The transition from the MTB season to cyclocross couldn’t have gone any better. Just a few days after securing eighth place in the XCO World Cup in Canada, Filippo Fontana claimed an overall victory in his cyclocross debut race — the Giro delle Regioni stage on Mount Zoncolan.
Things didn’t always go smoothly in XCO. An injury in the middle of a season carefully prepared down to the smallest detail was certainly not part of the plan, but Filippo still managed to wrap up a solid 2025 aboard his Olympia F1-X.
In the Elite World Cup he started off strong, taking seventh place in Nove Mesto. At Les Gets he had to settle for 31st after being slowed down by a puncture. Then, after a forced break, he came back with a satisfying 17th place in Lenzerheide, and closed the season on a high with another top ten in the Canadian round — finishing as the best Italian rider.
Adding further value to his season was his eighth-place finish at the World Championships. “Finishing eighth in an Elite World Championship was more than I expected, especially considering I started from a very far-back position,” said the C.S. Carabinieri – Olympia athlete. “Being in the top ten would already have meant a lot to me, and even more so given that I was coming back from an injury…”
“Overall, I think my XCO season was very positive — it gave me great awareness of my potential,” continued Filippo Fontana. “It made me realize that when I’m in good shape, I can get closer to my next goal: finishing fifth while racing with the best in the world. There’s still a lot of work to do, but there’s definitely room for improvement.”
In the meantime, the cyclocross program is already underway, having started on the right foot on the Zoncolan. On the calendar are several international races in Italy, the European Championship, a short break, and then two weeks of racing in Belgium over the Christmas period — before refocusing on MTB for the start of the 2026 season.
