2025 UCI BMX Racing World Cup: Sakakibara and Pilard claim overall titles in Argentina

Final two rounds in Santiago del Estero

The final two of six rounds of the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Cup took place in Santiago de Estero, Argentina, on 20 and 21 September, deciding the overall season winners. While in the Under 23 categories the Dutch duo of Jason Noordam and Michelle Wissing enjoyed comfortable leads with two rounds remaining, the Men and Women Elite competitions were much more delicately poised.

Going into the final double-header, five Women Elite athletes could mathematically take home the title. Saya Sakakibara (AUS) was leading the table but had not actually won a round in 2025. The 2025 UCI World Champion Bethany Shriever (GBR) was sitting in fifth place before heading to Santiago del Estero and had her mind set on improving on that. Shriever had won a UCI World Cup round at Papendal (the Netherlands) this summer, as had Laura Smulders (NED) who was sitting in fourth,, while third-placed Zoé Claessens (SUI), winner of the opening round in Sarrians, France, led Smulders by a single point. Canadian Molly Simpson had a great season so far, including a win at Round 2, and was aiming for two more to become the overall winner of 2025.

Although Sylvain André had not originally planned to do the whole 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Cup season, the Frenchman was leading the Men Elite class after four rounds and booked a ticket to Argentina to try to hold off closest followers in the standings: Arthur Pilard (FRA) and Cameron Wood (USA). With 500 points for a win, a total of 1000 UCI World Cup ranking points were up for grabs in the final double-header. André arrived with 1610 points, Pilard on 1358 and Wood with 1118 points. Things could look different at the end of the weekend.

Here’s how it unfolded.

Under-23 titles wrapped up after Round 5

Santiago del Estero’s superbly enthusiastic BMX Racing fans came out in full force to see the top-level racing on their home track. In 33 degrees, round five was a hot one.

In Saturday’s Men Under 23 final, Jason Noordam couldn’t hold on to his early lead after making some small mistakes on the second and third straights, but his third place was enough to clinch the 2025 overall title with a round remaining. Mathis Jaquet from France inherited the victory and the crowd went wild for Federico Capello who claimed second for Argentina in the day’s first final.

Then in Round 5’s Women Under 23 final, Michelle Wissing had to deal with Lily Greenough (NZL), but passed her on the rhythm section on the third straight. The Dutchwoman could celebrate early, having wrapped up the 2025 title after winning all the five first UCI World Cup rounds.

Tension mounts in Elite racing

The Men Elite final on Saturday gave Argentina another second place. Gonzalo Molina managed to mix it up with the current top three in the ranking. Sylvain André missed out on a podium spot, finishing fourth. Cameron Wood remained solid in third, while Arthur Pilard closed the points gap between first and second with his victory. With one more round to go, and 500 points on the line for a win, the real battle was set up between André (1928 points) and Pilard (1858) for the following day’s final round.

Saya Sakakibara claimed her first UCI World Cup win of the 2025 season on Saturday, extending her overall lead over second-placed finisher Zoé Claessens and third-placed Laura Smulders. Molly Simpson’s (8th on Saturday) dropped down the standings, and things suddenly weren’t looking good for Bethany Shriever getting an overall top-three position either after finishing sixth in the penultimate round.

Under 23: Simashkina and Noordam win final round

Despite being assured of their overall Under 23 titles, Wissing and Noordam were both aiming to end the season on a high. In the Round 6 Women Under 23 final, Wissing’s winning streak was over in the first turn as she was pushed wide and moved back from second to fifth. Aleksandra Simashkina (AIN) crossed the line in first followed by Derin Merten (USA) and Francesca Cingolani Ferreira (ITA). Meanwhile, with a time of 30.687 seconds, Noordam put on a show in the Men Under 23 final, adding an exclamation mark to his dominance this season. Evan Oliviera (FRA) took second place and Brazil’s Lucas Moresco Zimmermann finished third.

Women and Men Elite: final shoot-outs

In Sunday’s Women Elite final, Sakakibara took the holeshot from lane 1 and showed her class by simply riding away from the rest. Simpson, in second place for most of the race, was passed by both Smulders and Shriever on the line. The top five overall standings were mixed up again, resulting in the overall title for Saya Sakakibara with 2563 points, clear from Smulders (2026), Simpson (1881), Claessens (1859) and Shriever (1777 points).

When the gate dropped in the Men Elite final, the overall honours were to be decided between the French pair of Pilard (starting from lane 1 on the inside) and André, with the tough task of cutting across in front of everyone else from lane 7 on the outside.

André found it too difficult to deal with other riders on the inside pushing him to the top of the turn where he lost ground with the front of the pack. Pilard managed to get in front and made no mistakes, grabbing the win and 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Cup overall title. Eddy Clerté (FRA) finished second on the day and the Argentinean hosts had one more opportunity to cheer as Gonzalo Molina grabbed third at the final round of the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Cup.