The new course in Midway featured long climbs, fast descents, and a few technical rock sections that kept the racing close. Saturday opened with short track, where Martina Berta and Sam Gaze took the wins.
Berta carried that momentum into Sunday and completed a perfect weekend by winning the women’s XCO race. American Gwendalyn Gibson finished second after battling with Berta into the final lap, while newly crowned world champion Sina Frei took third.
The men’s race stayed packed together until the closing minutes. Martin Vidaurre made his move on the final lap and held on for the win, finishing just five seconds ahead of Cole Punchard. Mathis Guay followed close behind in third.
American riders delivered a strong showing at Soldier Hollow, with seven top-10 finishes across the four XCO categories. Gwendalyn Gibson led the way with second in Elite Women, followed by Savilia Blunk in fourth and Haley Batten in sixth. On the Elite Men’s side, Bjorn Riley finished sixth and Riley Amos eighth.
The U23 Americans added two more impressive results, with Makena Kellerman taking third in U23 Women and Nicholas Konecny finishing fifth in U23 Men. Altogether, the U.S. walked away from the XCO races with seven top-10 results and two podium finishes on home soil.
Utah has deep roots in cycling. From Moab’s place in mountain bike history to Park City’s massive trail network, the Tour of Utah and one of the strongest youth racing communities in the country, bikes have always been a big part of the culture here that we’ve supported over the past decades. Seeing World Cup racing return to our backyard felt like coming home.
It was especially exciting for us to see some familiar faces lining up at Soldier Hollow. Current DNA Rouleur rider Preston Johnson took on the U23 Men’s field, while former team riders Nico Konecny, Ivan Sippy, Sydney Nielson, and Kelsey Urban also competed throughout the weekend. Seeing riders who have been part of the DNA program racing on the World Cup stage makes events like this even more meaningful for our team.
We were also excited to see NICA racing represented at Soldier Hollow with the Short Track Exhibition. We’ve always had a love for NICA and the energy it brings to youth mountain biking. Giving young riders the opportunity to race alongside a World Cup weekend is an awesome way to celebrate the next generation of the sport. From NICA racers getting their start to former DNA riders competing at the World Cup level, it was great to see so many different stages of the cycling journey come together in Utah.
DNA Cycling was proud to sponsor the event and spend the weekend at our booth meeting racers, teams, and fans. We hope you stopped by to see our custom hat-making process. It was an incredible few days for Utah cycling culture, and we’re already looking forward to the next one.
