'Crazy conditions' – New South Korean leg of Mountain Bike XCO World Series 'turns into a running competition' as Sina Frei and Dario Lillo master the mud

Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) and Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road) took out their first elite cross-country Olympic races in the opening round of the 2026 Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series, held in South Korea for the first time.

The racing at MONA YongPyong was charged, with wet and muddy conditions on the new course delivering a whole different set of challenges beyond what riders usually face through the World Cup season.

It was a race that played into the skills usually associated with cyclocross, riding in slippery mud and tackling obstacles off the bike as well as testing the running speed – although they were marathon efforts in comparison to the short offs usually seen in 'cross.

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"It's a good race and I'm proud of the race but I think the organisation should have considered this, coming to a new place like this is not fun for anyone," said World Champion Jenny Rissveds, in the broadcaster's post race interview. "We ran 50% of the lap and it turns into a running competition which is not fun for anyone."

The conditions on the new track that was cut into the side of the hill both led to equipment alterations, with skinny mud tyres to allow for clearance and spikes on shoes to help through the inevitable periods of pushing. There were also plenty of flats on the skinnier set ups, chains off, and riders struggling to clear the mud by getting drink bottles with water to spray on their equipment.

Women's elite XCO race

The women's race started in the rain and headed into the mud. The conditions and course that saw most of the riders off the bike and running through the opening rocky sections that were tough to tackle in a bunch given the slippery circumstances.

Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) was quick to head to the front but Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) wasn't letting her ride away, though the gap had worked up to 25 seconds by the end of the first lap. Still, on the uphill when both were off the bike pushing in a steep section, Frei ducked up the inside line and moved into the front spot. The two stuck together on the course that through large sections was as much about their ability to go fast while off their bike and pushing as it was about their power while on it.

There was also a horrible crash for Evie Richards (Trek - Unbroken XC) on lap 2, but she got back on the bike, though it had compounded her already tough start where she missed her pedal and wet straight from the front row to mid-field. It was enough to put her out of contention for the podium despite the conditions being to her liking.

In the fourth lap Rissveds was once again away out front while Frei got into a battle around 25 seconds behind with 24-year-old American rider Madigan Munro (Liv Factory), who was making the most of her cyclocross background. The rain had now eased but the mud was thick, with riders grabbing bottles to spray their bikes as they came through the line with the bell ringing for the final lap. Frei and Munro were now just nine seconds behind the World Champion and Frei launched to quickly make the catch on a rocky section where they were both off the bike and pushing.

Back on the bike and Frei edged to the front and then stretched the gap through the fifth and final lap. Then late in the lap all of a sudden Munro caught and passed Rissveds with the pair head to head as they pushed their bikes through a marathon muddy section. In the meantime Frei sprinted to victory to take her first elite XCO World Cup win, while 26 seconds back Rissveds clinched second and two seconds further back it was Munro.

"Patience was for sure crucial today and for me it was important to try and ride my own race, my own regiment," said Frei, who also won the short-track in South Korea. "The bike was just working so smooth up and down and it was such a great atmosphere here. It's amazing, I still can't believe it.

"Thank you for everyone who was cheering it was amazing and today it was really needed in these crazy conditions."

Men's elite XCO race

The weather wasn't as wet and the conditions were drying at the start of the men's elite race, though there was still plenty of mud and slippery sections out on the course and it wasn't long before riders were off the bike pushing, particularly on the steep, muddy and slippery climbs.

Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road) got out front early and took advantage of the clear air. After the first lap of six he had an advantage of 15 seconds to his nearest rival, Finn Treudler (CUBE Factory Racing). In the meantime a number of riders came in for a wheel change, including short-track winner Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division).

Lillo's gap had grown to nearly 30 seconds to second-placed Treudler into lap 3 with the leader steadily and assuredly tapping away. Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) was 1:10 back in third but then later in that lap Treudler lost a chain and all of a sudden his margin to the front was closer to a minute. Martin then caught Treudler, who had his chain off again and was forced to run as his rival rode on past.

At least the conditions meant Martin was soon off the bike and running too which helped stop the gap blowing out quite as much. However, no sooner was Treudler back on the bike than the problems resurfaced and he continued to slip away, getting underway again after a trip to the pits but now in sixth at nearly two-and-a-half minutes back.

Martin was then the closest competitor, heading into the fourth lap with a gap of just over a minute to Lillo and teammate Charlie Aldridge a minute further back in third. Treudler had the form to fight back to within reach of Aldridge but the mechanical issues continued to take a toll into the fifth lap.

Lillo headed through the line on the bell lap with a 1:28 to gap to French National Champion Martin and 2:18 to British champion Aldridge. That just stretched to the final line, where Lillo claimed his first elite World Cup XCO victory with a 1:46 margin to Martin in second while Aldridge was back 2:39 in third.

As Lillo waited on the line for his rivals to come through, there was a look of disbelief on his face as the 24-year-old absorbed the achievement – a first elite XCO World Cup win. As soon as rain was forecast he'd flagged with his teammates that this could be a good day for him.

"When it started raining in the night and I woke up in the morning it was like, 'OK today is the day' and I was so nervous before the start," Lillo said in the interview on the race broadcast.

"During the race, until the last lap it was like I didn't really have any emotions in me, it was just executing and I crossed the finish line and the feeling I have at the moment... I've never experienced something in my life like that," said the 24-year-old.