MTB World Championships: Tom Pidcock Powers to Incredible Victory, Van der Poel Out of the Picture

Tom Pidcock won his second elite cross-country MTB world title in stunning fashion on Sunday.

The multi-discipline star powered from five rows back on the start grid to the front of the pack on lap 6 of 8 at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships before he dispatched his British teammate Charlie Aldridge in a late-race thriller.

Pidcock cemented himself in the pantheon of MTB racing with his against-all-odds race through traffic in Sunday’s race in Val di Sole, Italy.

With two Olympic titles and now two world titles on his resume, the 27-year-old is one of the GOATs of the era.

And that’s without considering the fact that he finished 9th overall at the Tour de France only five weeks ago.

Pidcock’s last race on the trails was in May.

Speaking at the finish, Pidcock was clearly emotional at both the impact and significance of his second world title.

He dedicated the win to the Tarling family after Fin tragically died at the Volta a Portugal. He raced alongside Fin’s brother, Josh, when they both raced on the road for Ineos Grenadiers.

“I don’t have words to be honest,” Pidcock said as he battled back tears.

“It was a hard road here after finishing the Tour. I want to dedicate this to Fin and Josh. Seeing [Josh] start the Vuelta was incredible,” he said.

Pidcock revealed his second elite rainbow jersey won’t see much daylight next year.

Racing in the WorldTour with Pinarello Q36.5 will be the priority in 2027.

“Next year I’m not going to do as much MTB and focus on the road,” Pidcock said at the finish. “I’ll return to mountain bike before LA. I’ll need to find some time to wear those bands.”

Cole Punchard finished third behind the British 1-2 to bring Canada a standout bronze medal.

Van der Poel anonymous in Val di Sole

Pidcock’s fellow all-terrain superstar Mathieu van der Poel didn’t make the mid-season disciplinary switch with such success.

The big Dutchman started on the same row as Pidcock on the start grid but didn’t have the kick to make a difference on the nororiously gnarly Italian circuit.

Van der Poel finished 30th, 4:40 behind Pidcock – that’s one position worse than his similarly anonymous MTB world title bid in 2025.

Bjorn Riley was best placed of the U.S. contingent in 19th. Off-road dominator Christopher Blevins leaves Val di Sole disappointed in 37th, close to 6 minutes away from gold.

Earlier in the day Sunday, Sina Frei delivered a masterclass performance to win the elite women’s XCO title. Read more about it here.

Top 5: UCI elite men cross country world championships

1st. Tom Pidcock (Great Britain): 1:25:26
2nd. Charlie Aldridge (Great Britain): +17
3rd. Cole Punchard (Canada): +0:31
4th. Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Chile): +0:59
5th. Adrien Boichis (France): 1:06

You can find the full results here courtesy of our friends at PinkBike.