2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships: Junior downhill winners confirm season’s form

Zierl and Alran take honours

Austrian Rosa Zierl and Frenchman Max Alran are the Junior downhill winners of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships taking place in Valais, Switzerland, from 1 to 14 September.

As the mid-week mud made way for sunshine on Saturday 6 September, the athletes battled it out on the slopes of Champéry, Switzerland. Living up to expectations, the athletes who have dominated the Junior races so far at this year’s UCI Downhill World Cup, were to the fore in the battle for the rainbow jerseys.

Fastest qualifier Zierl confirms in final

Denmark’s Rosa Jensen, Junior winner of the opening round of this year’s UCI Downhill World Cup (Enduro Trails - Bielsko Biała, in Poland), lit up every sector green to record a time of 3:51.355, averaging a speed of 43.689km/h. It gave her a 9.8-sec advantage and a stint in the hot seat in the Swiss sunshine… and it gave all remaining riders a target to beat.

Austrian Lina Frener –winner in Loudenvielle, France – set her sights on that target, the first woman averaging over 45km/h. She was almost 8 seconds up in the first sector, eventually creating an advantage of almost 13 seconds.

That was before the Kiwi Eliana Hulsebosch – third overall in the Junior UCI World Cup standings – picked up pace and went faster by 0.5 seconds, to record 3:37.826.

When the USA’s Aletha Ostgaard – UCI World Cup Junior winner in La Thuile – Val d’Aosta (Italy) and Pal Arinsal (Andorra) – went second, +0.452, the destination of the gold medal would all come down to the last rider down the hill, Rosa Zierl…

The Austrian, who set the fastest time in qualifying and has been leading this year’s UCI Downhill World Cup in her first season as a Junior with three victories from seven races so far, was up in the first sector, down by a second on sector 2… then up again. She held on to her advantage to take the win and the rainbow bands. Her winning time of 3:35.962 was delivered at a speed of 46.908km/h.

New Zealand’s Hulsebosch (+1.864) took the silver medal and Ostgaard (+2.316) the bronze, with Frener just missing out on a 2nd Austrian medal.

“It’s so good,” said Rosa Zierl. “I didn’t really realise it, but my run was so good. I just wanted to bring it down. It’s sick!

“[The track] was definitely better than yesterday but still pretty hard to ride. I just wanted to stay on my bike and bring it down - and I did!”

Two medals for French Alran brothers

Home Swiss riders Raoul Schneeberger, Noé Forlin and Marius Krähenbühl enjoyed time in the provisional top three but it was not to last, and the Men Junior competition became a battle of New Zealand versus the Alran brothers.

Riding with the number 13 upside down, New Zealand’s Zac Bradley-Hudson broke the Swiss stranglehold, going second, +2.989. Great Britain’s George Madley and Kiwi Jonty Williamson joined the provisional podium before the first of the French Alran brothers – Till – went 1.972 seconds faster.

Misfortune befell the defending UCI World Champion Asa Vermette, the American who has yet to record a win in 2025 but always showed potential to win on any day. He was on the pace before a mechanical slowed him down. Any chance of the rainbow bands was gone.

Another Kiwi, Oli Clarke (Junior UCI World Cup winner at Saalfelden Leogang-Salzburgerland, in Austria), was up at the first two splits until the bottom half of the track tamed his speed to put him second.

Back to the Alran brothers. It was time for the French to take it to the Max… and indeed, Max Alran took chunks of time off the whole field in every section. His dominance from the UCI World Cup campaign (three wins so far this year) transferred seamlessly to the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. He knocked his brother Till out of the hot seat with a time of 3:00.878 (50.254 km/h), 3.379 seconds faster.

Only New Zealand’s Tyler Waite remained to run… he had it in the balance all the way down, and crossed the line in second, splitting the Alran brothers. Gold and bronze for France; silver, fourth and fifth for the Kiwis!

“Yeah it was really good! I’m just super stoked,” said Max Alran. “Last year I did second and I was a bit gutted but this year is different, I was fastest. A bit gutted for my brother in third - still super good, but I would prefer to be first and second. I’m super stoked, I take the rainbow jersey… it means you’re the best in the world!”