Mitterwallner wins and gives the first victory to Mondraker Factory Racing XC in the XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto 2025

After a race marked by a puncture from world champion Puck Pieterse, it was Austrian Mona Mitterwallner who managed to sign a perfect race in which she had to fight until the end to take the victory in the XCO World Cup of Nove Mesto 2025.

Mona Mitterwallner wins and gives the first victory to Mondraker Factory Racing XC

The elite women's race of the XCO World Cup in Nove Mesto started with intensity from the start loop, with Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) leading alongside Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) and Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO). Pieterse was the first to push the race, breaking the group from the second lap, with Keller as the only one able to keep up with her pace. However, a puncture from the world champion in the third lap completely changed the course of the race. With Pieterse relegated and Rissveds out due to health problems, Keller and Candice Lill took the lead.

From behind, Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) started a strong comeback after a discreet start. By the fourth lap, she was already in third place, while Rebecca Henderson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) and Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC) also joined the group of favorites. Maxwell briefly took the lead in the fifth lap, but it was Mitterwallner who took control shortly after, setting a strong pace that stretched the group and opened significant gaps. At the beginning of the penultimate lap, she led by seven seconds over Maxwell and Lill, while Keller and Henderson were riding slightly behind.

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Maxwell launched a tactical attack with two laps to go, reaching and overtaking Mitterwallner to take the lead. However, a technical mistake on a climb forced her to dismount in the rock garden, which the Austrian took advantage of to regain the lead.

Both entered the final lap separated by one second, in a direct duel for the victory, with Lill in third place seven seconds behind.

In the final meters, Mitterwallner pushed to definitively pull away from Maxwell and crossed the finish line in first position, thus achieving her first victory with Mondraker Factory Racing XC and signing a historic triumph for the new Spanish structure.

XCO World Cup Results Nove Mesto 2025 Women's Elite

1. Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC) - 1:29:32
2. Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) - +00
3. Candice Lill - +25 s
4. Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) - +41 s
5. Rebecca Henderson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) - +48 s
6. Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) - +1:05
7. Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) - +1:18
8. Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing) - +1:28
9. Loana Lecomte (BMC Factory Racing) - +1:28
10. Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) - +1:28