La Thuile became the second new Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series venue of 2026 this weekend, hosting the fifth round and marking the halfway point of the calendar. While the venue was not completely new to many riders, having played host to rounds of the Italian Cup in the past, the course had received a significant overhaul for its World Series debut, emerging as one of the most demanding tracks of the year.
More than 200 metres of climbing per lap were followed by steep, technical descents that tested the athletes, and with very little in the way of smooth, easy rolling terrain, even small mistakes ended up shaping the races.
Coming into La Thuile, attention centred on Jenny Rissveds after victories at the previous two rounds, with the Swede looking well placed to complete a hat-trick. Instead, Martina Berta delighted the home crowd, claiming both her maiden elite XCO World Cup victory and Origine Racing Division's first World Cup win in the discipline.
The men's race looked set to deliver another instalment in the battle between Luca Martin and Adrien Boichis, with the pair already having gone wheel-to-wheel in Leogang and Lenzerheide. However, Boichis looked to be a little off his best in Italy, and instead of the two-rider showdown we saw in Switzerland, Martin capitalised on a costly mistake from Mathis Azzaro midway through the race to ride away to secure his second consecutive XCO victory in convincing fashion for Cannondale Factory Racing.
Brief results
Elite Women
- Martina Berta (Origine Racing Division) 1:31:04
- Savilia Blunk (Decathlon-Ford Racing Team) +0:12
- Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) +0:55
- Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) +1:34
- Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing) +2:05
Elite Men
- Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) 1:20:43
- Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) +1:07
- Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) +1:20
- Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) +1:56
- Riley Amos (Trek-Unbroken XC) +2:14
Berta becomes the first elite Italian woman to win on home soil
Martina Berta claimed her maiden elite XCO World Cup victory on home soil in La Thuile after weathering a series of early attacks and late-race surges, riding away from a stacked field to give the Italian fans a memorable afternoon in the Alpine sun.
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