The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships opened Wednesday morning in Val di Sole, Italy, with the Men’s and Women’s E-Bike events. The Team Relay followed in the afternoon, bringing together six riders from the junior, under-23, and elite categories for a fast six-lap race, with each rider completing one lap of the XCO course.
The compact 3.5-kilometer circuit featured steep, punchy climbs with 200 meters of elevation gain per lap, making for an exciting yet demanding race.
Team USA lined up with a strong roster featuring Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing), Haley Batten (Park City, Utah; Specialized Factory Racing), Nicholas Konecny (Breckenridge, Colo.; Lexware Mountainbike Team), Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.), Noah Scholnick (Williamsport, Penn.; Bear National Team), and Aida Linton (Missoula, Mont.; Bear National Team).
Konecny opened the race for Team USA, sitting eighth at the first checkpoint before moving the team up to sixth by the end of his lap. Scholnick followed and held sixth position before handing off to Batten, who delivered a strong lap to move Team USA into fourth. Linton and Cioppa kept the team in contention through the middle of the race, setting up Amos for the final lap. Amos closed the gap to third and powered to the finish to secure the bronze medal for Team USA.
Results:
- Italy
- Switzerland
- Team USA
Up Next: Racing continues Thursday with the Junior XCO races, and the Under-23 and Elite XCC events.
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Photo Credit: SWPix
