Highlights: World Cup Short Track – Soldier Hollow, USA
Berta and Gaze take the wins
This weekend the World Cup XC squads dropped into Soldier Hollow in the USA for the penultimate round of the 2026 season. The Short Track loop was wide and fast with little in the way of technicality to separate the field, which made for close racing. Here’s a recap and race highlights.
Elite Women’s Race
Martina Berta launched her winning move on the penultimate lap. The gap briefly shrank, but hesitation in the chase gave the Italian the breathing room she needed. She held on for a six-second victory over Alessandra Keller, with Sina Frei taking third. The race had been tightly controlled through the opening laps, with Jolanda Neff, Gwendalyn Gibson and Haley Batten among the early protagonists. But Berta’s attack shattered the stalemate, earning her an XCC World Cup victory. Candice Lill crossed the line in 12th place.
Elite Men’s Race
A perfectly timed sprint saw Sam Gaze explode by Charlie Aldridge and Luca Martin to clinch the win in the men’s race. From the start, Martin and Aldridge sparked the action, with Mathis Azzaro marking Martin closely in the battle for the overall. Many threatened with escapes but the rolling speed of the race brought them back. On the final lap, a touch of wheels took Cole Punchard and Martin Vidaurre out of the running. Gaze, meanwhile, had stayed out of trouble and conserved his energy. He waited until the finishing straight to show his form, hitting the front for the first time exactly when it mattered, in the final meters of the race to take the win. Luke Moir placed 36th.