Riding a prototype Anthem race bike, Hatherly started in the second row and worked his way through a chaotic start to latch onto the back of the front group. On the third of eight laps, the recently crowned world champion attacked the leaders, went clear and never looked back, methodically extending his lead to over 70 seconds on the final lap.
“For the first few laps, I was just making my way to a good position in the front, just to avoid the stretch,” Hatherly said. “I saw the guys who were a bit gassed from pushing the laps early on. I think this was the perfect opportunity to just test the boys and see who had the legs today, and luckily I was able to get away and do my thing and time trial to the finish.”
However the win didn’t come without suspense, as Hatherly was forced to dismount twice on the final lap due to chain issues—the second time in the final few hundred meters of the course. The South African kept composed and finished with a comfortable lead, ultimately winning by 32 seconds ahead of British rider Charlie Aldridge in a time of 1:20:23.
“I'm not quite sure what happened,” Hatherly said. “I dropped the chain. It’s never happened before, so I guess it's one of those fluke things that happens. Fortunately the gap was big enough, and I was able to seal the deal.”
Further back, Giant Factory Off-Road Team rider Dario Lillo had a top-20 finish at 18th, 2:58 off Hatherly’s winning time.
It was a satisfying victory for Hatherly, who won an under-23 world championship in Lenzerheide in 2018, but had never won an elite World Cup at the hallowed Swiss venue, finishing second in his last two attempts.
Hatherly ends his World Cup season on top, as he next heads to the Tour of Guangxi stage race with Giant’s WorldTour road racing partner Team Jayco AlUla, ending his 2025 race calendar as it started as he strives toward major victories in both disciplines.
“It's been a challenging year,” Hatherly said. “I think combining both the road and mountain bike has come with its challenges, but I think that was kind of the main point of venturing towards the road this season. I'm just really happy that I was able to show what I've been doing on the road now on the mountain bike.
"It took quite a bit to transition across to the mountain bike, but I’m really happy that it came at the perfect time of the year. To get the rainbow jersey last week and to do it justice this weekend, this is really special. And yeah, unfortunately, this is my last World Cup of the season, but to go out on a high is enough for me.”
In downhill World Cup racing at Lenzerheide, the Giant Factory Off-Road Team placed two riders in the top 10, with Rémi Thirion finishing sixth, just 1.752 off the winning time, and Luke Meier-Smith finishing 10th, just 2.342 behind the winner. Both riders raced aboard their Glory Advanced DH bikes.
