Valentina Corvi and Naël Rouffiac are crowned 2026 XCO U23 World Champions in Val di Sole

Valentina Corvi and Naël Rouffiac are the new world champions of XCO Under-23. The Italian confirmed her status as the favorite with a race practically dominated from the start, while Rouffiac resolved a much more open men's event with an attack in the second half that ultimately gave France the top two positions.

Valentina Corvi dominates the XCO Under-23 World Championship in front of her home crowd

Valentina Corvi closed her World Championship in Val di Sole in the best possible way. After being part of the Italian team that won gold in the Team Relay, the 21-year-old cyclist also claimed the rainbow jersey of XCO Under-23.

The Italian took the initiative practically from the beginning and already in the first lap managed to open a gap over the other favorites. From there, she progressively increased her lead and always kept the race under control.

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The Swiss Anina Hutter was the one who came closest to putting Corvi in trouble. During the third lap, she managed to reduce some of the gap, but the Italian quickly responded and extended her margin again before facing the final stretch.

Corvi finished the race in 1:19:34 and crossed the finish line with a 43-second lead over Hutter, who took the silver medal. The bronze went to another Swiss, Monique Halter, 1:55 behind the winner. Halter also arrived after being crowned the Under-23 Short Track world champion a few days earlier at the same venue.

Fiona Schibler completed the Swiss dominance in the front positions with a fourth place, while Canadian Rafaelle Carrier finished fifth.

Rouffiac attacks on the fifth lap and France secures a double victory

The men's race had a very different development. During the first half, there were hardly any differences, and a large group managed to stay in the fight for the medals.

The French team ended up being the main protagonist when Naël Rouffiac decided to break the balance on the fifth lap. The Frenchman launched an attack and began to build a small lead that he managed to maintain over the following laps. Behind, there was a much more balanced fight for the other two podium spots.

Rouffiac reached the last lap still in the lead and was able to defend his margin until crossing the finish line in 1:17:20 to become the Under-23 world champion.

The day ended even better for France when Alix André Gallis managed to break away from the chasing group in the final kilometers and secured the silver medal just 9 seconds behind his teammate.

The Swiss Nicolas Halter finished third, 13 seconds behind, thus adding another podium after winning the Under-23 Short Track World Championship earlier this week. Gustav Pedersen finished fourth, 21 seconds back, and Benjamin Kruger rounded out the Top 5, 32 seconds behind.

Complete results of the XCO Under-23 men's World Championship 2026

Complete results of the XCO Under-23 women's World Championship 2026