Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) and Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) swept up the victories at the final short track (XCC) round of the 2025 Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Rissveds was dominant in the women's race , crossing the line with an 18-second advantage, while Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) came second ahead of Ronja Blöchlinger (LIV Factory Racing).
That runner-up spot in the final round of XCC racing was enough for Richards to secure the overall short track series win, with the British rider finishing the year with a 110 point lead to Rissveds while Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) was third.
“I’m so happy. It has been such a turbulent year," said Richards who needed to finish in the top eight to secure the overall.
"When I didn’t race in Italy, I didn’t care about the overall. I just wanted to get healthy and once I’m healthy I could then fight again. The fact I missed that, got healthy and still got it is just amazing. I’m very excited."
In the men's short track the Cannondale duo of Martin and Charlie Aldridge were out front with Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) in the final stages of the race after Aldridge had pushed the pace and caused a split on the second-last lap.
A tight battle on the final climb put Martin on the front foot and British rider Aldridge let the gap grow so his teammate could ride away to victory. He then made it a one-two for the team by claiming second ahead of Boichis.
“It’s so nice to win here in Mont-Sainte-Anne because it’s very special," said the French victor at the Canadian race in the French speaking province of Québec.
"Charlie [Aldridge] helped me a lot, he rode on the front and today we played for the win. We worked super-well together. I think the sport is changing and we need to ride with a teammate for the win. I think we did it perfectly today.”
Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) was the overall short-track series victor – having mathematically secured the top spot before Mont-Sainte-Anne – while Martin was second in the series and Aldridge third.
In the under-23 category, Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) took the win on the day in front of the home crowd while the women's XCC series winner was Katharina Sadnik (KTM Factory MTB Team).
Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) continued his domination of the men's U23 category, taking an impressive seventh win in a row as he also claimed the overall XCC series win.
