Race Report – UCI World Championships, Champéry 🇨🇭
The World Championships in Champéry delivered everything this iconic venue is known for: brutal track conditions, wild weather swings, spectacular racing, and plenty of drama. Our AON Racing riders gave it everything across four intense days of practice, qualification, and racing – showing determination, speed, and resilience on one of the toughest stages of the year.
Practice & Storms
The week began with the first day of practice, where riders had their first chance to tackle the gnarly, steep track in full race trim. Everyone settled in well, and practice went smoothly.
But Champéry had other plans: on Thursday evening, heavy thunderstorms rolled through the valley and transformed the track into a slippery, muddy slide. From that point on, every run was a battle to balance aggression with survival.
Junior Racing – Stan’s First World Champs
Friday saw Stan line up for his first-ever Junior World Championships. He looked confident in morning practice, and his first splits in qualifying suggested he was on pace for a top-10 position. Unfortunately, two crashes cost him time – though he still managed to qualify for Saturday’s finals.
On race day, we discovered that one of those crashes had left Stan with a painful hand injury. Despite struggling to hold onto the handlebars, he showed real grit and pushed through the full run. He finished 23rd overall – a very respectable result in his first year as a junior, and a performance that shows his big potential for the future.
Elite Women Qualifying
For the women, qualifying was straightforward in terms of progression – all riders starting were guaranteed a spot in finals. That didn’t make it easy, though: the slick track led to plenty of nasty crashes across the field.
Hattie had a messy run and finished 13th.
Monika got caught out by confusion around crashed riders, but still qualified in 15th.
Both advanced safely, ready to reset for the big race on Sunday.
Elite Men Qualifying
The men faced greater pressure: only 80 riders would qualify for finals. Henry was on a strong run as his hand infection continued to improve, but a slide-out in a corner bent his handlebars. Despite the damage, he clawed back time in the lower sections and secured a spot in finals with 56th place.
Finals Day – Drama, Speed & Resilience
Hattie – Tough as Nails
Hattie came into Sunday’s finals chasing her second strong World Championships result in a week. She rode with confidence and was on track for a solid top-20 finish. But disaster struck just before the finish line: carrying more speed than ever into the final jump section, she was thrown off course in a huge crash. It looked horrible, but thankfully she walked away, remounted, and still rode across the line. That determination sums up Hattie’s spirit.
Monika – Knocking on the Top 10
With track conditions improved, Monika raised her pace considerably compared to qualifying. She rode aggressively, executed clean lines, and even set the 3rd fastest speed-trap time. Her run put her into 12th place, just two seconds off a top-10 finish – another strong result that keeps her in touch with the very best of the women’s field.
Henry – Best Result of the Season
The men’s finals were delayed at the start, but Henry kept calm and focused. Though his first split wasn’t ideal, he built speed throughout the run and crossed the line to take the lead – holding the hot seat for quite a while. He eventually slipped down the rankings as the fastest riders came through, but still secured an impressive 30th place. This marks Henry’s best result of the season so far, and at exactly the right time heading into the final World Cups.
Wrapping Up
Four riders, four stories of grit and commitment:
Stan battling through injury to finish 23rd in his first Junior Worlds.
Hattie proving her toughness after a scary last-jump crash.
Monika knocking on the door of the top 10.
Henry delivering his season-best result with 30th place.
A huge shoutout to our riders for their effort and bravery on one of the hardest tracks in the world. And just as importantly, thank you to the whole team behind the scenes – Brig, Frazer, Pascal, Miran, Dominic, and Hampi – who kept everything running smoothly and ensured the riders were prepared to perform.
That’s it from Champéry – but we’re not done yet! The team now heads to Lenzerheide, Switzerland for the next World Cup stop. We’ll carry this momentum forward and keep pushing for big results.