Team USA Recap: Vermette and Ostgaard Win MTB World Cup Overalls; Merten and Bruney Podium at BMX Racing World Cups in China
ROAD
Giro dell’Emilia: Italy
(October 3) – Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease A Bike) placed 5th and newly crowned road world champion Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was 10th at the 198-kilometer Giro dell’Emilia, which was won by Jorgenson’s teammate, Davide Piganzoli. The race, which ended with four hilly laps in Bologna, was McNulty’s first in the rainbow jersey.
Results here
Coppa Agostoni: Italy
(October 4) – One day after placing 10th in his rainbow jersey debut, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) captured 2nd in a six-man sprint for the finish at Coppa Agostoni. The 163-kilometer race started and finished in Lissone and McNulty was in a small group that broke off with 93 kilometers to go.
“For sure it is still settling in, with the jersey and everything,” McNulty said afterwards. “Today was good, I am still a bit fatigued from last week and also yesterday I went super hard. It was a really hard race and I was happy to be there in the final, and then sprints can go one way or the other, so I am happy with the efforts today.”
Results here
Tre Valli Varesine: Italy
(October 6) – Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease A Bike) was 3rd and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) was three seconds behind for fourth at the 196-kilometer Tre Valli Varesine. Jorgenson was part of a final, three-man break that sprinted for the finish, with Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarché) coming across the line first.
“I’m extremely happy with my third place,” Jorgenson said afterward. “I don’t sprint for victories very often so it was a little unfamiliar…It was another good day for our team, just like at the Giro dell’Emilia.”
Results here
Il Lombardia: Italy
(October 10) – Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) earned his third top-10 finish in a week, placing 5th at the 239-kilometer Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season. McNulty came in with a group of nine, 1:20 behind Paul Seixas, who at age 20 became the youngest winner ever of the more than 100-year-old race.
Results here
Tre Valli Varesine Women: Italy
(October 6) – Kate Courtney (FDJ United-SUEZ) took 4th in a bunch sprint finish at the 134-kilometer women’s Tre Valli Varesine, which was won by Italy’s Eleonora Gasparrini. Courtney was also the top American finisher three days earlier at the women’s Giro dell’Emilia, where she placed 13th.
Results here
MOUNTAIN BIKE
UCI MTB World Cup, Lake Placid (XCC, XCO, DH): Lake Placid, NY
(October 2-4) – Team USA wrapped up the World Cup season with two world championship titles, along with several podiums and numerous top-10 placings at the final stop in Lake Placid, NY.
In his first year competing in the category, 19-year-old Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP) became just the second American to win the elite men’s DH World Cup title – teammate and five-time World Cup champion Aaron Gwin was the first – and the second rider to win the elite men’s title in his rookie season.
Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon DH Racing) won the junior women’s DH crown thanks to a dominating season where she posted faster times than the elite women. Ostgaard had already wrapped up her championship title the previous week.
In the final day of WC racing for the season, Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek-Unboken XC) was 6thand Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) 9th in elite women’s XCO. Blunk was 8thand Gibson placed 9th in elite women’s XCC.
Riley Amos (Trek-Unbroken XC) earned 8th in elite men’s XCO and Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM) was 7th in elite men’s XCC.
In U23 women’s XCC, Makena Kellerman earned bronze and Bailey Cioppa was 10th. In U23 women’s XCO, Kellerman was the top-placing American, in 10th.
Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/TRP) placed 8th in elite men’s DH. Anna Newkirk(Frameworks Racing/TRP) placed 9th in elite women’s DH.
The Americans captured four of the top ten spots in junior women’s DH. Aletha Ostgaard(Canyon DH Racing) led the way with bronze, followed by sisters Raina Logar (Frameworks Racing/TRP) and Zanna Logar (Frameworks Racing/TRP) in 7th and 9th, and Mary McLarnon (Outlaw Intense Racing) in 10th.
Alex Mallen (Outlaw Intense Racing) was 4th in junior men’s DH and Kai Burleson was 8th.
Savilia Blunk finished the season ranked 4th in both elite women’s XCO and XCC. Gwen Gibson was 9th in XCO and XCC, and Madigan Munro was 10th in XCO.
Bjorn Riley was the top-placing American overall in elite men’s XCO, placing 5th for the season. He finishes 4th overall in elite men’s XCC.
Makena Kellerman ranked 7th overall in U23 women’s XCO and 3rd in XCC.
In DH, Anna Newkirk finished the season 6th overall for elite women. In addition to Vermette’s number one ranking for elite men, Ryan Pinkerton (Mondraker Factory Racing) was 6th and Luca Shaw (Canyon DH Racing) was 10th.
Raina Logar ranked 10th in junior women’s DH overall standings.
Next up for Team USA is a weeklong celebration with fans and the community in their home base of Bentonville, Arkansas, starting October 13. Events include a dual slalom race, a meet and greet with the team, a fun ride, and Big Sugar Gravel. Complete information here.
Results here
Little Sugar MTB: Bella Vista, Arkansas
(October 11) – Little Sugar MTB was race number five in the Life Time Grand Prix series and the first of two races in Arkansas over two weekends. Starting in Bella Vista and ending in Bentonville, elite and age-group cyclists tackled 100k, 50k and 20k courses.
Sporting his stars and stripes jersey and leading most of the way, Cole Paton (Giant) XCM men’s national champion, won the 100k elite men’s race in 4:06:38.
