Sina Frei dominates in Val di Sole to become 2026 XCO World Champion

Sina Frei has won the XCO World Championship 2026 with an authentic display in Val di Sole. The Swiss rider attacked from the first lap, selecting the race with change after change of pace and finished crossing the line alone with more than a minute advantage. Behind, Martina Berta took silver ahead of Nicole Koller in an exciting sprint, while Puck Pieterse completed a great comeback from the fourth row to finish fourth.

Sina Frei turns the XCO World Championship in Val di Sole into a showcase

The race started with practically all the favorites positioned in the first two rows of the grid, with one particularly important exception. Puck Pieterse started from the fourth row, benefiting from the rule that allows cyclists in the Top 20 of the road ranking to advance positions. The Dutch rider, XCO world champion in 2024, arrived as one of the top contenders for the rainbow jersey, although it remained to be seen how much having to come back from the start would affect her race.

The start was very fast but clean. The Italian Martina Berta was the first to take the lead, immediately accompanied by Jenny Rissveds, Alessandra Keller, Savilia Blunk, and Sina Frei. The weather was favorable, with sunshine, still mild temperatures, and a slightly damp circuit.

However, mechanical problems soon appeared. Still in the start loop, Alessandra Keller suffered a flat tire that forced her to stop and lose all her chances of staying with the front group.

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After completing the initial loop, there were six laps left on a circuit of 3.5 kilometers and 153 meters of positive elevation per lap. And Sina Frei quickly showed her intentions.

The Swiss launched a first attack as soon as the first lap began, and only Jenny Rissveds was able to respond initially. Behind, a surprising Haley Batten, who had started from the third row, quickly got into the fight with the best.

But the selection was still not definitive. The group compacted again, and before finishing that first lap, Frei, Rissveds, Batten, Blunk, Berta, and a Puck Pieterse who had managed to climb from the fourth row to reach the front of the race were already rolling ahead.

The dynamics were clear. Frei increased the pace every time the slope became steeper, and the rest tried to regain positions between each of her accelerations.

In the second lap, another attack from the Swiss came, and this time significant differences began to appear. Rissveds could not keep up, while Martina Berta overtook her and managed to break away with Frei. The two opened a gap at the front, with Nicole Koller taking the lead in the chase and Pieterse closing in from behind.

After 30 minutes of racing, several moments that would mark the World Championship arrived. Frei and Berta already had more than ten seconds, and Puck Pieterse had reached fourth place, overtaking a Rissveds who soon saw her chances collapse definitively.

The Swede suffered a flat tire, and her passage through the technical zone was too slow. When she returned to the circuit, she did so in 11th position and more than 1:30 behind the leaders.

It was an even worse day for Keller. After the flat tire at the start, she suffered another mechanical failure and had to stop again. The Swiss fell to approximately 20th position and showed her immense frustration after seeing how mechanical problems ended any chance of fighting for medals.

Frei is left alone and begins her showcase

The race had barely reached its third lap, and practically everything had happened. But there was one constant from the first kilometers: Sina Frei was still the strongest cyclist.

The Swiss accelerated again, and this time even Martina Berta could not respond. Frei definitively broke away alone.

Her performance was not a surprise. Frei had been one of the strongest cyclists in the last weeks of the World Cup, and in Val di Sole, she confirmed that she arrived at the World Championship in exceptional shape.

As she entered the fourth lap, her lead was already around half a minute. Behind, Nicole Koller caught up with Martina Berta, and both began a different race, focused on the two remaining podium spots. Pieterse continued in fourth, approximately 50 seconds behind the leader, and still had chances to catch up with the two riders ahead of her.

Much further back, another high-level group had formed. About two minutes behind Frei were Evie Richards, Haley Batten, Samara Maxwell, Jenny Rissveds, and Laura Stigger, all fighting to break into the Top 5.

The penultimate lap brought some calm. Frei seemed already unreachable, and barring a mechanical failure or a fall, the title was in her hands. Berta and Koller remained together while Pieterse continued to close the gap and kept the fight for medals open.

But when the bell rang, Frei already had more than a minute advantage. The Swiss only had to complete the last lap without errors to become world champion.

Behind, Koller and Berta were preparing to decide the silver and bronze, while Pieterse seemed to have shifted from attacking the podium to securing her fourth position. Samara Maxwell, for her part, had managed to drop the select chasing group and was solidifying her fifth place.

Sina Frei, XCO World Champion 2026

Sina Frei did not give any opportunity. The Swiss completed her last lap without any surprises and crossed the finish line in Val di Sole alone to be crowned XCO World Champion 2026, closing a race she had controlled practically since her first attack.

She stopped the clock at 1:27:50, with a final difference of 1:07 over her closest pursuers.

And there was excitement until the last meter. Martina Berta and Nicole Koller arrived together at the final straight and staged a spectacular sprint for silver. Berta managed to come back in the last meters and overtook Koller practically on the finish line. Both received the same time, but the Italian took silver, and the Swiss had to settle for bronze.

Puck Pieterse finished fourth at 1:25, completing a remarkable comeback after starting from the fourth row, although she ultimately did not reach the podium. Samara Maxwell closed the Top 5 at 1:48.

Top 5 XCO World Championship Women Elite 2026

1. Sina Frei (SUI) — 1:27:50
2. Martina Berta (ITA) — +1:07
3. Nicole Koller (SUI) — +1:07
4. Puck Pieterse (NED) — +1:25
5. Samara Maxwell (NZL) — +1:48
6. Evie Richards (GBR) — +1:58
7. Jenny Rissveds (SWE) — +2:29
8. Laura Stigger (AUT) — +2:41
9. Savilia Blunk (USA) — +2:48
10. Haley Batten (USA) — +3:13