Val di Sole and Trentino have been waiting for them for a long time. Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock have arrived in Daolasa di Commezzadura. The Briton, two-time Olympic Champion in Mountain Bike, chose to stay away from the spotlight during his preparation phase, but the flying Dutchman has also given very little to the curiosity of enthusiasts. Behind the silence, however, there is one certainty: neither of them came to the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Val di Sole-Trentino just to make an appearance. For two riders with their pedigree, it would have been strange otherwise.

While Pidcock chose a low-profile approach, Van der Poel prepared between Livigno and a single official outing, culminating in second place on his return to the World Cup at Les Gets, behind one of the season's standout performers on fat bikes, Adrien Boichis, who already claimed the gold medal in the Short Track on Thursday, August 27.

The 31-year-old Dutchman, career winner of two Milan-San Remo races, three Flanders Classics and three Paris-Roubaix races, as well as an Elite road World Championship, won in 2023, and eight Elite cyclocross world titles, plus a Gravel World Championship in 2024, returns to Val di Sole to pursue the only rainbow jersey still missing from his extraordinary collection.
Val di Sole

On Friday (August 28) in Daolasa, which on the competition front delivered the spectacle of the Downhill on the Black Snake – for now only in the form of a Qualifying Round, awaiting the grand finale on Saturday, August 29 – Mathieu van der Poel spoke to the media. The Dutchman took stock of his preparation and his objectives ahead of the Cross-country race on Sunday, August 30.

"In an ideal scenario I would have raced a few more World Cups to have a better starting position, but that's how it went," Mathieu van der Poel commented. "On Sunday I'll also need a bit of luck. I know it will be difficult, but I'm here to give it a try."

On the comparison with Pidcock, who like him will start from the fifth row on the grid, Van der Poel added: "It won't be difficult only for me: it will be difficult for Pidcock too. If we can't move up quickly in the first two laps, it will be very tough."

Both Pidcock and Van der Poel tested the Cross-country course yesterday morning in Val di Sole. For the Briton it is his debut on the Daolasa track, while the Dutchman had already participated in the World Cup event in 2019, winning both the Short Track and the Cross-country.

"It's really a beautiful course," the Dutchman added. "I found it quite changed compared to last time, but it remains a track that I like."

Before Mathieu van der Poel, his teammate Puck Pieterse also presented herself to the microphones, who, after finishing eighth in the Short Track, will go hunting for a medal in Val di Sole, where she has already won in the Cross-country World Cup in 2023 and last season.

"I've been to Val di Sole many times, between mountain bike and cyclocross, and I have many beautiful memories tied to these places and this race. I like the circuit: it's challenging, but more flowing than last year and certainly very fun. Given how the season has developed, I feel like I'm starting a bit in second place compared to Jenny Rissveds and Sina Frei, but I hope to be able to compete with everyone," said Puck Pieterse.
Val di Sole

MEN'S ELITE DOWNHILL: LACHLAN STEVENS-MCNAB SURPRISES ON THE BLACK SNAKE
Qualifying day in Val di Sole for the Downhill program. The Black Snake hosted the first screening ahead of the grand finale on Saturday, August 29. Junior Women will take to the course at 8:45 a.m., followed by Junior Men at 9:30 a.m., Elite Women at 1:10 p.m., and Elite Men at 3:00 p.m.

In the afternoon in the Solandro valley, the fastest was the surprising New Zealander Lachlan Stevens-McNab, who posted the best time in 3:34.010. Behind him his compatriot Oliver Davis (3:34.341) and Canadian Jackson Goldstone (3:34.643), the reigning world champion in the discipline and already a three-time winner in Val di Sole. Right on the Black Snake, Goldstone became World Junior Champion in 2021, before winning the Elite World Cup in 2023 and 2025.

Seventh place for the World Cup leader, Briton Jordan Williams, while Troy Brosnan finished in 14th place and Amaury Pierron in 20th.

