Friday, March 8, 2025 – Morgins (Switzerland) The final day of the ISMF 2025 World Championships ended on a high note. This morning, the Team Race took center stage in Morgins.
Competing per team of 2, athletes tackled a long and technical course (detailed below) of over 2000m D+. Teamwork, endurance, and experience were key factors in this demanding format, which saw France shine with victories in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Axelle Gachet Mollaret and Célia Périllat-Pessey claimed the women’s title, while William Bon Mardion and Xavier Gachet dominated the men’s race, securing the gold medal for France. Check out the full results, along with links to photos, highlights, and summaries.
Women Race highlights
12 teams representing 8 nations lined up at the start.
Only one of the 2023 defending champions was present: Axelle Gachet Mollaret, who teamed up with Célia Périllat-Pessey, as Emily Harrop opted to take a break after a demanding week, having already competed and succeeded in four other races.
Right from the start, the French duo took the lead, but the Italian team composed by Alba De Silvestro and Lisa Moreschini stayed close behind, constantly posing a threat to overtake them at any moment.
Ultimately, Axelle Gachet Mollaret and Célia Périllat-Pessey held their ground and secured the victory, with four Italian athletes finishing behind them. Giulia Compagnoni and Ilaria Veronese completed the podium, earning the bronze medal.
The French cousins Lena and Lorna Bonnel finished in fourth place, ahead of the Swiss athletes Thibe Deseyn and Caroline Ulrich, who delivered great performances all the week.
Winner Reactions:
Axelle Gachet Mollaret: “We knew we couldn’t afford any mistakes with the Italians right behind us. But that’s exactly what I love about team races – you can push yourself even harder than when racing solo. This format means a lot to me. Célia made a big sacrifice by skipping the Individual race to be in top form today. I’m really happy to share this victory with her.”
Célia Périllat-Pessey: “Axelle was incredible – I knew it would be tough, and I signed up for that! Throughout the race, I kept thinking: ‘For gold, for Axelle.’ I knew the Italians could close the gap in the descents. We fought until the very end!”
Top 5 Results:
Périllat-Pessey Célia / Gachet Mollaret Axelle (2:20:46.8)
De Silvestro Alba / Moreschini Lisa (2:22:04.6)
Compagnoni Giulia / Veronese Ilaria (2:26:01.6)
Bonnel Lena / Bonnel Lorna (2:27:43.2)
Deseyn Thibe / Ulrich Caroline (2:38:06.8)
Men Race highlights
26 teams from 19 nations lined up for an intense battle.
The defending champions, Italy’s Robert Antonioli and Matteo Eydallin, were present on the start line, as well as the French duo Xavier Gachet and William Bon Mardion, silver medalists in 2023, and the Swiss team Rémi Bonnet and Aurélien Gay, supported by the Swiss crowd.
At the start, the Swiss took the lead, closely followed by two French teams (Gachet/Bon Mardion and Equy/Jacquemoud) and two Italian teams Oberbacher/Sostizzo and Boscacci/Magnini.
At the first checkpoint, the leading teams were tightly packed, with the two French teams out front, followed by the Swiss and the Italians. The gaps remained minimal at the second checkpoint, with the French still in the lead and the Italians moving up to third place ahead of the Swiss.
In the final section, the Swiss surged into second place, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Xavier Gachet and William Bon Mardion, who crossed the finish line with a 51-second lead. Completing the podium with bronze was the other French team composed by Samuel Equy and Mathéo Jacquemoud, followed by the Italians and yet another French team.
A notable event was the withdrawal of the defending champions, Robert Antonioli and Matteo Eydallin, after one of his skis broke during a downhill section.
Winner Reactions:
William Bon Mardion: “The race started really fast with the Swiss pushing the pace. I struggled a bit in the first climb, and it was tight all the way. We only had a 30-second lead at the summit of the last downhill. It was a real battle with four teams who could possibly win until the very end.”
Xavier Gachet: “In 2008, we were still juniors, watching the Beaufortain athletes win the team race. Since 2015, William and I have been competing in this format together. Winning today is an incredible achievement.”
Top 5 Results:
Gachet Xavier / Bon Mardion William (2:12:42.1)
Bonnet Rémi / Gay Aurélien (2:13:33.4)
Equy Samuel / Jacquemoud Mathéo (2:13:42.4)
Oberbacher Alex / Sostizzo Matteo (2:14:29.4)
Verbnjak Paul / Oberauer Nils (2:20:13.5)
ISMF World Championships 2025 Morgins – Team track Women: 2,040 m D+ / 2,210 m D-
Men: 2,350 m D+ / 2,520 m D-
Overall rankings & Olympic qualifications
As these 2025 World Championships come to an end, France finishes in first place overall, ahead of Switzerland and Italy (these rankings take into account all races across all categories – Senior, U23, U20 and U18). On the Olympic qualification side, France has secured 4 quota spots (two in the Mixed Relay and two in the Sprint), Spain has earned 3 quota spots (two in the Mixed Relay and one in the Sprint), and Switzerland has secured 1 spot (in the Sprint). There is a total of 36 quota spot for Milano-Cortina 2026.
Upcoming ISMF competitions:
ISMF World Cups
14-15 March 2025 – Schladming, AUT – Vertical & Sprint
20-22 March 2025 – Val Martello, ITA – Individual & Mixed Relay
4-5 April 2025 – Villars-sur-Ollon, SUI – Mixed Relay & Sprint
10-13 April 2025 – Tromsø, NOR – Vertical, Sprint & Individual
ISMF Youth World Cups
26-30 March 2025 – Puy-Saint-Vincent Pelvoux, FRA – Sprint, Mixed Relay, Individual & Vertical
