Van der Poel and Pidcock head to the XCO World Championships facing an in-form Boichis: favourites, schedules, start lists and where to watch

The 2026 XCO World Championship will conclude this Sunday an intense week of competition in Val di Sole. The two Elite races will attract all the attention with an exceptional lineup where Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock will face the top specialists of the season, while among the women, Jenny Rissveds and Sina Frei arrive backed by the best results from the World Cup.

All about the XCO World Championship 2026: schedules, where to watch, and favorites

The Olympic Cross-country will be responsible for closing the 2026 MTB World Championship. The Sunday, August 30 will start with the Sub-23 races and continue with the two Elite events. The women will start at 1:00 PM, while the men's World Championship will begin at 3:15 PM and will be the last race of the championship.

Here are the schedules for Sunday:

• XCO Sub-23 Women – 9:00 AM
• XCO Sub-23 Men – 11:00 AM
• XCO Elite Women – 1:00 PM
• XCO Elite Men – 3:15 PM

As usual, HBO Max and its associated platforms will also offer the complete World Championship, being the alternative for those who want to follow the rest of the categories and events.

Favorites for the XCO World Championship 2026

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The World Cup has highlighted the names of Adrien Boichis and Luca Martin above the rest this season. Together they have won five of the seven XCO races held so far, with Boichis being the most successful rider thanks to his three victories and five podiums.

But the World Championship will have luxury guests like Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock. Neither has followed a World Cup schedule and they will not start from the front lines of the grid, but both arrive in Val di Sole as the top favorites for the rainbow jersey.

Pidcock already demonstrated his level by winning the XCO in Nove Mesto, while Van der Poel confirmed just a few days ago in Les Gets that he is back among the best specialists in the world by finishing second. Having to climb positions from the start will be one of the major challenges for both.

Still, if there is one rider who arrives as the absolute reference of current XCO, it is Adrien Boichis. His three victories and five podiums in the World Cup would already be sufficient arguments, but the Frenchman further strengthened his candidacy on Thursday by being crowned Short Track World Champion. The confidence and security with which he managed the race and secured the title confirm the extraordinary moment he arrives at XCO.

Luca Martin completes the strong French block after a season with two victories and four podiums, and we should also keep an eye on Mathis Azzaro, Dario Lillo, Bjorn Riley, Martin Vidaurre, Simone Avondetto, Luca Braidot, Filippo Colombo, Mathias Flückiger, Christopher Blevins, Samuel Gaze, Alan Hatherly, or Charlie Aldridge.

Below we leave the complete list of currently registered riders. The UCI has not yet published the final start list, so we still do not know the bib numbers or the official starting order.

Favorites for the XCO World Championship 2026

The women's race presents a very open scenario, although the World Cup results place Jenny Rissveds and Sina Frei a step above due to their consistency and number of victories.

Rissveds has three wins and five podiums in XCO, while Frei has two victories and four podiums and also arrives after winning the last World Cup held in Haute-Savoie.

However, limiting the favorites to this table would leave out several riders capable of directly competing for the rainbow jersey.

We must also consider Martina Berta and Laura Stigger, the other two World Cup winners this season, in addition to Savilia Blunk, Alessandra Keller, Nicole Koller, and Ronja Blöchlinger.

Puck Pieterse remains one of the big names in international XCO despite having competed in a more limited schedule, while Evie Richards, Mona Mitterwallner, Jolanda Neff, Haley Batten, Samara Maxwell, and Candice Lill significantly expand the group of candidates.

The number of contenders means that the women's race arrives without a candidate as clearly differentiated as Boichis based on recent results among men, although Rissveds and Frei are the two major references of the World Cup season.

Complete lists of registered riders in the XCO World Championship 2026

The following lists correspond to the riders currently registered for the Elite events. This is not yet the official start list, which will ultimately determine the participants, bib numbers, and positions on the grid.

Registered XCO Elite Men

Registered XCO Elite Women