Romanian cyclist Vlad Dascalu of Trek Factory has won his first spot on the podium in the ongoing season of the Mountain Bike World Cup, as he came in the third place on Sunday in the cross-country race (XCO) in Val-di-Sole, Italy, write Agerpres.

Winning the race was Swiss Nico Schuerter, clocking in at 1:20:22, followed 26 seconds later by his compatriot Mathias Fluckiger and 38 seconds later by Dascalu. In the XCC short track race, the Romanian was 23rd.

Dascalu, a gold medallist at the European Games in Poland in the mountain bike event, climbed to 14th place in the World Cup ranking after four stages with 425 points. Swiss Schuerter is still the leader with 848 points, followed by the France’s Jordan Sarrou (726) and South African Alan Hatherly (721).

The next stage of the World Cup takes place at Pal Arinsal, Andorra, August 25-28.

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships Mountain Bike 2023 take place in Glasgow, August 8-12.