David Valero and Natalia Fischer lead the Spanish team at the 2026 XCM World Championships taking place this weekend

The Spanish National Team has already defined its riders for the 2026 XC Marathon World Championship. David Valero and Natalia Fischer will be the main hopes of the national team this Saturday, September 12, in San Martino di Castrozza (Italy), where both will try to improve on the fourth place they achieved a year ago in Valais.

This is the Spanish National Team for the 2026 XCM World Championship

Spain will attend the event with four riders. Alongside Valero will be Alberto Barroso, the current gravel champion of Spain, and Luis Francisco Pérez, while Fischer will be the only Spanish representative in the elite women's race.

The Spanish National Team is formed by:

• David Valero, European XCM champion
• Alberto Barroso, gravel champion of Spain
• Luis Francisco Pérez.
• Natalia Fischer, European XCM runner-up

RECOMENDADO

Valero and Natalia Fischer reach the podium at the Black Forest XCM World Cup: the overall will be decided in Girona

David Valero is now the best cyclist in the world in the UCI XCM ranking

“Every race and as quickly as possible”: the UCI takes a tougher stance and wants GPS trackers on every bike and vehicle in the peloton

Nino Schurter suffers one of the worst injuries of his career... on a scooter: fracture and dislocation after a crash

Nairo Quintana to retire from cycling in Montreal: “The World Championships will be my last professional race”

Enric Mas and Juan Ayuso lead Spain’s squad for the 2026 Montreal World Championships

The course will be identical for both the men's and women's elite categories, with 95 kilometers and 4,000 meters of accumulated positive elevation. The men will start at 9:00 AM, while the women's race will begin half an hour later, at 9:30 AM.

David Valero arrives as European champion and leader of the World Cup

The World Championship will be one of the major objectives of a season in which David Valero has completely focused his calendar on XC Marathon. The rider from Granada arrives in Italy after confirming his adaptation to the specialty with results that place him among the main candidates for the rainbow jersey.

Valero was crowned European XCM champion in Ramales de la Victoria and is also dominating the World Cup in the specialty. The World Championship now represents the opportunity to complete his season with the major title that he lacks.

Additionally, in the World Championship held last year in Valais, he finished fourth, just a step away from the medals.

Natalia Fischer seeks the podium again

Natalia Fischer will face the women's race as the other great Spanish option. The rider from Málaga also finished fourth in the 2025 World Championship and has an extensive history in major XC Marathon events.

Fischer has been twice European champion and a bronze medalist at a World Championship, and this season she arrives in San Martino di Castrozza as the reigning continental runner-up.

The 95 kilometers and 4,000 meters of elevation anticipate a particularly demanding race in the Dolomites, a setting where both Valero and Fischer will try to turn their fourth places from 2025 into a world medal.