[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TVKNsCMr3A3cNABobdFRJJ-2000-80.jpg”]
Andorra winner Bjorn Riley edges out Christopher Blevins for a second US mountain bike national title in short track cross-country
‘Mini breakthrough’ for Christopher Blevins in Pal Arinsal MTB World Series after return from injury
‘I’m not used to having to sprint for the win, so that was scary’ – Risky move pays off for Bjorn Riley with his first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup win
Savilla Blunk and Christopher Blevins claim elite XCO titles at USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals
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Simone Giuliani, Lyne Lamoureux
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Gwendalyn Gibson and 2025 winner Bjorn Riley take runner-up spots
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2025 UCI MTB World Series winner Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) reclaimed the elite men’s cross-country Olympic (XCO) national title at the USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals in Roanoke on Saturday, while Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing) took her third elite women’s XCO title.
It was a second title of the week for Blunk, adding to the cross-country short track crown she secured on Thursday. She crossed the line in Roanoke comfortably ahead of Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek-Unbroken) and Crystal Anthony (Flow Formulas/Kenda/The Black Bibs).
In the race, which ran over four laps of the main course with a prologue, Blunk and Gibson were together through the opener but as soon as the main laps were underway Blunk carved out a gap of 50 seconds and then built that to the end.
“This concludes a five-week back-to-back block of racing,” said Blunk. “I was in Europe for two months, then came straight here. It was a big push to race here on Thursday and today, but it means so much to race in front of a home crowd; it makes it so worth it.
“I’m ready for some rest now, but really proud to wear the jersey in short track and cross-country for the next year.”
In the elite men’s race Blevins, who last won the title in 2023, crossed the line ahead of short track title winner Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB) while Riley Amos (Trek-Unbroken) claimed third, stepping up one spot from the short track.
It was a tighter battle at the start of the men’s race, with eight riders heading out of the prologue and into the first of five main laps, but then defending champion Riley and Blevins quickly got away. Blevins didn’t wait long to make his move, delivering an attack that stuck in the second lap.
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Once away, Blevins maintained control, building his advantage and riding solo to the line.
“It was a super hard race, I knew I would have to go super deep to beat Bjorn [Riley] and Riley [Amos], who are two of the top ten riders in the World Cup field, along with myself last weekend in Andorra.” said Blevins.
“I think the level of U.S. Men’s mountain biking is just going to skyrocket these next two years up until the LA Olympics, with the Durango World Champs after that. So, I’m just really excited to be finding my form at this point after an injury earlier this season.”
Riley comfortably held firm for second while Amos broke away from Ivan Sippy (Team Segment 28 p/b Baird) on lap four to secure the podium spot.
Dan English (Trinity Racing) and Greta Kilburn (Bicycle Express Racing) won the U23 titles, while in the Junior 17-18 category Scout Wellmeier (Bear National Team) and Noah Scholnick (Bear National Team) claimed the victories.
|
Position |
Riders |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Christopher Blevins |
1:13:54 |
|
2 |
Bjorn Riley |
+1:07 |
|
3 |
Riley Amos |
+3:16 |
|
4 |
Ivan Sippy |
+4:06 |
|
5 |
Dane Grey |
+4:38 |
|
Position |
Riders |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Savilia Blunk |
1:10:55 |
|
2 |
Gwendalyn Gibson |
+2:40 |
|
3 |
Crystal Anthony |
+11:30 |
|
4 |
Bayli McSpadden |
+13:08 |
|
5 |
Emma Schwab |
-1 lap |
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men’s and women’s news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
-
1‘Dropped alone on the first climb and then it is impossible’ – Anthon Charmig fights through stage 14 but time cut ends his Tour de France
-
2‘To hell with Pogačar, Paul Seixas mania has begun’ – Amid incredible atmosphere, the great home hope ignites the Tour de France
-
3‘I suffered quite a bit from the rain’ – tenacious Remco Evenepoel retains podium spot at Tour de France despite struggling on stage 14 final ascent
-
4‘It was certainly not a bad day’ – Jonas Vingegaard remains upbeat despite latest time loss to Tadej Pogačar on Tour de France stage 14
-
5‘He’s missing a little bit compared to other Tours’ – Tadej Pogačar observes Jonas Vingegaard’s weaknesses at Tour de France
Savilla Blunk and Christopher Blevins claim elite XCO titles at USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals
News
By
Simone Giuliani, Lyne Lamoureux
Published
Gwendalyn Gibson and 2025 winner Bjorn Riley take runner-up spots
-
Facebook
-
X
-
Pinterest
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Email
Follow us
2025 UCI MTB World Series winner Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) reclaimed the elite men’s cross-country Olympic (XCO) national title at the USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals in Roanoke on Saturday, while Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing) took her third elite women’s XCO title.
It was a second title of the week for Blunk, adding to the cross-country short track crown she secured on Thursday. She crossed the line in Roanoke comfortably ahead of Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek-Unbroken) and Crystal Anthony (Flow Formulas/Kenda/The Black Bibs).
In the race, which ran over four laps of the main course with a prologue, Blunk and Gibson were together through the opener but as soon as the main laps were underway Blunk carved out a gap of 50 seconds and then built that to the end.
“This concludes a five-week back-to-back block of racing,” said Blunk. “I was in Europe for two months, then came straight here. It was a big push to race here on Thursday and today, but it means so much to race in front of a home crowd; it makes it so worth it.
“I’m ready for some rest now, but really proud to wear the jersey in short track and cross-country for the next year.”
In the elite men’s race Blevins, who last won the title in 2023, crossed the line ahead of short track title winner Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB) while Riley Amos (Trek-Unbroken) claimed third, stepping up one spot from the short track.
