Rainbow jerseys shine in São Paulo while Klemencic and Fromberger retain overall lead

5 rounds for the 2025 UCI MTB Eliminator World Cup down, 1 to go!

5 down, 1 to go! In the penultimate round of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup in São Paulo, Brazil, UCI World Champions Edvin Lindh (SWE) and Mariia Sukhopalova (UKR) stormed to their first victories in their new rainbow jerseys. Home riders Luiz Cocuzzi and Marcela Lima delighted the Brazilian fans with podium spots, while Jakob Klemencic (SLO) and Marion Fromberger (GER) held on to their UCI World Cup leader’s jerseys.

Racing in a metropolis like São Paulo is always special. The Brazilian city of millions featured a unique mix of natural and artificial obstacles, and once again brought a clash between Europe’s eliminator stars and a powerful South American line-up.

One of the big European names didn’t make it past the qualifying time trials: Simon Gegenheimer suffered a mechanical and dropped out of the top 3 in the overall standings. Pre-race favorites Ede-Karoly Molnar and overall leader Klemencic also missed the big finals. Molnar was eliminated after a spectacular quarterfinal, while Klemencic was knocked out in the semifinals.

Edvin Lindh, on the other hand, won the qualifiers once again and never left the top spot. After taking both his quarterfinal and semifinal, the Swede dominated the big final from start to finish. In a thrilling fight for the podium, Pan-American champion Luiz Cocuzzi took second to the delight of the home crowd, Dutch champion Jeroen van Eck finished third, while a mechanical spoiled Lorenzo Serres’ race.

In the women’s category, it was Mariia Sukhopalova who delivered a flawless performance. After winning the time trial, the rising Ukrainian star stayed in control throughout the heats. In a hotly contested big final, overall leader Marion Fromberger powered into the lead on the start lap, but halfway through, Sukhopalova made her move. She went on to take her second victory of the 2025 UCI World Cup season. Fromberger finished second, while home riders Marcela Lima and Luiza Cocuzzi claimed third and fourth.

Mariia Sukhopalova: “This is my second win in the World Cup, and it feels so good to be back on the top of the podium. My goal today was giving everything I had, without risks – and I did! The track here is so fast: actually it’s not really my track, but now I think I must like it!”

Edvin Lindh: “Finally: I was afraid that I wouldn’t do any really good World Cup races this year. I really wanted to step on top of the podium, especially now that I have the rainbow jersey. I am so amazingly happy that it actually happened today. To be honest, it was a really tough day for me, so I just went on pure mental mode!”

With only one round left, all eyes turn to the Grand Finale in Barcelona, Spain on October 11. That’s where the final UCI World Cup winners will be crowned. In the women’s competition, Fromberger holds a convincing 140-point lead over Sukhopalova. Among the men, Klemencic still feels the pressure from Van Eck and Lindh, both within 75 points of the overall lead.

Results

Men’s results – UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup São Paulo

1. Edvin Lindh (SWE)
2. Luiz Cocuzzi (BRA)
3. Jeroen van Eck (NED)
4. Lorenzo Serres (FRA)
5. Jakob Klemencic (SLO)

Women’s results – UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup São Paulo

1. Mariia Sukhopalova (UKR)
2. Marion Fromberger (GER)
3. Marcela Lima (BRA)
4. Luiza Cocuzzi (BRA)
5. Didi de Vries (NED)

FULL RESULTS

Standings

Men’s UCI World Cup standings after São Paulo

1. Jakob Klemencic (SLO) – 389 points
2. Jeroen van Eck (NED) – 319
3. Edvin Lindh (SWE) – 315
4. Lorenzo Serres (FRA) – 265
5. Simon Gegenheimer (GER) – 251

Women’s UCI World Cup standings after São Paulo

1. Marion Fromberger (GER) – 505 points
2. Mariia Sukhopalova (UKR) – 365
3. Didi de Vries (NED) – 287
4. Adela Pernicka (CZE) – 175
5. Madison Boissière (FRA) – 148

FULL STANDINGS