UCI MTB World Championships: USA dominates as Kate Courtney, Keegan Swenson claim victories in cross-country marathon

The 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships have kicked off with a bang for Workforce USA, with Kate Courtney and Keegan Swenson claiming victories within the elite ladies’s and elite males’s cross-country marathon occasions, respectively, on Saturday within the Valais, Switzerland.

The 125km race was held from Verbier to Grimentz, following a route by the Val d’Anniviers valley, with the best peak, the Pas de Lona at 2,787m, within the final a part of the race.

Within the elite males’s race, Spain’s David Valero Serrano took the early lead on the first time examine, adopted by two Swiss athletes, Dario Lillo and Alexandre Balmer. Swenson was positioned additional again in fifth with Czechia’s Ondřej Cink, Germany’s Andreas Seewald, and Colombia’s Héctor Leonardo Páez León within the combine.

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Cink had moved into the race lead by the point they reached the second checkpoint; nevertheless, by the third checkpoint, it was Swenson who led the race.

As they handed the ultimate checkpoint, Swenson held a one-minute benefit over Italy’s Samuele Porro, who was almost three minutes forward of Páez León.

Swenson crossed the road with the profitable time of 6:01:44.3, with Porro taking the silver medal at 25 seconds again, and the bronze medal going to Páez León at 3:42 again.

Within the elite ladies’s race, Courtney secured the gold medal forward of Switzerland’s Anna Weinbeer and Austria’s three-time former winner Mona Mitterwallner.

After the primary 90 minutes of racing, Courtney and Weinbeer held a major hole over their rivals, Mitterwallner, Netherlands’ Rosa van Doorn, Namibia’s Vera Looser, Bosnia’s Lejla Njemčević, Italy’s Mara Fumagalli, Poland’s Paula Gorycka-Kurmann, and Germany’s Adelheid Morath.

Courtney constructed a bonus of greater than three minutes forward of Weinbeer by the the the race hit Eison at round 100km, all however sealing gold.

In the meantime, Weinbeer slowed, and Mitterwallner handed her in pursuit of the silver medal. The pair continued to swap locations, with Weinbeer gaining the higher hand within the final part of the race.

Courtney crossed the road with a profitable time of seven:10:11.1, and her second profession world title within the off-road self-discipline. Weinbeer took the silver medal at 3:44 again, and Mitterwallner bronze at 4:59 again.

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