Denmark's Albert Withen Philipsen and Slovakia's Viktória Chladonová have taken the junior XCO titles in dominant fashion at the 2024 Mountain Bike World Championships in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.
Chladonová got the action started early on Friday, opening up a 17-second advantage on the first lap of the race and only extending her advantage through to an eventual winning margin of 36 seconds from Rafaelle Carrier (Canada).
Defending champion Philipsen was similarly dominant in the junior men's race that followed, scorching away from the field on the opening lap to a lead of 1:04. The young superstar then stamped his authority over the field, extending his gap out to a massive 1:55 at the finish ahead of Spain's Hugo Franco Gallego.
Taking third in the men's race was Philipsen's compatriot Nikolaj Hougs, who lost out in a sprint to Gallego, with Slovenia's Marusa Tereza Serkezi rounding out the podium places in the junior women's race, 1:31 down on Chladonová.
Both winners are huge prospects across the mountain bike, cyclocross and road disciplines, with Chladonová adding the rainbow jersey to her third place at CX Worlds from earlier this season, and Philipsen not only defending his XCO world title but adding it to his junior road world title.
The young Dane has already joined Lidl-Trek as a marquee signing for their future, with his WorldTour contract due to begin in 2025 for a four-year deal.
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