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Colombo storms XCC podium in Nove Mesto

May 27, 2025 | News | 0 comments

While Filippo Colombo was shining in the short track race, the Nove Mesto cross-country battle did not go according to plan for the team.

Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. The hopes were high at the 15th edition of one of the most iconic World Cup races. Nino Schurter is the only athlete to have competed in them all. More than that, he has won at 6 of them, including a World Champion title in 2016.
While some tactical mistakes and mechanicals got in the way of another big success in the XCO race, the 3rd place podium in the XCC for Filippo Colombo was the big highlight of the weekend!

XCC with World Cup leader Christopher Blevins as winner, World Champion Victor Koretzky in second and Filippo Colombo in third
Imagery by Piper Albrecht
The cross- country race was faster and more hectic than ever. One of the early victims was Mathieu van der Poel, who gave it his all with much attention as everyone watched his mountain bike comeback. Unfortunately without success. After two crashes in the hectic start loop, the main protagonist dropped out early.
Both Filippo Colombo and Nino Schurter had an excellent start. Bjorn Riley (starting in 47th) and Andri Frischknecht (starting in 48th) on the other hand got tangled up in the bunch further back. US National Champion Bjorn Riley managed an impressive race in his Elite World Cup debut. After health problems earlier in the year forcing him to miss the first two rounds in Brazil, the young American showed he’s on the way back to being at his best. Without the two mechanicals he suffered at the end of the race, he would be quite a bit further up than his eventual 33rd finish.
US National Champion Bjorn Riley back racing
The race at the front was at an extremely high pace with leaders changing by the minute. Tactics played a huge role as well and both Nino and Filippo decided not to play the game too aggressively in the first few laps. Both tried to pace themselves in a way that they could shift up a gear in the finale. As a result of this, both lost contention with the leaders, dropping out of the top 10, yet being close behind with only a few seconds on the lead group.
Just as Nino Schurter bridged the gap to be back on the tail of the large lead group, he suffered a rear wheel mechanical that forced him to detour into the pits. In the remaining laps, he managed to make the best out of the situation, finishing in 18th.

Swiss Champion Filippo Colombo reacted too. The train for the podium was already gone by the time he started his finale. The 12th place finish was not was he was expecting from himself. He stated: “I actually felt good at the beginning, but didn’t want to get too excited too early on. So I tried to stay in contention without burning too many matches fighting at the front. This same tactic played out well in the XCC the day before, but in the XCO I was not aggressive enough when it was needed.”

The race was again won by Christopher Blevins, ahead of Mathis Azzaro and Lars Forster.

“I actually felt good at the beginning, but didn’t want to get too excited too early on. So I tried to stay in contention without burning too many matches fighting at the front. This same tactic played out well in the XCC the day before, but in the XCO I was not aggressive enough when it was needed.”

Filippo Colombo
2024 XCO Swiss Champion
SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing

Canadian Emilly Johnston in action

The 23 year old Canadian Emilly Johnston raced with heart and finished with a smile on her face. The learnings from racing the Elite category are in full swing and the rough goings-on in the pack at the start of the race is something she has to get used to. No doubt she will unfold her capability the more she gets used to fighting against the world’s best.

Andri Frischknecht’s race was similar to Brazil. After a bad start lap he got off to a good pace with a constant push forward. With such a bad starting position it’s always a lottery to develop your potential. That’s why he’s focus will be working his way up the rankings.
Next World Cup stop is in two weeks time in Leogang, Austria. June 6.-8.