Mathis Azzaro calls time on his season and will miss the Lake Placid World Cup

Mathis Azzaro will not be at the last event of the XCO/XCC World Cup 2026. The Frenchman and his team have decided that he will not start this weekend in Lake Placid after confirming that he is not physically in condition to compete at the level required for a World Cup event.

Mathis Azzaro withdraws from the Lake Placid final

Azzaro himself has communicated the decision through his social media, bringing an end to a season he hoped to extend until the last race of the calendar.

"The season ends a bit earlier than expected. Together with the team, we decided not to compete in the Lake Placid final because the body is not in condition to compete at the level of a World Cup. The season has been great so far, thanks to everyone", explained the Frenchman.

For now, there is no further information on the reason. Azzaro does not mention illness or injury and does not attribute his condition to accumulated fatigue from an especially long season. His only explanation is that his body is currently not in condition to compete at the highest level, so we will have to wait to see if he provides more details.

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The absence is particularly significant because Azzaro was completing one of his best seasons. The Frenchman has achieved two victories in the XCC World Cup, in YongPyong and Nové Město, and has accumulated numerous standout results throughout the year. In his last appearance, in Soldier Hollow, he finished fourth in Short Track and fifth in XCO.

Additionally, in July he achieved one of the major goals of his season by being crowned French XCO Elite Champion in Le Dévoluy. 

His withdrawal also changes the landscape of the Short Track in Lake Placid, a discipline in which Azzaro has been one of the standout names of 2026. His two consecutive victories at the start of the season, including the one achieved in Nové Město ahead of Tom Pidcock, kept him in contention for the overall classification for much of the year.

An ending that comes amid uncertainty about his future

The news also comes in an important week for Azzaro's sporting future. Origine has announced that it will cease to be the main sponsor of the team at the end of 2026, closing a two-season chapter in the World Cup. The structure led by Maxime Marotte, however, intends to continue in 2027 with a new main sponsor.

For now, it has not been announced where Mathis Azzaro will race next season, so it remains to be seen whether he will continue within this structure or change teams.

Azzaro has been precisely one of the riders who has best represented the Origine project during these two years. This season he has competed with the new Origine Théorème FS 120, a bike with an unconventional setup within the current World Cup, featuring TRP mechanical transmission, SR Suntour suspensions, and solutions like the rigid seat post used in Short Track. At Brújula Bike, we have already analyzed it in detail.

His 2026 season thus ends earlier than expected and without being able to compete in the last race in Lake Placid. An unexpected outcome for one of the riders who has had the most prominence this year in the World Cup, especially in Short Track, and whose future for 2027 is still to be announced.