British rider Tom Pidcock is mountain bike cross country world champion for the second time after pipping teammate Charlie Aldridge in a compelling battle in Trentino, northern Italy on Sunday.The pair’s contrasting styles — Pidcock the superior climber, Aldridge better on the technical sections — made for a see-saw second-half of the race. Pidcock, 26, made the decisive move on the penultimate lap of eight, dropping Aldridge up the longest climb of the Val di Sole course to win by 17 seconds.“I knew it was a course where you couldn’t overpace yourself and you had to ride within your limit,” said Pidcock post-race.“I crashed badly in practice on Friday, my back was hurting from the first lap, and I’m lucky that the pace I could hold was enough to get to the front. I had to push whatever I could and stretch that gap before the final sprint.”Canadian rider Cole Punchard, just 21 years old, finished third, with Dutch superstar Mathieu van der Poel, still chasing his first world championship in the discipline, coming 30th.
Aldridge, 25, was the form man entering the race, the Scot having won two gold medals at this year’s European championships. Pidcock, ninth in the Tour de France last month, only returned to mountain biking from the road as a last-minute entrant, having last competed in May.Pidcock produced a dominant display in Sunday’s race (Francesco Minghetti/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)Pidcock’s win cements the Yorkshireman’s position as one of the greatest multi-disciplinary riders in cycling history. He has won two Olympic titles and two world titles in mountain biking, a world title in cyclocross, as well as prestigious races such as Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold, and a Tour de France stage on Alpe d’Huez on the road.Due to his lack of mountain bike races this season Pidcock had to start the race deep in the pack, in 34th place — forcing him to work his way through most of the field in the early laps, reaching the leaders on lap five.Pidcock said post-race that he will not compete in mountain biking as much in 2027, choosing instead to focus on the road, before returning to the discipline ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.The British rider also paid an emotional tribute to 19-year-old British rider Finlay Tarling, who was killed at this month’s Volta a Portugal, and his brother Josh, a former teammate of Pidcock at Netcompany INEOS.“I don’t really have words to be honest. I want to dedicate this win to Fin Tarling, to Josh, seeing him start the Vuelta was pretty incredible and I want to dedicate it to his family.”In the women’s race, held earlier on Sunday afternoon, Swiss rider Sina Frei took a surprise victory after pre-race favourite Jenny Rissveds was decisively dropped on the second lap. Frei went solo for a dominant victory, with Martina Berta (Italy) and Nicole Koller (Switzerland) finishing more than a minute behind.Dutchwoman Puck Pieterse, world champion two years ago, and winner of the prestigious Flèche Wallonne last season, was just off the podium in fourth.
