Boichis attacks on final climb to take dramatic XCC victory in La Thuile

Adrien Boichis (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) launched a blistering attack on the final climb to win the UCI XCC World Cup in La Thuile, his first victory of the season. The French champion powered away from his last remaining rival in the final minutes, holding his advantage to the line on the dusty and treacherous Italian course.

Luca Martin finished just one second behind to take second place. Charlie Aldridge recovered from a penultimate-lap crash to round out the podium 16 seconds in arrears.

The race began in a cloud of dust, with a frantic sprint for position ahead of the first narrow singletrack. Adrien Boichis (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) had a slow start, but the nine-lap race gave him time to move through the field on a treacherous, loose course that saw several riders fall, including Alan Hatherly (Team Jayco-AlUla).

The decisive moment came on the penultimate lap. As Boichis attacked around the outside of a loose gravel corner, he put leaders Luca Martin and Charlie Aldridge under immense pressure. The move forced an error, with Aldridge crashing heavily and leaving just Boichis and Martin to fight for the win.

The pair took the bell for the final lap together, but Boichis made his move at the base of the last significant climb. His explosive acceleration immediately created a gap that Martin could not close, allowing Boichis to cross the line alone.

• Boichis's victory was a masterclass in aggressive tactics. His high-risk move on the penultimate lap created the winning separation, and his final attack was perfectly timed and brutally effective.
• The dusty, loose course was a key protagonist, placing a premium on bike handling. The high number of crashes, including for contenders like Alan Hatherly and Charlie Aldridge, showed how little margin for error there was.
• After a poor start, Boichis showed patience and race craft to work his way to the front before making his decisive late-race moves. It was a mature ride that demonstrated his ability to manage a race.
• Aldridge's crash while in the lead group was heartbreaking, but his recovery for third speaks to his resilience. The incident, forced by pressure from Boichis, was the critical turning point that created a two-rider battle for the win.