Amazing performance by Tom Pidcock to win the European XCO Championship

The British rider Tom Pidcock once again put on a display of strength and technique to win the European XCO Championship. Colombo and Aldridge completed the podium.

Tom Pidcock is crowned European XCO Champion after another epic comeback

The 2025 European XCO Championship in the elite men's category offered a true spectacle this Sunday in Melgaço (Portugal). With temperatures exceeding 30°C and a dry, fast, and dusty circuit, the race was full of twists, falls, comebacks, and the stellar performance of Tom Pidcock.

From a lightning-fast start on the local athletics track, the pace was incredibly high from the first meter. It was the young British rider Charlie Aldridge who set the pace at the beginning, although soon the Swiss machinery took control with Filippo Colombo, Nino Schurter, and Dario Lillo at the front.

The big favorite, Tom Pidcock, started from a disadvantaged position and closed the first lap in 12th place, with over 20 seconds lost to the leaders. However, in the second lap, he began his comeback with a powerful attack that left rivals like Simon Andreassen and Dario Lillo behind, unable to keep up with his pace.

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Meanwhile, the first setbacks occurred: Italian Luca Braidot abandoned due to mechanical problems, and Nino Schurter suffered a fall that pushed him out of the top 10. At the front, Colombo maintained the pressure until a hard fall in the rock garden during the third lap temporarily took him out of the fight for the gold. Aldridge was then left alone at the front, with Pidcock getting closer and closer.

The chasing group, which reorganized with Colombo, Luca Schatti, Simon Andreassen, and other names like Puntener and Foidl, was riding over 50 seconds behind while Pidcock took control of the race in the fifth lap, setting an impossible pace to follow.

In the final lap, Pidcock was riding with a 40-second lead over his compatriot Aldridge, with whom he had shared several kilometers at the front. The battle for the bronze medal remained open, but it was Andreassen who ultimately managed to prevail after a strong final lap, overtaking Filippo Colombo in the decisive meters.

Tom Pidcock crossed the finish line alone to be crowned European XCO Champion 2025, in what is only his second XCO race of the season, and which he also uses as preparation for his upcoming participation in the Vuelta a España. A fact that confirms his immense talent on any type of bicycle.

The silver went to a solid Charlie Aldridge, who held on for much of the race at the front, and the bronze to a combative Simon Andreassen who with this result seems to confirm his recovery after a concussion suffered earlier in the season.