Among the Italians, the fastest was Trentino's Chris Hauser, who posted the 25th fastest time and delivered a performance that gave him good feelings ahead of Saturday's final.

"I thought I'd do a relaxed run, just to guarantee qualification. In the final, instead, you give it gas and go all-in. The track is beautiful, the organizers did fantastic work and racing a World Championship at home is truly an incredible feeling. Tomorrow I'll try to give everything, then it will be the stopwatch that speaks," said Chris Hauser.

Further back were the other Italians: Loris Revelli, European Champion, finished in 31st place, while Stefano Introzzi is 35th. Two positions further back, in 37th place, is Davide Palazzari.
Val di Sole

LISA BAUMANN FASTEST AMONG ELITE WOMEN
Lisa Baumann posted the best time on the Black Snake during the Qualifying Round of the Elite Women category. The Swiss rider stopped the clock at 4:02.591, putting behind her Briton Harriet Harnden (4:05.560) and Austrian Valentina Höll (4:05.816), four-time world champion.

Eighth fastest time for Frenchwoman Marine Cabirou, while the first Italian is Gloria Scarsi, fifteenth, ahead of South Tyrolean Veronika Widmann. Twenty-fourth place, instead, for Trentino's Eleonora Farina, at the penultimate descent on the Black Snake of her competitive career.

"I approached this qualifying with a smile. I didn't push to the maximum, I mainly thought about making my lines clean and having fun. I didn't post a great time, but the sensations were beautiful. The Val di Sole crowd is wonderful: I got emotional riding down while people were shouting my name. Tomorrow I want to give a bit more, just to satisfy myself. I want to enjoy this last day in the saddle, meter after meter," said Eleonora Farina.

JUNIOR DOWNHILL: WILLIAMSON AND JENSEN STAND OUT IN THE QUALIFYING ROUND
A New Zealand double in the Junior Men's Downhill Qualifying Round, with favorite Jonty Williamson posting the best time, completing his run in 3:39.541. Second place for Malik Boatwright, who stopped the clock at 3:40.488, ahead of Swiss rider Noé Forlin, third in 3:42.254.

Fourteenth place for Filippo Gilardino, silver medalist at the recent European Championships, who completed his run in 3:47.792. The young Piedmont rider is not far from the top of the standings and looks with confidence toward Saturday's final on August 29.

"The sensations are good. Compared to this morning the track was drier and I was able to express myself well. Clearly I still need to clean up some lines, but I'm counting on being ready for tomorrow's final. The competition is at a high level, but the medal zone isn't that far away," said Gilardino.

Best time for Danish rider Rosa Jensen in the Junior Women's Downhill Qualifying Round, completed in 4:05.581. Behind her Australian Tilly Boadle, second in 4:08.818, while New Zealander Indy Deavoll completes the provisional podium with a time of 4:16.888. Fifteenth place for the only Italian competing, Piedmont's Rebecca Bruno, who completed her run in 4:28.693.

At the end of the Downhill races, the Daolasa race field hosted the Cross-country Kids. About a hundred children had the opportunity to pedal on a short Cross-country loop, just steps away from their heroes.
Val di Sole

SWITZERLAND LEADS THE MEDAL COUNT, ITALY SHINES WITH TEAM RELAY GOLD
At the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Val di Sole-Trentino, nine of the seventeen titles in play have been awarded so far, for a total of twenty-seven medals.

Switzerland tops the medal count with eight medals overall, including three golds: those won by Anja Grossmann in the Junior Cross-country and siblings Nicolas and Monique Halter in the U23 Short Track. France and Austria are chasing the Swiss with two golds each, while Italy ranks fourth in the medal count, thanks to the gold medal won on Wednesday, August 26 in the Team Relay.

1st Switzerland (3 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze)
2nd Austria (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
3rd France (2 Gold, 3 Bronze)
4th Italy and Australia (1 Gold)
6th United Kingdom (3 Silver)
7th Czech Republic and Germany (1 Silver)
9th United States (2 Bronze)
10th Netherlands (1 Bronze)