Less than twenty-four hours and it will be time for first medals at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole-Trentino. Today the paddocks at the Daolasa race course in Commezzadura have seen the arrival of the first athletes, who are beginning to familiarize themselves with the Cross-country and E-Mountain Bike Cross-country tracks.

Wednesday, August 26 will indeed be the day of the first verdicts in Val di Sole, with the two E-MTB races (elite women at 10:00 and elite men at 11:30) and the highly anticipated Team Relay, the classic team race scheduled for 17:00, which will involve six athletes per nation: one man and one woman for each competitive category – Elite, Under 23 and Juniors. The order of the relay legs will be entirely at the discretion of the Technical Commissioners.

From day one, medal opportunities begin for Italy, which fields at the starting line of the E-Mountain Bike Cross-country athletes of proven experience such as Daniele Braidot, Mirko Tabacchi, the veteran Trentino rider Martino Fruet and, among the women, Anna Oberparleiter. The favorites are instead the Frenchman Jérôme Gilloux in the men's race and the Austrian Anna Spielmann in the women's competition.

Italy is among the nations that are also betting heavily on the Team Relay. Silver medalists in 2025 at the world championships in Switzerland, the team led by coaches Mirko Celestino and Nadia De Negri enters the challenge among the favorites, alongside Switzerland and the United States.

Four changes for Italy compared to the six-person team that won the European silver medal at Monteceneri: alongside the confirmations of U23 riders Valentina Corvi and Fabio Bassignana are added Elite riders Juri Zanotti and Martina Berta and Juniors Paolo Costa and Giorgia Pellizotti.

“We are fielding a very solid team at the start of the Team Relay, capable of achieving an excellent result in front of the home crowd,” commented coaches Celestino and De Negri. “The United States and Switzerland are the two most favored selections: we aim to confirm ourselves on the podium and to start this world championship in the best possible way.”

What is certain is that Val di Sole is preparing to ignite the passion of enthusiasts from this evening, with the Opening Ceremony in Malé, where, starting at 18:00, the 52 delegations will parade. Among the expected guests are the Assessor for Urban Planning, Energy, Transport, Sport and Protected Areas of the Autonomous Province of Trento Mattia Gottardi, the Vice President of the UCI Enrico della Casa, the President of Trentino Marketing Giovanni Battaiola, the President of APT Val di Sole and Val di Sole Major Events Luciano Rizzi and the Mayor of Commezzadura Marco Podetti.

On tomorrow, Wednesday, entry to the Team Relay and the two E-Mountain Bike Cross-country races is free, while access is paid for Saturday, August 29 (Downhill) and Sunday, August 30 (Cross-country). Tickets are on sale at www.valdisolebikeland.com.