A promising squad of four junior cross-country Olympic (XCO) athletes will represent the ARA Australian Cycling Team at the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Italy.
The team, selected by the AusCycling National Selection Panel, features two men and two women who will don the green and gold in Val di Sole from August 26−30.
Western Australia’s Connor Wright returns to the team, lining up for his second UCI MTB World Championships off the back of excellent results in Europe including four straight wins in the UCI XCO Junior Series, capped off with the XCC and XCO wins at Nové Město na Moravě
Earlier in the year, Wright dominated the domestic season with back-to-back titles at the GWM MTB National Championships, as well as the Oceania XCO title.
Joining him will be Oliver Grande and Alana Fletcher, who won the junior crowns in the 2026 AusCycling XCO National Series.
Grande and Fletcher both represented Australia at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships earlier this year, but August's event will mark their debut at this level of mountain biking.
Rounding out the squad is fellow debutant Freya Buckmaster, who will head to Italy as the reigning junior women’s XCO national champion.
AusCycling’s National MTB XCO coach Rob Holmgren said: "I couldn't be more excited to announce this squad heading to Val di Sole. Connor has shown he belongs at the front of international fields: back-to-back wins at Nové Město and back-to-back national titles is no accident, and I expect him to be right in the mix come race day.
“But what really excites me about this group is the depth. Oliver and Alana have both proven themselves as the best junior XCO athletes in the country this season, and the fact that they've already had World Championships experience on the cyclo-cross circuit means they won't be arriving in Italy wide-eyed. They know what it takes to compete on the world stage.
“Freya arrives as national champion, and she has all the tools to make a real impression on debut.
“This is exactly the kind of squad that builds a program. These four athletes are going to learn, compete hard, and come home better − and that investment will pay dividends for Australian mountain biking for years to come. I can't wait to watch them race."
The junior cross-country competition for the 2026 UCI MTB World Championships is scheduled for August 27.
ARA Australian Cycling Team Junior XCO squad for the 2026 UCI MTB World Championships
Men
- Oliver Grande (Canberra Off-Road Cyclists, ACT)
- Connor Wright (Ferguson Valley MTB Club, WA)
Women
- Freya Buckmaster (Shredding Betties, TAS)
- Alana Fletcher (Bendigo Mountain Bike Club, VIC)