Zermatt, Switzerland – Rebecca Henderson powered to an eighth-place finish in the elite women’s short track (XCC) race at the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, demonstrating a strong performance that saw the Australian XCC champion climb into the top 10.
Starting from the second grid, Henderson navigated a fast-paced race where Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds initially led. The Canberran steadily advanced through the field, moving from 23rd after lap one to 19th on lap two, and then into 15th by lap three. A crash within the leading group on lap five propelled Henderson into seventh place amongst the 12 riders at the front.
As a leading group of four riders established a gap on lap six, Henderson remained within 20 seconds of contention.Despite a late race flat tire for 2024 world short track champion Evie Richards,the battle for the podium intensified. Henderson maintained her pace on the final lap, finishing 39 seconds behind gold medalist Alessandra Keller of Switzerland.
Rebecca Henderson congratulates Canada’s Jennifer Jackson post race.
Earlier in the day, the U23 women’s race saw challenging, slippery conditions.Australia’s national U23 champion Ella menigoz competed in her debut XCC world championship event, fighting through the opening laps before being pulled at the halfway point, ultimately finishing 36th.
Ella Menigoz made her debut in the XCC.
Results
Women Elite XCC
🥇Alessandra Keller (SUI) 20:43
🥈 Jenny Rissveds (SWE) +0:04
🥉 Jennifer Jackson (CAN) + 0:14
8 Rebecca Henderson (AUS) +0:39
Women U23 XCC
🥇Isabella Holmgren (CAN)19:52
🥈Carla Hahn (GER) +0:20
🥉Tyler jacobs (RSA) +0:26
36 Ella Menigoz (AUS) -4lap
Full results can be found here.
Photo Credit: SWPix
