South Africa’s Alan Hatherly delivered a masterclass in power and precision to successfully defend his men’s elite Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) title at the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Sunday.
Riding with the confidence of a reigning champion and the focus of a rider unwilling to relinquish his rainbow jersey, Hatherly seized control of the nine-lap contest as early as the second circuit. A costly slip by France’s Victor Koretzky on a technical section opened the door, and Hatherly stormed through it with a devastating attack that no rival could match.
From that moment on, the race belonged to him. Lap after lap, he extended his lead, converting the event into a time trial against the clock. By halfway, he was over a minute clear and never once showed signs of yielding.
“I just had one of those days,” Hatherly admitted afterwards. “I went all in from the start, and once the gap opened, I could ride my rhythm and consolidate. To win again like this feels surreal.”
A Race of Contrasts
While Hatherly’s dominance turned the battle for gold into a procession, the fight for the remaining podium places provided plenty of drama. Italian Simone Avondetto produced a late surge on the penultimate lap to shake off Mathias Flückiger and secure the silver medal – the highlight of his young elite career.
Behind him, Koretzky showed grit to recover from his early error, clawing back time in the final lap to snatch bronze, just three seconds behind Avondetto. Swiss rider Luca Schatti narrowly missed the podium in fourth, with Flückiger fading to fifth after a long spell in medal contention.
The Final Standings (Top 10)
- Alan Hatherly (RSA) – 1:30:30
- Simone Avondetto (ITA) – +0:48
- Victor Koretzky (FRA) – +0:51
- Luca Schatti (SUI) – +0:53
- Mathias Flückiger (SUI) – +0:57
- Simon Andreassen (DEN) – +1:06
- Luca Braidot (ITA) – +1:31
- Filippo Fontana (ITA) – +2:16
- Filippo Colombo (SUI) – +2:38
- Fabio Püntener (SUI) – +2:48
For some big names, the day proved unforgiving. Mathieu van der Poel, chasing the dream of a world crown in a fourth cycling discipline, could not sustain his early momentum and slumped to 29th. Meanwhile, Swiss legend Nino Schurter – competing in his final World Championships – was far from the sharp end but received rapturous applause from home fans with every pass of the finish line.
South Africa’s Golden Moment
Hatherly’s triumph is not just another addition to his personal trophy cabinet; it cements his place among the modern greats of cross-country racing. Defending a world title is rare, doing so in such dominant fashion even rarer.
His back-to-back rainbow jerseys are a milestone for South African cycling, marking one of the most significant achievements in the country’s mountain biking history.
As the dust settled in Crans-Montana, the image of Hatherly powering through the Swiss Alps alone in his rainbow bands symbolized both the dominance of his performance and the promise of what still lies ahead.
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