Cole Punchard didn’t just show up at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Switzerland. He lit the place up: starting with his head.
The Cannondale Factory Racing rider rolled into the U23 men’s XCC race with a fresh bleached hairstyle featuring painted flames licking up the back of his skull. Created by Team Canada’s Nicole Bradbury, the bold look turned heads before the start gun even fired. Two laps later, he had everyone’s attention for different reasons.
Punchard powered through the 20-minute sprint race to finish third, just two seconds behind the leaders. France’s Adrien Boichis and Switzerland’s Finn Treudler went one-two in a photo finish at 20:57. Punchard crossed in 20:59, capturing his first world championship medal. And maybe the most talked-about scalp of the week.
The Novar, Ont., rider is back in the U23 ranks at Worlds after a breakout elite season on the World Cup circuit. It’s a tactical return, and one that’s clearly paying off. At the most recent XCO round in Les Gets, Punchard led much of the race before a mechanical dropped him to tenth. This time, nothing got in the way.
“This is the big goal,” he said before the event. “The target of the season.”
Maple leaf momentum for Jackson
Jenn Jackson isn’t flying under any radars this year. She rode to third in the elite women’s XCC race in Switzerland, adding a world championship medal to an already impressive 2025 season.
Riding her custom red-and-white Orbea Oiz, Jackson kept pace with some of the fastest women in the sport and even led the race a couple of times. Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller took the win in 20:43, while Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds followed four seconds back. Jackson crossed the line in 20:57, holding off a hard-charging group that included Ronja Blöchlinger, Samara Maxwell and Savilia Blunk.
It’s another consistent finish for the national champion, who currently sits sixth overall in the World Cup standings. After six rounds, Jackson has cemented herself as Canada’s most reliable elite cross-country rider.
Hair, hardware and high hopes
Punchard and Jackson may have made the podium in very different ways, but both rides signal Canada’s growing strength in international cross-country racing.
The world championship action continues later this week with the Olympic-distance XCO events. Punchard races the U23 men’s event on Friday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. CET. Jackson will line up with the elite women’s field…
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