Chris Blevins signs another amazing performance in Nove Mesto and consolidates his dominance in the XCO World Cup 2025

Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) once again showed why he is the main protagonist of the season by winning with authority in the XCO World Cup in Nové Město. The American escaped alone in the last lap and crossed the finish line with a seven-second lead over his pursuers, thus signing a new victory that brings him even closer to the overall championship lead.

Blevins wins convincingly and Van der Poel retires after two falls

The race started with a compact group at the front led by Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO), Chris Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), and Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team), but incidents soon occurred.

In the first lap, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) suffered two falls — one of them after a contact with David Valero (BH Coloma Team) — which forced him to retire prematurely in his highly anticipated return to the World Cup after four years of absence.

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With the Dutchman's withdrawal, the spotlight shifted to the strong men of the current XCO. Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team), the reigning world champion, took the initiative during the early laps, maintaining a high pace alongside Schwarzbauer, Blevins, Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing), and Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon). In this context of maximum tension, the leading group remained compact until the halfway point, with constant relays and no major differences.

From the fifth lap onwards, the movements began to wear down the front group. Hatherly tried without success, while Blevins and Flückiger increased the pace to stretch the group. Swiss rider Vital Albin (Thömus Maxon) was the one who broke the dynamic with an attack that only Blevins could follow, creating the first serious break of the day.

Despite the efforts of Hatherly and the other favorites to close the gap, it was Christopher Blevins who took absolute control in the penultimate lap. He launched a devastating attack halfway through the lap and went solo with a lead that reached over 10 seconds. Behind him, Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon), Koretzky, and Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) fought for the podium.

In the final lap, Forster tried to catch Blevins, but the American maintained the pace and crossed the finish line with a time of 1:26:00. The Swiss rider, along with the Frenchman Azzaro and his compatriot Koretzky, engaged in a spectacular sprint for the second place. Azzaro ultimately took the win, with Forster in third and Koretzky in fourth, all with the same time (+7 seconds).

Youth Swiss rider Fabio Püntener delivered a brilliant performance to finish fifth, +23 seconds behind the winner.

Top 5 – Final Elite Men's XCO Classification – Nové Město 2025

1. Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) – 1:26:00
2. Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) – +7 s
3. Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon) – +7 s
4. Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) – +7 s
5. Fabio Püntener (unattached) – +23 s