YOUNG GUNS SHINE IN ARAXÁ FOR WILIER-VITTORIA: 2ND PLACE FOR MACPHEE AND G. PEDERSEN

The signs were already there yesterday, and today brought the confirmation: Ella MacPhee and Gustav Heby Pedersen are in excellent shape. In the XCO races at Araxá, the opening round of the UCI MTB World Series, both riders delivered standout performances, securing double second-place finishes for the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team in the U23 women’s and men’s races.

After finishing 4th in the short track, MacPhee stepped it up in the XCO, finishing behind only her fellow Canadian Isabella Holmgren, who crossed the line 19 seconds ahead.

“Standing on the podium really is a dream—but there’s a lot of hard work behind it," said MacPhee. "I worked well together with Ella [Maclean-Howell], and we battled for the podium spots. I knew that a longer race would suit me better, and that’s exactly how it played out. It’s great to see that all those tough training blocks are paying off—this is a great sign ahead of the upcoming races.”

Gustav Pedersen also took another big step forward—turning his already impressive 3rd place in the XCC into a 2nd place finish in the XCO, confirming the incredible progress the young Dane has made in recent months. Only Switzerland’s Finn Treudler managed to beat him, with a gap of 29 seconds.

“When Schellekens attacked on the climb, I thought, ‘Damn, I can’t hold this pace,’" admitted Pedersen, as candid as ever. "But somehow I managed to catch back up on the descent, and in the end I grabbed second place. I’m dead, but it was totally worth it. Honestly, I couldn’t have imagined a better start to the World Cup—I didn’t expect this at all. But this is exactly what all the hard training is for.”

Elian Paccagnella also continued to show progress, finishing a solid 6th in the U23 race.

In the elite field, Sofie Heby Pedersen continues her development with a 21st place, while things didn’t go quite as smoothly for the elite men. Luca Braidot, who was riding with the leaders, was hit by cramps and slipped to 17th, while Simone Avondetto was slowed by a mechanical issue that proved costly on such a fast course—he finished 22nd. The top Wilier-Vittoria finisher on the day was Juri Zanotti, who took 16th, 59 seconds behind race winner Victor Koretzky.

With Round 1 now in the books, there’s no time to rest—Round 2 is coming up next weekend, April 12–13, once again in Araxá.