With the elite races, the 2025 edition of the UEC Mountain Bike European Championships came to a close in Melgaço (Portugal), after five days of intense and spectacular competitions that saw some of the world’s top specialists in the discipline battle it out on the Portuguese course. Set in an area of great natural beauty, the continental event once again highlighted the extremely high technical level of European mountain biking.
The most anticipated race, the Elite Men’s event, was won by Britain’s Thomas Pidcock, who delivered an exceptional performance that further confirms his status as a true phenomenon in world cycling. Already Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, the British rider took the lead shortly before the halfway point, following an aggressive start by his compatriot Charlie Aldridge. From then on, Pidcock built a solid gap and secured a solo victory, finishing 37 seconds ahead of Aldridge and 1’15” ahead of Denmark’s Simon Andreassen, who placed third.
The Elite Women’s race confirmed the dominance of Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds, gold medallist at the Rio 2016 Olympics and bronze medallist in Paris 2024. The Scandinavian athlete set a relentless pace from the very first kilometres, leading the race entirely on her own and crossing the finish line 1’19’’ ahead of Britain’s Evie Richards and 1’46’’ ahead of Switzerland’s Nicole Koller, who completed the podium.
Opening the final day of competition, the Women’s Under 23 race was won by Italy’s Valentina Corvi, following a race led from the start in tandem with Switzerland’s Anina Hutter. The two riders took turns at the front until the final lap, where Corvi launched the decisive attack that earned her the continental title. Third place went to Germany’s Sina van Thiel, who staged a brilliant comeback in the closing metres to edge out Switzerland’s Monique Halter.
In the Men's Under 23 category, France's Adrien Boichis won the European title after a tactical and balanced race, which for a long time was a four-man affair, with his team-mate Alix Andre Gallis, Denmark's Albert Withen Philipsen and Switzerland's Finn Treudler. The decisive moment came around the halfway point of the final lap, when Boichis launched a strong attack that enabled him to gain a handful of seconds, which he then defended right up to the finish line. Philipsen finished in second place, 10” back, followed by Treudler at 11”.
The hotly contested Junior Men's race was decided in a sprint after a long two-man battle between Austria's Anatol Friedl and Italy's Federico Rosario Brafa. The two athletes animated the middle and final part of the race, alternating several times in the lead before the decisive sprint, won by Friedl. Third place, at 26 seconds, went to Switzerland's Lewin Iten.
In the Junior Women's race, Swiss rider Anja Grossmann dominated the field in a solo race. The Swiss athlete set her own pace from the start of the race, building up an ever-increasing lead that enabled her to cross the finish line almost two minutes ahead of Slovenian Maruša Tereza Šerkezi, the reigning champion. Czech rider Barbora Bukovská rounded off the podium, more than three minutes behind.
On the first day, devoted to the XCC events, athletes from six different countries dominated, in a technical and picturesque setting that confirmed the region's vocation for international off-road racing.
The Swiss national team clearly dominated the Elite Men's race, with two athletes on the podium, thanks to the solitary action of Luca Schätti who made the difference from the very first laps. The Swiss rider managed his lead with great clarity, overtaking his team-mate Thomas Litscher at the finish line, as well as Frenchman Adrien Boichis, who came third.
In the women's race, Sweden's Jenny Rissveds, already Olympic and World Cross-Country Champion, brought her class and experience to bear in the decisive phases of the race, preventing the comeback of Switzerland's Nicole Koller, second, and Linda Indergand, third.
In the Juniors category, Austrian Anatol Friedl won the continental title after a hard-fought race. After an initial steady phase, in the final sprint the Austrian resisted the comeback of Spaniard Guillermo Parrado and Italian Federico Brafa, who completed the podium.
Maruša Tereza Šerkezi confirmed her title of Junior Champion won in 2024, consolidating her position as the benchmark athlete in the category. The Slovenian led the race from start to finish, ahead of Czech rider Barbora Bukovská and Sweden's Elinoire Nilsson.
The spectacular Team Relay race was dominated by the Italian team, which took the lead on the first lap and then managed its lead with great authority. The sextet of Juri Zanotti, Elian Paccagnella, Martina Berta, Elisa Ferri, Valentina Corvi and Ettore Fabbro crossed the finish line with a total time of 1:02:18.
Behind Italy, Switzerland finished in second place with Finn Treudler, Lewin Iten, Ramona Forchini, Fiona Schibler, Anja Grossmann and Nino Schurter (last fraction), 39 seconds behind. Third place went to Germany, with the team made up of Leon Reinhard Kaiser, Max Ebrecht, Carla Hahn, Paulina Lange, Nina Graf and Benjamin Krüger, who had a thrilling head-to-head with Schurter in the final sprint.
