Specialized dominates the World Cup in Araxá with Koretzky, Blevins and Vidaurre

After months of waiting, the World Cup experienced its first XCO race of the season on the attractive and spectacular circuit of Araxá this Sunday. Although MTB is an individual sport, Christopher Blevins and Victor Koretzky showed in Brazil that teamwork can also yield interesting results. The Specialized duo took off at the beginning of the first lap and held a firm grip that resulted in a triple win for the American brand in this debut of the World Series.

Blevins and Koretzky dominated the Araxá World Cup 2025

The race started with a large pile-up at the start that affected a dozen riders, with the worst affected being the Frenchman Thomas Griot (Canyon), who was forced to retire. Also losing a lot of time due to the crash were the Belgian Pierre de Froidmont (Orbea Fox Factory Team) and the Italian Nadir Colledani (Mondraker Factory Racing), both members of Spanish brand teams. In contrast, Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), who won the Short Track on Saturday, made a blazing start with his teammate Victor Koretzky right on his wheel.

Perfectly in sync, the Specialized duo completed the first of the nine laps with a lead of over 10" over Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and the Danish Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Team), although both were caught in the next uphill section by a very large group led by the Chilean Martín Vidaurre, a teammate of the leaders. The three Spaniards - David Campos, David Valero, and Jofre Cullell - all from the BH Coloma Team, were riding in more distant positions.

The show of Blevins and Koretzky

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Despite the American confirming to the media at the start that he expected a tactical race that would be decided in the last two laps, both he and Koretzky executed a plan that was far from that idea, starting the third lap with over half a minute lead over the peloton of more than twenty cyclists chasing them. Among them was not Schurter, who lost over 1 minute due to a puncture.

The brave adventure of Blevins and Koretzky maintained a gap of between 25" and 30" during the third lap while behind them, the German Maximilian Brandl (Lapierre Racing) was making a move, slightly ahead of Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division), Martín Vidaurre, the experienced Jordan Sarrou (BMC Factory Racing), and Simon Andreassen. Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM), Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon), and Simone Avondetto (Wilier-Vittoria) also joined that second group where the Chilean was conserving energy with his two teammates pushing hard at the front. Brandl, who never dropped below 20" behind, would be caught halfway through the next lap.

While the action continued in that chasing group, with constant changes in positions and the inherent wear of battling against other riders, the two leaders, comfortably, managed to increase their lead to over 40" halfway through the competition. The fifth lap started with a 42" lead for Blevins and Koretzky over a pack of 18 riders where the young Frenchman Adrien Boichis, the fourth Specialized rider, also joined the American brand's dominance. 

The pursuers did not give up

Despite the differences and the high pace of the race, Filippo Colombo and Simon Andreassen led the chase behind by increasing the speed in the most demanding sections of the circuit. Vidaurre, always well positioned at the front, stuck to the Swiss rider in the final part of the fifth lap, acting as a brake and allowing Azzaro, Avondetto, Sarrou, and Schwarzbauer to join the chase group again.

Without attacks, taking turns at key points, Blevins and Koretzky did not lower their effort level and even continued to increase the gaps. With four laps to go, the distance between them and the chasing group of 18 riders shot up to nearly a minute. Climbing up the ranks, Valero was already the top Spanish rider near the top 30. Similarly, showing good form in Brazil, Schurter continued to regain positions after his mechanical issue.

Once again, Colombo, the most persistent of that second group, tried in the final part of the sixth lap, this time accompanied by Schwarzbauer, Sarrou, and Boichis. However, working like a well-oiled machine, measuring each relay but not holding back at any moment, the Specialized pair maintained their lead without thinking about the race resolution yet. To make matters worse, one of the riders who had shown great determination behind, the Frenchman Mathis Azzaro, abandoned after a fall. Schurter, in the midst of a phenomenal comeback, was already in eighth place.

Time to think about the victory

With victory practically in the bag, just two laps from the end and a lead close to a minute over a chasing group that continued to grow, Blevins and Koretzky had to start thinking about how to decide the winner in Araxá, a victory that would also give them the first leadership in the World Cup. In the initial part of the penultimate lap, the Frenchman opened a slight gap over his teammate for the first time. A very small gap that grew second by second and by the time they crossed the finish line, it was 9". In the penultimate lap, Adrien Boichis and Martín Vidaurre kept alive the chances of Specialized sweeping the podium... or even finishing in the top four.

And so Martín Vidaurre tried, launching an attack on the final climb under the watchful eyes of the Frenchman and Nino Schurter. If nothing stopped him, Koretzky was going to win in Araxá leading an impeccable day for his team, but the excitement was in the battle for the third place. Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon), who had been under the radar throughout the race, joined the Chilean and the ten-time world champion in the final part of the World Cup. Koretzky won; Blevins, second, celebrated with his teammate, and Vidaurre, third, closed the great Specialized party in Brazil.

Araxá World Cup Classification - Elite Men's XCO

1st Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) 1h19'32"
2nd Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) at 10"
3rd Martín Vidaurre (Specialized Factory Racing) at 29"
4th Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon) at 30"
5th Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) at 30"
6th Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM) at 31"
7th Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) at 33"
8th Jordan Sarrou (BMC Factory Racing) at 33"
9th Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon) at 47"
10th Xavier de Oliveira (Specialized Brazil) at 47"

Complete rankings on MTBData