Great Britain claimed the first rainbow jerseys of the 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, winning Friday’s mixed team relay.
The team event will be followed by the individual competitions on Saturday and Sunday.
Zoe Bäckstedt, Darlison Milo Wills, Maia Zoe Roche, Oscar Amey, Cat Ferguson and Thomas Mein got the better of Italy (Mattia Agostinacchio, Gioele Bertolini, Giorgia Pellizotti, Lucia Bramati, Sara Casasola and Stefano Viezzi) and France (Jules Simon, Florian Fery, Célia Gery, Zélie Lambert, Hélène Clauzel, Joshua Dubau) after six intense laps on a muddy Val de Souchez circuit, in Liévin (France).
It was a first victory for Great Britain in the mixed team relay at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships after finishing second in both 2023 and 2024.
Italians start strong
Tactics played an important part in the event, with each of the ten national teams lining up six riders, in the order of their choice, with one participant each from different categories as follows:
Women Elite or Women Under 23;
Men Elite or Men Under 23;
Women Under 23 or Women Junior;
Men Under 23 or Men Junior;
Women Junior;
Men Junior.
Italy’s Mattia Agostinacchio, winner of two rounds of this season’s Men Junior UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, was off to a flying start but Scott Funston (Men Elite) closed the early gap for the USA. Gioele Bertolini (Men Elite) pushed Italy’s advantage in the second lap but was closely followed by France’s Florian Fery (Men Junior), while Aidan Vollmuth held on to the third place for the USA.
The French powered to the lead in the third lap with Célia Gery (Women Under 23), who had claimed two rainbow jerseys in the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross Worlds, winning both the Women Junior race and the mixed team relay with France. In the meantime, the USA’s Katie Clouse (Women Elite) was getting back to Italy’s Giorgia Pellizotti, while the rest of the nations trailed by over a minute.
The first 📹 of the #Lievin2025 at race pace 💨
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 31, 2025
Muddy conditions after a lot of rain yesterday but let's see how the course changes over the weekend 🤔
📍 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships pic.twitter.com/m80BHcWtHu
Team GB’s comeback
Positions exchanged again on the fourth lap, as the USA’s Vida Lopez de San Roman (Women Under 23) powered away from Italy’s Lucia Bramati (Women Under 23) and France’s Zélie Lambert (Women Junior)… while Great Britain’s Oscar Amey (Men Junior) stormed back to second place (+22’’) ahead of the final two laps! Team GB had been the only nation to start the race with a female rider - Zoe Bäckstedt – but would their tactics pay off?
On the other hand, the French had saved their two Elite riders - Hélène Clauzel and Joshua Dubau - to finish things off. It all led to a thrilling conclusion, with Team GB taking the lead into the final lap thanks to Cat Ferguson (Women Under 23) and eventually sealing the deal with Thomas Mein (Men Elite) claiming victory just ahead of Italy (+2’’), France (+5’’) and the USA (+8’’).
The action continues all weekend with the individual races:
Saturday: Women Junior (11:00), Men Under 23 (13:00) and Women Elite (15:00)
Sunday: Men Junior (11:00), Women Under 23 (13:00) and Men Elite (15:00).