Jérôme Gilloux won his fifth E-MTB cross-country world title on Tuesday at the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole. The Frenchman beat Switzerland's Joris Ryf by eight seconds to take a third consecutive rainbow jersey. No other rider has won the discipline more than twice.
Eleven laps, one decisive move
The men's race became a duel almost from the start. Ryf took an early lead on his Specialized Turbo Levo through Daolasa di Commezzadura. Gilloux stayed close on his Lapierre Overvolt, never letting the Swiss out of reach.
After nine laps they were still locked together. Then, in the final kilometres, Gilloux found a gap through the roots and loose rock. He pressed hard and opened a small margin to complete the eleven laps in 53:38.
Ryf crossed eight seconds later. France's Stéphane Tempier took bronze with a time of 55:48, 2:10 behind the winner.
Five titles, one valley
Gilloux collected silver behind Alan Hatherly in 2019 and Tom Pidcock in 2020 before turning the deficit into a dynasty. His run of world titles began on this same Val di Sole course in 2021. He defended the jersey in 2022 and added wins in 2024 and 2025.
Anna Spielmann defended the women's title earlier in the day, holding off Kathrin Stirnemann by eleven seconds in a race that set the tone for the close margins to come.
Gilloux left the valley the same way he arrived: as the standard every electric cross-country racer must chase.
