2025 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships: Spain secures historic seventh trials team victory

Trials team event opens proceedings

The 2025 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships got under way in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, with the trials mixed team event on Tuesday 4 November.

Crowning UCI World Campions in the disciplines of trials and BMX Freestyle, the UCI Urban Cycling Worlds will continue through until Saturday 8 November.

The only medal event on the opening day, the trials mixed team event gave athletes a first competitive feel of the obstacles which they will also encounter in the individual competitions. Spain again showed its collective strength, taking victory for the seventh consecutive year.

Czechia, Germany, Switzerland and Spain all fielded the maximum of six riders, one from each category : Men Elite 26” (ME26), Men Elite 20” (ME20), Women Elite (WE), Men Junior 26” (MJ26), Men Junior 20” (MJ20), and Women Junior (WJ). With all the riders scoring - each tackling one round of five sectors - the advantage lay with the nations who could put out all six riders.

Over the years, Spain has traditionally become the nation to beat in the trials mixed event, but France has also won the title, with Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain also amongst the medallists. Nations can ‘play’ their riders in whichever order they prefer.

Strategy from round one

Japan got the competition underway with their MJ20 rider, Torai Yamashita, followed by Slovakia’s WJ Lea Kucová, while Switzerland also led with their WJ rider, Noemie Gfeller. Many nations went out strong with their ME26 riders: Italy with Marco Nardinocchi, Czechia’s Vojtech Hendrych, the super-experienced Frenchman Vincent Hermance (scoring 200 points) and – the last to ride in the opening round – Spain’s Julen Sáenz. Meanwhile Great Britain led with ME20 Adam Morewood, and perhaps the most respectful reception in Riyadh was reserved for Germany’s six-time WE UCI World Champion, Nina Reichenbach.

With the first two riders from each nation having completed their rounds, it was France – with ME20 Louis Grillon – leading the way with 350 points from Italy (MJ20 Lorenzo Ambrosini riding second), and Spain (WJ European Champion Andrea Pérez), close behind in third position.

Competition shapes up

With Italy only fielding three riders, and Slovakia and Great Britain – without ME26 multiple UCI World Champion Jack Carthy, due to illness – each with four riders, the overall shape of the competition became clearer, the further it progressed. Third round riders included Great Britain’s ME26 Oliver Weightman (200 points), following his younger brother Eddie, and France’s Nina Vabre, who also has her eyes on the WE individual competition.

Vabre was followed for France by MJ20 European Champion Guillaume Camus, up against Germany’s Carl Christ (MJ26, scoring 140, as did his MJ20 countryman, Dennis Arnold), and multiple ME20 UCI World Champions and number 1 ranked rider, Alejandro Montalvo, the Spaniard scoring 200 points before handing the imaginary baton to the fifth Spanish team member, Vera Barón, still aged 21, already a member of the winning squads in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

After four rounds, Spain had assumed the lead ahead of France, with Great Britain in a close third, although the nation’s 530 points that would be its final tally.

Germany surges to silver

The fifth and last French rider was Louis Chasseuil (MJ26), leaving the Swiss ME26 Vito Gonzalez (2019 team event silver medalist) up against Czechia’s ME20 René Vymětal and German Oliver Widmann (ME26): the 2024 team event bronze medallist contributing 120 points after his fellow German Jonas Friedrich (ME20) had scored an impressive 150.

It was Spain’s MJ20 2024 UCI World Champion Travis Asenjo, riding last, who scored 180 points to complete an unassailable team total of 890 points, and also help his own confidence soar ahead of the Junior finals on Friday. Germany’s strong finish secured the team silver with 730 points, pushing France (710) into the bronze medal position.

More information, including the competition schedule and results can be found on the UCI website.