Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) and Simone Avondetto (Italy) won the elite titles at the UEC Mountain Bike European Championships (XCO) held in Cheile Grădiștei, Romania, racing under heavy rain and in muddy conditions.
There were 331 cyclists from 31 countries, and Switzerland topped the medals table for all disciplines with 11 medals, including three golds.
Pieterse won the elite women's event, which competed under the worst of the weather conditions, after she took an early race lead and then crossed the finish line 1:12 ahead of runner-up Mona Mitterwallner (Austria) and 2:15 ahead of third-placed Nina Benz (Germany).
"The day before her 22nd birthday, Puck Pieterse gave herself an amazing present. In Romania she renewed her European MTB XCO title," Pieterse's trade team Alpecin-Deceuninck wrote in a post to social media following the race. "In epic weather conditions, she rode away from her biggest rival Pauline Ferrand-Prévot just after halfway [through] the race."
Unfortunately, World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's race came to an early end and she was forced to abandon due to a mid-race crash. Ferrand-Prévot won the opening short track event had lined up as one of the race favourites. She was leading the early stages of the XCO event with Pieterse before crashing.
In the elite men's race, Avondetto won the race ahead of pre-race favourite Simon Andreassen (Denmark), who won the opening short track event.
The Danish rider suffered an untimely mid-race puncture in the race against Avondetto and ended up finishing in second place at 50 seconds back.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Third place went to Julian Schelb (Germany), who finished 1:07 behind the day's winner.
“The weather didn't spare us yesterday; it's been some time since we've competed in such extreme conditions," Avondetto said.
"Andreassen made a strong start, and when he encountered a puncture, I gained a slight advantage. In that critical moment, I chose to push myself even harder. The bike performed flawlessly throughout the track, instilling in me the confidence to launch my attacks. It remained precise and secure despite the challenging circumstances.
"Everything unfolded smoothly, and I'm exhilarated by the outcome. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to don this jersey once more.”
Simone Avondetto wins the elite men's title at the UEC XCO European Championships (Image credit: UEC XCO European Championships)
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
