Avancini and Mitterwallner win the XCM World Championship

Avancini is proclaimed XCM World Champion and wins his second rainbow jersey of the specialty ahead of Stosek and Baum. The Brazilian, first medalist for his country at the Glasgow World Championships, took 4 hours and 14 minutes to complete the almost 100 kilometers of the British course. In the women's category, Mitterwallner won after a tough head-to-head battle with Lill.

Avancini takes the victory and is once again wearing the rainbow jersey

The usual Scottish weather was at its best to welcome the 164 cyclists (109 in the men's category and 55 in the women's) called to fight for the XCM rainbow jersey: 13 degrees and a thick layer of clouds that completely covered Glentress Forest. The riders took the start and began the 96.5 kilometers and 3,200 meters of elevation gain, including almost 45 km of singletrack.

As expected, the times at the first detection point were not very significant. A large leading group stayed together during the first kilometers, in which some of the main favorites preferred to be in the background, while others like Avancini, Baum or Paez were among the top five. Sergio Mantecón stayed close to the leaders and Roberto Bou lost 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

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Baum reached the next point on the map first with Hatherly, Samparisi, Mason and Avancini close behind. The lead had been reduced to these five competitors, although the rest of the top 10 - including top riders such as Egger and Frey - were just 18 seconds behind.

Avancini took the lead in the third time measurement. The Brazilian took the lead just two and a half hours into the race and did not let go the lead until the finish line. The pace he set was enough to get rid of the group, which in turn also broke away: Baum at 7 seconds and Balmer at 32 seconds were his main threats.

The veteran rider joined Baum at the last detection point before the finish. Stosek made up ground and did the same at 8 seconds, while Balmer kept the gap at just over half a minute. Behind him, Paez closed the top 10 at 2 minutes.

Avancini overpowered Baum and rode into the finish line to be crowned XCM World Champion for the second time. The 34-year-old experienced rider had more legs than anyone else and took the gold, the first medal Brazil has won in this World Championship.

Stosek finished second, while Baum had to settle for third place on the podium.

Results XCM World Championship 2023 - Men's

1. Henrique da Silva Avancini 4h 14' 42"
2. Martin Stosek +28"
3. Lukas Baum +1'43"
4. Marc Stutzmann +3'33"
5. Héctor Leonardo Páez +3'35"
6. Jose Dias +3'52"
7. Alexandre Balmer +4'11"
8. Fabian Rabensteiner +4'11"
9. Diego Rosa +4'33"
10. Andreas Seewald +4'50"

Mitterwallner beats Lill to win his second XCM World Championships

Candice Lill was the first protagonist of the day. The South African was one of the favorites for the final victory and wanted to impose an intense pace from the beginning. The strategy paid off and only Mitterwallner withstood the initial pull, so both reached the first time zone together. Behind, Morel, Gorycka, Looser, Morath, Mairhofer and Sheppard formed the chasing group, which had already lost 55 seconds.

The race had two speeds. The equality between Mitterwallner and Lill stood out against the chasers who were losing the trail of the leaders as the race progressed.

Everything pointed to a duel between the Austrian and the South African. The forecasts were fulfilled and they kept the face to face for a long time. Until Mitterwallner hit the watts machine and pulled out a little extra power that was too much for Lill. 2 minutes and 10 seconds at the last detection point before the finish.

Still, Lill squeezed her quads and began to make up ground. The effort served to get closer to the Austrian, although not enough to reach a tight finish.

Mitterwallner conquers the rainbow jersey and becomes the new XCM World Champion. Mona repeats victory after the gold at the XCM World Championships in 2021; second rainbow at the age of 21. Next to her, Lill, who gets the silver after a great race in which she kept her chances of victory until the final part and was the only one able to hold the pace of the winner. Morath crossed the finish line almost ten minutes later and took the bronze.

Results XCM World Championship 2023 - Women's

1. Mona Mitterwallner 5h 07' 50"
2. Candince Lill +54"
3. Adelheid Morath +9'50"
4. Lejla Njemcevic +12'42"
5. Estelle Morel +12'48"
6. Samara Sheppard +15'30"
7. Vera Looser +17'52"
8. Paula Gorycka +18'39"
9. Sandra Mairhofer +19'17"
10. Kimberley le Court de Billot +19'26"