In a weekend that felt historic from start to finish, Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory) and Jenny Rissveds (CANYON CLLCTV XCO) dominated the UCI World Cup stop in Lake Placid, each landing a stunning double with wins in Short Track (XCC) and Cross-Country Olympic (XCO). Rissveds, already wearing the rainbow stripes, executed a flawless front-run ride, while Blevins powered past his own teammate in a scorching sprint finish to seize the men’s overall crown. The first American men’s XCO title in 30+ years.
Lake Placid Course & Context
Lake Placid’s Olympic Region feels like a venue built for mountain biking greatness. Nestled in New York’s Adirondacks, it blends the atmosphere of an old-school World Cup with modern-era polish. The course cuts through rugged forest singletrack and purpose-built descents that test precision as much as power; short, steep climbs punch hard, while fast, off-camber corners reward control over brute strength.
It’s raw, loud, and unapologetically American, spectators crowding the barriers, cowbells echoing off the hillsides, and riders charging through the same terrain where Olympians once raced for gold. It has quickly become one of the most exciting stops on the UCI MTB World Series calendar, a blend of challenge, spectacle, and celebration of how good U.S. mountain biking can be when done right.
Sunday’s XCO races saw a large leading group in the men’s race enter the final lap, attrition and positioning whittling it down to a select few. For the women’s race, Jenny Rissved did what she does best..However, overall, tactical moves, positioning, and final-lap surges made it a true test of racecraft. But here’s how the elite races played out.
Rissveds: World Champ Doesn’t Let Up
From the start, newly crowned World Champ Jenny Rissveds took control pretty much from the green lights. She surged clear on lap one and never looked back. Even as a fierce chase group scrambled behind her, she extended her gap with brutal consistency, riding with a composure and grace that few could match.
By the final laps, she was comfortably ahead, eventually crossing the line with over two minutes in hand, a dominant testament to her form. Her weekend was a masterclass: Saturday’s Short Track win laid the foundation, and Sunday’s XCO was just the capstone.
Although she didn’t take the overall, Jenny definitely showed everyone who was in charge. We’re wondering if Mont-Sainte-Anne this weekend will be the same.
Blevins: Pressure, Strategy & Execution
Christopher Blevins’ path to glory was a bit more tactical. The crowd expected fireworks; it was, after all, his home soil, and he could be the first American to win an XCO World Cup overall (excluding the XCC overall title won earlier) since 1991. The pressure must have been heavy, but as we’ve seen many times before, Blevins is a champ, and a true professional – he was calm, cool, and collected.
He entered the weekend knowing a win would give him both the XCC and XCO overall titles. Having secured the XCC overall just days before, Belvins knew he was in good form, and the group racing nature of this course would be good for him.
Blevins – Calm and Collected
The men’s race was fast, deep, and tight. There were numerous surges and points where the lead group was whittled down, leaving a fairly established gap. But with the leaders looking to conserve matches and take inventory of others in the group, the last laps, the group swelled with positioning as important as ever.
Come the penultimate lap, Blevins sprang and jumped on a short riser, with only his teammate Adrien Boichis covering the attack. But this isn’t road racing, and Boichis was looking for his first World Cup win, and not doing any favors for Blevins.
Down the final descent, Boichis pushed first, but Blevins stayed glued to his wheel, gathering momentum. Into the final sectors, the younger French rider gave a glimpse that he would use Blevins’ sprint as a lead-out, but that was wishful thinking. Blevins held off his charging teammate to take the win. That sprint sealed his title and etched his name (larger) next to the greats, the first U.S. male elite XCO champ since 1991.
Who Won in 1991?
In 1991, John Tomac didn’t just win races; he defined what was possible on a mountain bike. The American legend clinched the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup overall title, then backed it up with a World Championship win in cross-country and a silver medal in downhill. Competing (and dominating) across both disciplines in the same season cemented Tomac as one of the sport’s all-time greats, equal parts power, precision, and pure versatility. Few riders since have ever matched that kind of range, and it’s why his 1991 season still stands as a benchmark for what “complete” really means in mountain biking.
The UCI MTB World Series Standings
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