the leaders and fight for a podium spot. Still, finishing fifth after a comeback like that is a great confidence boost and confirms that I’m going through a strong period of form. I’m also happy with my 6th place in Friday’s XCC, a discipline I’ve always struggled with a bit. Knowing that I can be competitive there as well gives me even more motivation.”

At Lenzerheide, Luca Braidot also returned to excellent form, finishing in 9th place, while Juri Zanotti crossed the line in 11th, a result that currently keeps him inside the Top 15 of the overall World Cup standings. It was also a strong performance from Sofie Heby Pedersen, who finished 11th, achieving the best World Cup result of her career.

Gustav Heby Pedersen also returned to the spotlight after a couple of unlucky weekends. In the end, he secured 5th place in the U23 race won by Paul Schehl, adding to the 10th-place finish he had already achieved in the XCC.

The only disappointing news for the team from Switzerland was the withdrawal of Ella MacPhee from the XCO race, despite having claimed a Top 10 finish in the short track event earlier in the weekend.