Bjorn Riley and Isabella Holmgren couldn’t be stopped on a messy weekend

Les Gets is a storied course in MTB World Cup racing, known for mean features and a rowdy atmosphere. This year, it capped a gauntlet stretch of six cross country races in 12 weeks and five downhill races in nine weeks heading into a nearly two-month break surrounding the Olympic games. Rain showed up, as if riders hadn’t been tested enough. The race was arguably the most difficult mental battle that anyone had faced all year.

But amidst the exhausted legs and widespread chaos, two riders soared. For Trek Future Racing, Bjorn Riley won both men’s U23 short track and XC Olympic-distance races, the latter by 1:17 over what has been a tight field all year. For Lidl-Trek, Isabella Holmgren won both women’s U23 short track and XCO races, continuing an incredible run of dominance for a rider whose primary focus is the road.

Riley put on a clinic in the XCO race on Sunday. After the first lap, he put time into the competition every time he crossed the line, gradually building up his lead while other riders struggled with crashes and mechanicals. He racked up his second and third World Cup wins of the season in Les Gets, joining his short track win in Val di Sole. 

“Just happy the whole race. I couldn’t stop smiling,” Riley said. “I went a little bit over my pace for the last three laps, but once I got a gap I just kept consistent, put the power down where I needed to, and just had fun with it.”

Riley also kept the United States and Trek perfect in U23 men’s XC racing. He and Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli XC’s Riley Amos, who missed Les Gets due to illness, have combined to win 12-of-12 World Cup events this year.

Holmgren has made six World Cup starts this year, and she has finished off the top step just once, taking second in Val di Sole’s short track race. She had to fight to keep her perfect XCO streak going, however. Taking on deep mud after racing on the road is as difficult a transition as one can make in cycling, and after the first lap, she was in fifth place on the course, 19 seconds behind leader Olivia Onesti. But then Holmgren gained traction and turned on the jets, posting the fastest time on all four of the final laps to win by 25 seconds. 

The TFR women battled hard on a grueling weekend. Evie Richards and Gwendalyn Gibson took fourth and fifth, respectively, in the women’s elite short track race on Friday, both displaying the snappy legs they’ve been searching for since suffering injuries during the opening rounds in Brazil. Richards followed up with a sixth place finish in Sunday’s XCO that confirmed her progress ahead of her major summer goals.

The wet got Gibson, who suffered a crash, but got up to finish strong at 16th in the XCO event. Madigan Munro went 13th in U23 women’s short track and 11th in XCO, marking the first time she’s finished outside the top 10 in what has been an otherwise career year that includes a Pan-American championship. 

“This weekend didn’t show my best in terms of results, but overall lots to be stoked about from this trip,” Munro wrote on Instagram after the race. “And the cherry on top was racing in this absolutely sick NICA helmet.”

See more: Madigan Munro is teaming with NICA to give away this stunning helmet!

Both Munro and Gibson will head back to the United States to race National Championships in Pennsylvania on July 20 and 21. Then they’ll get a long break before World Championships in Andorra at the start of September.

“Trying to keep positive and hope that the moment will come together for me to have a good XCO,” Gibson wrote on Instagram. “Always thankful for my team who has been so supportive during this process. I’ve really enjoyed being back racing despite some hard moments and there is still plenty of season left for some magic to happen!”

Prior to taking on Sunday’s elite men’s XCO, TFR’s Anton Cooper revealed that he has been struggling with an infection this season. The Australian champion will also be keen for some time off to recover and show off at full strength to close the season.

Rain made a mess of the downhill course on Saturday.

Junior finals were canceled due to the weather, which meant that qualification times determined the podium, resulting in third place for The Union’s Ellie Hulsebosch and fifth place for Trek Factory Racing’s Sacha Earnest in the women’s race, and 15th place for Unior-Sinter’s Oli Clark and 17th place for The Union’s Chris Hauser.

While the juniors were disappointed to sit Saturday, the decision proved sage given what took place in the elite finals. In the women’s race, just one rider out of 12 — winner Eleonora Farina — managed to get down the hill without a crash or a full-stop stall. In the men’s race, roughly 80 percent of the field went down at some point during their runs. The time gap between first and fifth was massive at nearly 10 seconds.

The Union’s Lachie Stevens-McNab led the way for Trek athletes in 11th place, just two seconds ahead of TFR’s Loris Vergier in 12th. Bodhi Kuhn was 27th. All of the riders likely hoped for better, but when Mother Nature decides to show her might, sometimes there’s nothing to do except survive.

Just two World Cup rounds remain — Loudenvielle in September, and Mont-Sainte-Anne in October — both following World Championships. This squad will have plenty of time to knock off the dirt and let their bruises heal before taking on a dynamite final stretch to the season.