Elite and Junior trials athletes will vie for the ultimate glory of the year when they compete in the 2025 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (4-8 November).
Also crowning athletes in BMX Freestyle, the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships will kick off with the trials mixed team event on Tuesday 4 November. The winners of the trials Women Junior, Men Junior 26” and Men Junior 20” will be crowned on Friday 7 November, followed by their Elite counterparts the following day.
We look at some of the main contenders for the rainbow jerseys in each of the individual trials categories.
Women: Vera v Alba? Or Nina?
The top favourites for the women’s trials UCI world title include two young Spanish stars: European Champion Vera Báron and 2024 UCI World Champion Alba Riera.
Between them they have finished first and second at all three UCI Trials World Cup rounds in 2025, with the more experienced Báron claiming two victories and with them, the overall title.
But it might not be a Spanish winner if France’s Nina Vabre hits her full potential. With two third-placed finishes and one fourth this year, the 19-year-old is pushing hard and took third overall in the UCI World Cup.
Six-time UCI World Champion - most recently in Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom) in 2023 -, Nina Reichenbach is also on the Entry List for Riyadh. The German made the final in the only UCI World Cup round she contested in 2025 (Krynica-Zdrój, Poland, in August) and finished 4th at September’s UEC European Championships in Copenhagen (Denmark) after her bronze medal at the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
Spain’s Laia Esquis Casanovas claimed her first podium (3rd) in the third round of the UCI World Cup with Czechia’s Eliška Hříbková showing her skills in the last two (6th and 5th).
Men 26”: Britons to repeat clean Abu Dhabi sweep?
Can anyone stop Jack Carthy winning the Men Elite 26” crown again? The British rider certainly left his winning move late last year in Abu Dhabi, pulling off a rainbow-bands performance on the last obstacle that had defeated every other challenger. But that winning mentality has been put under new pressure this year by his fellow Briton, Charlie Rolls, who took the 2025 UCI Trials World Cup overall with his performance on the final obstacles of the final round, to claim his first overall title just weeks after claiming the title of European Champion. Their fellow Briton, 20-year-old Oliver Weightman, was second in the most recent round of the UCI World Cup, in Cordon, France.
The British trio took the 2024 UCI World Championships podium, in that order, with three Spanish riders pushing them hard: Julen Saenz, who pipped Carthy to third in Cordon; Daniel Báron - second in the first round of the 2025 UCI Trials World Cup (in Valbirse, Switzerland), after winning the opening round in 2024; and Martí Vayreda, bronze medallist at the 2023 UCI World Championships.
Riders from other nations want to threaten the British and Spanish finalists, including France’s Nathan Charra and Oliver Widmann of Germany, silver medallist at the 2023 UCI World Championships.
Men 20”: Who can topple Montalvo?
Alejandro Montalvo is reigning and multiple UCI World Champion, European Champion, and winner of all three UCI World Cup rounds and the overall title in 2025… whoever looks to stop the Spanish athlete from claiming glory in Riyadh will have to be on the top of their game.
And that’s exactly what France’s Robin Berchiatti will be aiming to do. He took second place at all three UCI World Cup rounds this year, and with it second overall: he’s only a couple of brilliant moves away from the rainbow bands.
But Spanish eyes will also turn to Borja Conejos and Eloi Palau, the 2021 and 2022 UCI World Champions, respectively.
Not to be dismissed either, are Austria’s Thomas Pechhacker (fifth in each round of the 2025 UCI Trials World Cup), and Finland’s Niilo Stenvall, who has established himself as a regular UCI World Cup finalist.
Juniors: three titles on the line
With the introduction of a Women Junior competition, UCI World Champion titles will be won, for the first time, in three categories. In the Women Junior, European Champion Andrea Pérez (ESP) and Germany’s Emilia Keikus are amongst the contenders.
France’s Guillaume Camus took the Men Junior 20” European title in September, and like Pérez, is already establishing himself amongst the Elite. Meanwhile, in Men Junior 26”, Hungary’s Zalán Fark got the better of two Spanish youngsters, Mikel Azcona and Ferran Gonzalo at the UEC Trials European Championships.
When to watch
After the semi-finals on Wednesday and Thursday, the three Junior finals will be on Friday 7 November, followed by the three Elite finals on the last day of the 2025 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, Saturday 8 November.
Highlights from the 2024 UCI World Championships
About the host
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia, a country which has a long-term vision to improve the lives, health and well-being of its citizens. Since the launch of ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ nine years ago, sports participation in the country has increased by more than 300%. The UCI Urban Cycling World Championships will also be organised in Riyadh in 2026, and come on top of the more than 115 international sports events hosted in Saudi Arabia since 2018. In addition to the organisation of competitions and development of athletes, the Saudi Cycling Federation promotes cycling as a way of life, creating improved cycling infrastructure - including dedicated cycle paths - to encourage bike use by all citizens.