Cape Town, South Africa’s Candace Lill (Thömus maxon – Sabi Sabi), her nation’s XCO national champion, rolled across the line alone in 4:54:47 to win the elite women’s title.
Bradyn Lange (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR), MTB marathon world champion Andreas Seewald (Singer KTM Racing), Brendan Johnston (Giant-SRAM) and Owen Clark (Pivot Cycles-OTE)came in 2nd-5th behind Paton.
In the women’s race, XCM women’s national champion Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) earned silver, followed by Hannah Otto (Scott), Alexis Skarda (Q36.5) and Hayley Preen(Team Honeycomb 226ers).
With one race to go in the series, Keegan Swenson (Specialized) is on top of the men’s leaderboard, six points ahead of Bradyn Lange. Brendan Johnston, Matthew Wilson(Scott/Shimano) and Cole Paton round out the top five.
Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized) leads the women overall, followed by Cecily Decker (PAS Racing), Lauren Stephens (Aegis x LOE), Hayley Preen and Karolina Migon (PAS Racing).
Next up: Big Sugar Gravel, Bentonville, Arkansas, October 17.
Results here
Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships: Grand Junction, Colorado
(October 7-11) – Cyclists from across the US came to western Colorado to vie for Stars and Stripes jerseys at this year’s Collegiate MTB National Championships, held at Powderhorn Mountain Resort. Titles were awarded in DH, XCC, XCO, and dual slalom in Varsity and Club divisions.
Colorado School of Mines continued their overall winning streak, winning the Team Omnium in the Club Division. University of Colorado Boulder and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo placed 2nd and 3rd.
Colorado Mesa University defended their Varsity Team Omnium title, followed by Fort Lewis College and Brevard College in 2nd and 3rd.
Avah Cherry (University of Utah) defended her 2025 title, winning the Club Women’s Individual Omnium. Gilly Millar (Cal Poly-SLO) and Sydney Mulholland (CU Boulder) were 2nd and 3rd.
Justin Peck (CU Boulder) was also a repeat winner, taking the Club Men’s Individual Omnium victory. Teammate Cedar Bremner was 2nd and Brendan Giles (School of Mines) was 3rd.
Brevard College swept the top-three spots in Varsity Women’s Individual Omnium. Lily-Rose Marois was 1st, improving on her 2nd place finish last year, followed by Elli Clark and Lacey Dennis in 2nd and 3rd.
Carson Beard (Fort Lewis College) won the Varsity Men’s Individual Omnium, improving on his 2nd place last year. Teammate Toby Hassett placed 2nd and Lars Graeter (Lindsey Wilson University) were 2nd and 3rd.
BMX Racing
BMX Racing World Cup: Mentougou, China
(October 2-3) – Team USA arrived in China for two weeks and four rounds of World Cup racing, marking the first time a UCI BMX Racing WC was held there. The Americans completed rounds 5 and 6 with one bronze and several top-10 placings.
Day one (round 5) saw Payton Ridenour place 5th in the elite women’s final.
Derin Merten recovered from a crash to take 8th in U23 women’s. Tommy Bruney was 4thand Deegan Brown 6th in the U23 men’s final.
Derin Merten earned bronze on day two in U23 women’s. Kamren Larsen placed 9th in the elite men’s race. Tommy Bruney placed 4th again and Deegan Brown was 9th in U23 men’s.
Results here
BMX Racing World Cup: Chongli, China
(October 10-11) – Another weekend of BMX racing in China brought more success to Team USA, starting off with Derin Merten earning silver and Tommy Bruney taking bronze in round 7 of women’s and men’s U23 competition.
Merten earned silver again in round 8 of U23 women’s racing. Bruney earned a top-10 spot in the final, placing 8th in U23 men’s.
The season wraps up Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Sarasota, Florida.
Results here
GRAVEL
UCI Gravel World Championships: Nannup, Western Australia
(October 10-11) – Keegan Swenson (Specialized) was the top-placing elite American at this year’s UCI Gravel World Championships in Australia, coming in 7th in the 144-kilometer men’s race. It came down to a sprint at the end, with Swenson finishing at 4:09:12, seven seconds behind the winner, Denmark’s Magnus Bak Klaris.
Age-group competitors tackled one of three courses: 144 kilometers, 125 kilometers, or 90 kilometers.
Top American results:
Men: 19-34: Jaxon Pascal (9th); Men 45-49: Tom Danielson (3rd), Stefan Rothe (10th); Men 50-54: Brian Buchholz (7th); Men 55-59: Allen Abell (5th); Men 65-69: Timothy Borsetti (6th), Mark Littrell (8th), John Steward (10th); Men 75-79: Roy Lopez (4th), Michael Brauer (5th).
Women: 35-39: Katie Bonebrake (2nd); Women 40-44: Eve Nyrhinen (10th); Women 45-49: Megan Stevens (10th); Women 50-54: Molly Van Houweling (3rd); Women 55-59: Sabine Bildstein (1st), Kari Pappas (8th), Natalie Beaumont-Smith (9th); Women 60-64: Terri Quirk (3rd), Jennifer Slawta (5th); Women 65-69: Joanne Ernst (2nd), Ruth Clemence (3rd); Women 70-74: Karin Budding (1st).
Results here
COMING UP
Colorado Mesa University and Colorado School of Mines Win Team Omniums at 2026 Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships
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