Apocalyptic conditions greeted the UCI XCO World Cup riders in South Korea as heavy rain turned the course into a mud bath, leaving races that seemed to play out in slow motion. Sina Frei and Dario Lillo defied the miserable weather to chalk up their maiden XCO victories.
On the UCI XCO World Cup’s first visit to Asia, Sina Frei became the 53rd women’s victor in the discipline and the 10th to triumph in Cross-country Olympic and Short track in the same week after her Friday triumph in MONA YongPyong, while Dario Lillo joins a club of 63 other male winners.
They took their wins in contrasting styles, as Dario Lillo dominated while Sina Frei waited until the final lap to make her move, but both riders lit up the gloomy day with beaming smiles as they crossed the finish line.
Meanwhile Nicolas Halter (Thömus maxon) and Valentina Corvi (Canyon XC Racing) claimed victory in the Under 23 competitions, as the 2026 WHOOP UCI MTB World Series curtain-raiser came to a close in South Korea.
FREI BESTS RISSVEDS AND MUNRO IN BATTLE ROYALE
Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) looked to have the Elite Women’s race sewn up when she shot out to a 25-second lead on the opening lap, instead she was forced to settle for second following an enthralling race-long battle against Sina Frei and Madigan Munro (LIV Factory Racing).
Rissveds immediately piled on the pressure with only Sina Frei and Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) able to follow, as Evie Richards (Trek – Unbroken XC) missed her pedal at the start on what turned out to be a difficult day for the Brit that included a heavy crash.
Soon Rissveds went completely clear and appeared set to pick up where she left off last season and run away with her third successive victory, but she hit a wall on the second lap, allowing Sina Frei to re-establish contact after dropping Blunk.
As conditions continued to cause problems behind – including domino effects whenever a rider crashed on descent – Sina Frei, Rissveds and Munro continued to trade blows, with the latter attacking Frei as she took the bell for the final lap.
Yet the Swiss rider bounced back to first overhaul Munro, who recorded the best performance of her career on the way to the podium, then Rissveds who had led every single time across the line until the one that mattered most.
As Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) inched into view behind, Rissveds slipped at a crucial moment giving Sina Frei the critical breathing space she needed to clinch her maiden XCO win – just months after breaking her hand.
“Finally. It took years, but once again our staff was so amazing. We had such great bikes, so light and that was crucial in these weather conditions,” Frei said.
“This winter when I was injured, I did a lot of stepper work [in the gym] so maybe it helped me because otherwise I never run! Patience was crucial for sure today, and for me it was important to try and ride my own race. The bike was working so smooth up and down and it was such a great atmosphere here.”
LILLO SECURES DOMINANT MAIDEN WIN
With Specialized Factory Racing’s reigning champion Christopher Blevins missing the opening XCO round, the Elite Men’s field was wide open and the young guns stepped up in style.
The entire podium was aged 25 or under while another of the most impressive riders of the day was Finn Treudler (CUBE Factory Racing), making his first appearance in an elite UCI World Cup.
Treudler’s afternoon was derailed by a series of mechanical issues that the rookie struggled to manage, but even if he had enjoyed a trouble-free race then it would’ve been a struggle to match the peerless Dario Lillo.
Like Rissveds, Dario Lillo built a comfortable lead of 17 seconds over Treudler in the first lap as the 22-year-old was the only rider within half a minute of the early favourite. And though Treudler kept in touch for another lap, ultimately his first chain slip cost him any shot at victory and further bike problems consigned him to a 12th placed finish.
Instead, Cannondale Factory Racing pair Luca Martin and Charlie Aldridge stepped to the fore in Treudler’s absence, and rode onto the podium behind the victorious Dario Lillo.
“I don’t know what to say. At the beginning of the week, when I looked at the forecast and I saw it was rain predicted for Sunday, I already told my teammates that Sunday’s going to be my day,” Lillo said.
“When I woke up in the morning it was like ‘ok, today is the day’, I was so nervous before the start. We had a plan and everything just happened.”
CORVI AND HALTER STORM TO U23 WINS
Valentina Corvi became the first UCI XCO World Cup winner of the 2026 season as she stormed to U23’s victory at MONA YongPyong.
The Italian attacked from the off and built a 40-second lead on the opening lap that she continued to grow throughout the race, eventually finishing 3:28 ahead of Elina Benoit as Bailey Cioppa rounded out the podium.
Returning to the category that she won by 178 points last season, Corvi stamped her authority on the race immediately.
“It’s amazing, today has been a really hard race,” Corvi said. “The mud was really hard and we had to run a lot, it was really tough. I’m super happy to win this.”
In the men’s U23 race, Nicolas Halter also led every lap en route to a 35-second victory, holding off Paul Schehl to take the win.
“I can’t believe it yet,” Halter said. “I already felt really good in the first uphill and I knew today is a good day.”
UCI CROSS-COUNTRY OLYMPIC WORLD CUP – ROUND 1
MTBWS HIGHLIGHTS | Women’s Elite XCO | 2026 MONA YongPyong
MTBWS HIGHLIGHTS | Men’s Elite XCO | 2026 MONA YongPyong
