Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) and Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road) took out their first elite cross-country Olympic races in the opening round of the 2026 Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series, held in South Korea for the first time.
The racing at MONA YongPyong was charged, with wet and muddy conditions on the new course delivering a whole different set of challenges beyond what riders usually face through the World Cup season.
It was a race that played into the skills usually associated with cyclocross, riding in slippery mud and tackling obstacles off the bike as well as testing the running speed – although they were marathon efforts in comparison to the short offs usually seen in ‘cross.
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Women’s elite XCO race
The women’s race started in the rain and headed into the mud. The conditions and course that saw most of the riders off the bike and running through the opening rocky sections that were tough to tackle in a bunch given the slippery circumstances.
Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) was quick to head to the front but Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) wasn’t letting her ride away, though the gap had worked up to 25 seconds by the end of the first lap. Still, on the uphill when both were off the bike pushing in a steep section, Frei ducked up the inside line and moved into the front spot. The two stuck together on the course that through large sections was as much about their ability to go fast while off their bike and pushing as it was about their power while on it.
There was also a horrible crash for Evie Richards (Trek – Unbroken XC) on lap…
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