Dangerous or legendary? The rainbow is at play this year on the new circuit of Crans Montana
In 2024, the World Cup landed in Crans Montana with a completely new circuit that began to generate controversy from the first reconnaissance. A monstrous rock garden with no escape routes, stone berms with large gaps, and an extremely delicate wooden walkway area led the organization to urgently modify the route just a few hours before the race.
Now, in 2025, that same layout returns with more prominence than ever: it will be the venue for the XCO World Championship. And the one in charge of showing us how it currently looks is Jolanda Neff, who has already been riding on it.
The most technical circuit returns this year as the venue for the XCO World Championship
Last season, the Swiss circuit was rated by many riders as "wild" and even "terrifying". Its technical difficulty, combined with the rainy and muddy conditions in which the race took place, caused numerous falls and turned the course into the main protagonist of the weekend.
One of the most critical points is its impressive rock garden, built with huge rocks. It starts with an almost blind drop, followed by an area with no margin for error: a fall there usually has consequences. German rider Maximilian Brandl knows this well. Last year he was riding in podium positions when he suffered a fall in that section, fracturing his jaw and having to abandon the race.
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For this 2025 World Championship, everything indicates that the organization has decided to maintain the original character of the layout. In the video shared by Jolanda Neff, riding under the sun and in much more favorable conditions than the previous year, it is evident that the route retains all the key sections that made it one of the most extreme on the calendar.
What in 2024 was mud, fog, and risk, in the video appears bathed in light and calm. But the truth is that the circuit remains the same, and it returns with a thirst for spectacle.