Luca Martin surprises with his choice between XCO and XCC: “I want to win the Short Track”

The XCO/XCC World Cup 2026 arrives this weekend at its final event in Lake Placid and one of the main protagonists will be Luca Martin. The Frenchman arrives in New York leading both overall standings and with the possibility of closing the season by winning both the XCO and Short Track titles.

Luca Martin trades victories for overall standings in Lake Placid

As we mentioned in our preview of the Lake Placid World Cup, the situation for the Frenchman is quite particular. The XCO overall is already mathematically secured, while in the XCC he will still have to defend his lead.

Martin arrives in Lake Placid with 1,819 points in the XCO overall, compared to 1,619 for Adrien Boichis. The XCC world champion was the only rider who could still mathematically threaten his lead, but he decided to skip the last two North American World Cup events.

And although Boichis appears on the entry list for Lake Placid, the Frenchman himself had already announced that he would not compete in either Soldier Hollow or this final round. His absence leaves Martin as the mathematical winner of the XCO World Cup 2026 even before the start.

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The situation is very different in the Short Track. Martin also leads here, with 1,240 points, but Mathis Azzaro still has options with 1,144. Therefore, the Cannondale Factory Racing rider will have to approach the XCC on Friday thinking not only about victory but also about the overall standings.

This is something he himself acknowledges in statements prior to the race. His approach for Lake Placid is very different from what he had during the first half of the season:

“My mentality doesn’t change too much. I just want to be smart, stay on the bike, and finish the race. That’s all.”

Martin explains that now the priority is no longer to attack every race with victory as the only goal:

“It’s a different way to approach the World Cup. In June I wanted to win; now it’s more about doing the best I can on the bike, racing more safely, and reaching the finish line.”

A comprehensible strategy for someone who has the possibility of closing the year with both overall titles of the World Cup. But even so, there is something that motivates Martin: 

“I want to win the Short Track. I haven’t won any Short Track this year and that weighs quite a bit. I’ve finished many times close, not always, but in many occasions.”

In fact, his consistency has been enough to take him to Lake Placid dressed as leader despite not having achieved a victory in XCC this season yet. In Les Gets, for example, he finished second just one second behind Adrien Boichis, and two weeks ago he was again second in Soldier Hollow, this time behind Samuel Gaze.

Martin admits, however, that pursuing that first victory of the year may conflict with the main objective of the weekend:

“Although I think it will be difficult to win this week because it’s part of the strategy for the race. The strategy is different.”

Two titles that could arrive at the perfect moment for Luca Martin

The sporting outcome also comes at a particularly important moment for his future. Luca Martin needs a new team for 2027 after Cannondale announced the closure of Cannondale Factory Racing at the end of this season.

The decision by the American brand will end more than 30 years of presence of its official structure in the elite of mountain biking and forces the current riders of the team to seek a new destination.

Martin could hardly have chosen a better season to enter the market. In his first full year among the elite, he has become one of the big names in the World Cup and can now say goodbye to Cannondale Factory Racing with the XCO and XCC overall titles in hand.

It is reasonable to think that a rider with such results will not lack offers for 2027. And although his future is still not announced, presenting himself to teams as the winner of both World Cups would further strengthen his position when negotiating his next contract.