It was a tighter battle at the start of the men’s race, with eight riders heading out of the prologue and into the first of five main laps, but then defending champion Riley and Blevins quickly got away. Blevins didn’t wait long to make his move, delivering an attack that stuck in the second lap.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Once away, Blevins maintained control, building his advantage and riding solo to the line.
“It was a super hard race, I knew I would have to go super deep to beat Bjorn [Riley] and Riley [Amos], who are two of the top ten riders in the World Cup field, along with myself last weekend in Andorra.” said Blevins.
“I think the level of U.S. Men’s mountain biking is just going to skyrocket these next two years up until the LA Olympics, with the Durango World Champs after that. So, I’m just really excited to be finding my form at this point after an injury earlier this season.”
Riley comfortably held firm for second while Amos broke away from Ivan Sippy (Team Segment 28 p/b Baird) on lap four to secure the podium spot.
Dan English (Trinity Racing) and Greta Kilburn (Bicycle Express Racing) won the U23 titles, while in the Junior 17-18 category Scout Wellmeier (Bear National Team) and Noah Scholnick (Bear National Team) claimed the victories.
|
Position |
Riders |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Christopher Blevins |
1:13:54 |
|
2 |
Bjorn Riley |
+1:07 |
|
3 |
Riley Amos |
+3:16 |
|
4 |
Ivan Sippy |
+4:06 |
|
5 |
Dane Grey |
+4:38 |
|
Position |
Riders |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Savilia Blunk |
1:10:55 |
|
2 |
Gwendalyn Gibson |
+2:40 |
|
3 |
Crystal Anthony |
+11:30 |
|
4 |
Bayli McSpadden |
+13:08 |
|
5 |
Emma Schwab |
-1 lap |
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men’s and women’s news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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-
1‘Dropped alone on the first climb and then it is impossible’ – Anthon Charmig fights through stage 14 but time cut ends his Tour de France
-
2‘To hell with Pogačar, Paul Seixas mania has begun’ – Amid incredible atmosphere, the great home hope ignites the Tour de France
-
3‘I suffered quite a bit from the rain’ – tenacious Remco Evenepoel retains podium spot at Tour de France despite struggling on stage 14 final ascent
-
4‘It was certainly not a bad day’ – Jonas Vingegaard remains upbeat despite latest time loss to Tadej Pogačar on Tour de France stage 14
-
5‘He’s missing a little bit compared to other Tours’ – Tadej Pogačar observes Jonas Vingegaard’s weaknesses at Tour de France
Savilla Blunk and Christopher Blevins claim elite XCO titles at USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals
News
By
Simone Giuliani, Lyne Lamoureux
Published
Gwendalyn Gibson and 2025 winner Bjorn Riley take runner-up spots
-
Facebook
-
X
-
Pinterest
-
Email
Follow us
2025 UCI MTB World Series winner Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) reclaimed the elite men’s cross-country Olympic (XCO) national title at the USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals in Roanoke on Saturday, while Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing) took her third elite women’s XCO title.
It was a second title of the week for Blunk, adding to the cross-country short track crown she secured on Thursday. She crossed the line in Roanoke comfortably ahead of Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek-Unbroken) and Crystal Anthony (Flow Formulas/Kenda/The Black Bibs).
In the race, which ran over four laps of the main course with a prologue, Blunk and Gibson were together through the opener but as soon as the main laps were underway Blunk carved out a gap of 50 seconds and then built that to the end.
“This concludes a five-week back-to-back block of racing,” said Blunk. “I was in Europe for two months, then came straight here. It was a big push to race here on Thursday and today, but it means so much to race in front of a home crowd; it makes it so worth it.
“I’m ready for some rest now, but really proud to wear the jersey in short track and cross-country for the next year.”
In the elite men’s race Blevins, who last won the title in 2023, crossed the line ahead of short track title winner Bjorn Riley (Scott-SRAM MTB) while Riley Amos (Trek-Unbroken) claimed third, stepping up one spot from the short track.
It was a tighter battle at the start of the men’s race, with eight riders heading out of the prologue and into the first of five main laps, but then defending champion Riley and Blevins quickly got away. Blevins didn’t wait long to make his move, delivering an attack that stuck in the second lap.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Once away, Blevins maintained control, building his advantage and riding solo to the line.
“It was a super hard race, I knew I would have to go super deep to beat Bjorn [Riley] and Riley [Amos], who are two of the top ten riders in the World Cup field, along with myself last weekend in Andorra.” said Blevins.
“I think the level of U.S. Men’s mountain biking is just going to skyrocket these next two years up until the LA Olympics, with the Durango World Champs after that. So, I’m just really excited to be finding my form at this point after an injury earlier this season.”
Riley comfortably held firm for second while Amos broke away from Ivan Sippy (Team Segment 28 p/b Baird) on lap four to secure the podium spot.
Dan English (Trinity Racing) and Greta Kilburn (Bicycle Express Racing) won the U23 titles, while in the Junior 17-18 category Scout Wellmeier (Bear National Team) and Noah Scholnick (Bear National Team) claimed the victories.
|
Position |
Riders |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Christopher Blevins |
1:13:54 |
|
2 |
Bjorn Riley |
+1:07 |
|
3 |
Riley Amos |
+3:16 |
|
4 |
Ivan Sippy |
+4:06 |
|
5 |
Dane Grey |
+4:38 |
|
Position |
Riders |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Savilia Blunk |
1:10:55 |
|
2 |
Gwendalyn Gibson |
+2:40 |
|
3 |
Crystal Anthony |
+11:30 |
|
4 |
Bayli McSpadden |
+13:08 |
|
5 |
Emma Schwab |
-1 lap |
[analyse_source url=”https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/racing/savilla-blunk-and-christopher-blevins-claim-elite-xco-titles-at-usa-cycling-endurance-mountain-bike-nationals/”]
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