Rising star Connor Wright has further stamped his lofty potential by winning the junior cross-country Olympic (XCO) world championship in Val di Sole, Italy.
The 18-year-old Western Australian stormed to a rainbow jersey and gold medal at the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, besting his nearest rival by one minute and sixteen seconds after five laps of the Trentino course.
"It's crazy. I've been dreaming of this for a long time," Wright said.
"I've always looked up to the likes of Nino Schurter and watching them win world champs and ... Cam Wright as well.
"Last year was my first crack at getting rainbows and I had some mistakes in that race, but I've learned a lot from last year and coming into this year, I had a lot more support as well with the Tudor Pro Cycling Team.
"And AusCycling have been amazing. We’ve managed to do lots of Junior World Series races to get lots of points and I had a front row start.
"Everything was perfect. Legs felt good and the mind was in the right place and all I had left to do was execute it and I’m super happy with how the race played out."
The Burekup talent soaked up the early pace setting by Frenchman Noa Filippi and Austrian Michael Hettegger before powering clear on the third lap.
From there, Wright continued to extend his advantage and cruised home for a solo, jubilant moment at the finish with ARA Australian Cycling Team staff, family and friends.
"The French were going really hard at the start, but I managed to stay calm and composed and take my opportunity where I thought it was best," Wright said.
"I think it was the second or third lap, not too sure. But I attacked into the main singletrack climb and when I got down, I didn't even look back.
"I got down to the tech zone and Dom my mechanic said I had 20 seconds.
"I was like, 'oh so we're on, righto, we’ll go from here', and I just rode my own race from then.
"Managed to blow out the gap to about a minute ... it was awesome. I was really taking in that last lap with the crowd.
"It was a surreal moment coming to the finish with all my family here. It was crazy. It was something I'll never forget."
Feature picture: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com