Tom Pidcock once again proved why he is one of the most complete and dominant athletes in world cycling by winning the 2025 European Mountain Bike Cross-Country Championship in Melgaço, Portugal. After a demanding first part of the season on the road – including a 16th place overall at the Giro d’Italia with Q36.5 – and skipping the Tour de France to focus on off-road racing, the British rider returned to his natural terrain and set the pace at the continental event.
Starting conservatively, Pidcock methodically moved up through the field, entering the top 10 on the second lap. By the halfway point of the nine-lap race he overtook fellow Brit Charlie Aldridge and gradually opened a gap, crossing the finish line in 1:21:02. Aldridge secured silver, 36 seconds behind, while Danish rider Simon Andreassen, the 2024 European XCC champion, took a brave bronze.
This victory in Melgaço adds to an extraordinary run of results for Pidcock, who over the past five years has won two Olympic gold medals in XCO (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), the 2023 world title, the 2022 European title, the 2022 cyclo-cross world championship, as well as major victories on the road in the Spring Classics. Just two weeks earlier, he had already sent a clear signal of his form by winning the UCI MTB World Cup round in Andorra.
In the women’s race, Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds dominated from start to finish, backing up her short track victory (XCC) with gold in XCO. She was followed by Britain’s Evie Richards, who took a brilliant silver, and Switzerland’s Nicole Koller, who earned the bronze. Richards’ performance also highlights the strength of British mountain biking, with Pidcock and Aldridge having locked out the men’s podium.
It was a historic day for cross-country racing, underlining Pidcock’s class and the remarkable versatility of an athlete capable of excelling on every type of terrain.
