Sina Frei has signed in YongPyong one of those victories that go beyond the result, prevailing in an XCO completely affected by mud and lack of control over the terrain. The Swiss rider adapted better than anyone to a chaotic race, where surviving on the bike was as decisive as speed itself.
Frei takes an extreme XCO in YongPyong with Rissveds and Munro on the podium
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The women's XCO of the 2026 World Cup in Mona YongPyong was completely affected by rain and turned into a survival race. What was a fast and technical circuit in dry conditions transformed into a heavy, slippery, and unpredictable course, where the mud marked every meter of competition.
From the start, it was clear that the expected script was not going to be fulfilled. Neither the grid nor the initial pace helped stabilize the race. There were falls even on the starting straight, like that of Loana Lecomte, and in many sections, it was impossible to stay on the bike. The race constantly shifted between pedaling and running, with scenes more typical of cyclocross than XCO.
In that context, Jenny Rissveds was the first to make a difference, taking advantage of an uphill section with a rock garden to create a gap while many rivals had to get off their bikes. Only Sina Frei and Savilia Blunk managed to keep up with her pace in the early stages.
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The race, however, did not have a clear structure at any moment. The mud equalized forces, caused constant mechanical problems, and made the differences very unstable. After the first laps, Frei and Rissveds alternated in the lead, while a chasing group emerged behind them with Madigan Munro, Jennifer Jackson, and Martina Berta. The British Evie Richards, one of the favorites, was out of the fight after a fall in the second lap.
As the laps went by, fatigue began to define the race more than attacks. Munro, one of the big revelations of the weekend, managed to get fully into the fight for the podium, while Jackson also cut down the differences in a terrain where any mistake was immediately punished.
The resolution came in the last lap. Frei managed to open a small gap on one of the uphill sections, at a moment when the forces were already at their limit. Rissveds tried to hold on but ended up giving way in a finish where mechanical problems also complicated the fight for victory.
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The Swiss crossed the finish line in 1:27:03 to take the victory, with Rissveds second at 26 seconds and Munro completing the podium at 28 seconds. Behind them, Jennifer Jackson finished fourth at 35 seconds and Martina Berta rounded out the Top 5 at 1:18 in a race where the final result was as influenced by the terrain as by performance.
YongPyong thus leaves one of the most atypical races remembered in the World Cup, a scenario where the circuit design in dry conditions was completely overwhelmed by mud and where surviving was as important as being fast.
Top 10 XCO World Cup: Mona YongPyong, Women's Elite
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