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VAL DI SOLE, ITALY

Aug 31, 2026 | News | 0 comments

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

VAL DI SOLE, ITALY

The main event of the year, World Championships, took place in Val Di Sole, Italy. Different jerseys, different schedule, different set-up, and higher stakes made for some exciting racing.

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SHORT TRACK (XCC)

XCC racing was fast and chaotic, with most of the bunch staying together for the entire race. That made start positioning essential and left no room for error.

Björn put together a very strong race, getting to the front as soon as he could from a second row start. He held a good position until the end of the race where he finished in fourth. Just out of reach of the podium, but a great result that Björn and the team were happy with.

“I had a decent amount of snap, when it came to the last lap, I didn’t have the snap I wanted”
BJÖRN RILEY

Fabio had a front row start, but missed a pedal, sending him back a few places. He was up there for the first half of the race, but did not have the power to match the attacks and slipped back into 17th.

“I felt really good, but positioning wasn’t that easy”
FABIO PÜNTENER

After losing UCI points due to his injury, Filippo was starting from further back on the grid than ideal. He fought his way through the tightly-packed bunch to finish 16th.

“I was hoping the pace would slow down a bit to overtake a few, but it was very tight until the finish”
FILIPPO COLOMBO

Emilly had her best short track this year, starting from the back and fighting her way into the top 20. She stayed calm and stuck to her plan, improving her racecraft (and result) from previous short tracks.

“It was a race where I felt super good”
EMILLY JOHNSTON

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CROSS COUNTRY (XCO)

Come Sunday, the XCO was hot and absolutely packed with fans. Banners, flares, and chainsaws could be found surrounding every section of track.

Filippo had a strong ride from a less-than-ideal start position. Not only a great result with him finishing in 8th, but also great to see him in fighting form and feeling strong after his mid-season injury.

“I had some of the best legs of the season”
FILIPPO COLOMBO

Fabio paced himself from the start and then put down a blistering final lap, moving from 11th to 9th, to finish just behind Filippo. Unfortunately, no Scott-SRAM sprint finish this time around, but two riders in the top 10 is something we’ll happily take.

“I tried to ride smart, not over-pacing too much, and at the end I had energy left to make a really fast last lap.”
FABIO PÜNTENER

Björn had a tough day, dealing with back pain and a flat tire that did not make things easier. He was happy to hold onto a top 20, but is aiming for more in the final World Cups of the season.

“Happy, but I know I have more”
BJÖRN RILEY

“Probably my best race of the whole season”
EMILLY JOHNSTON

Emilly delivered another season-best performance, finishing 25th despite a difficult start. She stuck to her race plan and soldiered on, working her way up the field all race long.

XCC RESULTS

4th Björn Riley

16th Filippo Colombo

17th Fabio Püntener

19th Emilly Johnston

XCO RESULTS

8th Filippo Colombo

9th Fabio Püntener

19th Björn Riley

25th Emilly Johnston

It was a successful week with three of the four riders getting top 10 finishes, several season-best results, and everyone feeling strong going into the final two World Cups. See you in America!

Photos by Piper Albrecht