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October 10, 2020
Mountain Bike World Championships 2020 XCO – Leogang
The 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships was held in Leogang, Austria, from 5–11 October 2020. This was the 31th edition of the most prestigious mountain bike event on the calendar,
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October 10, 2020
Mountain Bike World Championships 2020 XCO – Leogang
The 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships was held in Leogang, Austria, from 5–11 October 2020. This was the 31th edition of the most prestigious mountain bike event on the calendar, held annually since 1990, and the senior and under-23 cross-country races also functioned as a qualifier for the cross-country race at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The men’s cross-country is an event at the annual UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships. It has been held since the inaugural world championships in 1990
Jordan Sarrou completed a sweep for France at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships on Saturday in Leogang, Austria, winning the elite men’s cross-country (XCO) after his nation also won both the elite and under-23 women’s titles earlier in the day. Mathias Flueckiger (Switzerland) took the silver medal after a hard fought battle with Titouan Carod (France).
The men started with looming grey clouds and wind, but the rain held off until the race was almost over and did not impact the course. However, the mud from a week’s worth of rain made the descents slick and treacherous, with almost every rider getting into difficulty at one time or another.
Milan Vader (Netherlands) attacked on the start loop, opening small gap, but on the first of six laps, Sarrou bridged across to him. Behind, a chase group formed consisting of Henrique Avancini (Brazil), Flueckiger, Carod, Luca Braidot (Italy) and Victor Koretzky (France). Missing was defending champion Nino Schurter (Switzerland), who was never a factor in the race, eventually finishing ninth.
Sarrou and Vader rode at the front until the third lap, when Vader crashed fairly hard on a descent, chasing Sarrou. The Dutch rider got back up and going, but appeared to be shaken by his fall. He was caught by the chase group and then slid back through the field to eventually finish 23rd.
Sarrou continued to ride smoothly and powerfully throughout the race, making only small errors on the rooty descents. Staring the last lap he had over a minute lead, but almost did a face plant on a fast section of descending before backing off to ride more conservatively to the finish, 45 seconds ahead of Flueckiger.
Koretzky was the next to be dropped by the chasers, with Avancini doing a lot of the early work in the chase. However, when Flueckiger started to attack on the descents in the final two laps, the Brazilian quickly dropped off the group. Braidot was the next to get dropped, just before the start of the final lap, and then Flueckiger put in a dig on one of the last lap climbs to open a seven second gap over Carod, which he extended to ten seconds by the finish line.
Sarrou, winning his first medal at the Elite level, was emotional after his win, “I was really, really focussed and did my best in my ride. I can’t believe … I’m world champion … I’m in a dream. I have no words. I just want to thank all my crew, the mechanics, the federation, my team, the support has been huge. I just can’t believe it.”
Results :
1 Jordan Sarrou (France) 1:25:37
2 Mathias Flueckiger (Switzerland) 0:00:45
3 Titouan Carod (France) 0:00:55
4 Luca Braidot (Italy) 0:01:23
5 Ondřej Cink (Czech Republic) 0:01:37
6 Maxime Marotte (France)
7 Filippo Colombo (Switzerland) 0:02:12
8 Nadir Colledani (Italy) 0:02:29
9 Nino Schurter (Switzerland) 0:02:33
10 Henrique Avancini (Brazil) 0:02:49
11 Vlad Dascalu (Romania) 0:02:52
12 Maximilian Brandl (Germany) 0:03:14
13 David Valero Serrano (Spain) 0:03:20
14 Victor Koretzky (France) 0:03:21
15 Mirko Tabacchi (Italy) 0:03:36
16 Daniel Mcconnell (Australia) 0:03:40
17 Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Italy) 0:03:51
18 Daniele Braidot (Italy) 0:03:55
19 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spain) 0:04:01
20 Lars Forster (Switzerland) 0:04:12
21 Jan Vastl (Czech Republic) 0:04:19
22 Sebastian Fini Carstensen (Denmark) 0:04:27
23 Milan Vader (Netherlands)
24 Julian Schelb (Germany) 0:05:04
25 Martin Haring (Slovakia) 0:05:07
26 Leandre Bouchard (Canada) 0:05:08
27 Thomas Griot (France) 0:05:21
28 Matthias Stirnemann (Switzerland) 0:05:50
29 Keegan Swenson (United States Of America) 0:06:00
30 Krzysztof Lukasik (Poland) 0:06:25
31 Pierre De Froidmont (Belgium) 0:06:26
32 Simon Andreassen (Denmark) 0:06:45
33 Guilherme Gotardelo Muller (Brazil) 0:07:01
34 Maximilian Foidl (Austria) 0:07:12
35 Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spain) 0:07:20
36 Luiz Henrique Cocuzzi (Brazil) 0:07:30
37 Fabio Hernando Castañeda Monsalve (Colombia) 0:07:31
38 Andrew L’Esperance (Canada) 0:07:34
39 Anton Sintsov (Russian Federation) 0:07:44
40 Peter Disera (Canada) 0:07:46
41 Anton Cooper (New Zealand) 0:08:03
42 Jan Škarnitzl (Czech Republic) 0:08:04
43 Gregor Raggl (Austria) 0:08:14
44 Frazer Clacherty (Great Britain) 0:08:26
45 Lukas Flückiger (Switzerland) 0:08:47
46 Andri Frischknecht (Switzerland) 0:08:50
47 Alan Hatherly (South Africa)
48 Jhonatan Botero Villegas (Colombia) 0:08:51
49 Dmytro Titarenko (Ukraine) 0:09:05
50 Rok Naglič (Slovenia) 0:09:16
51 Marc Andre Fortier (Canada) 0:09:37
52 Luca Schwarzbauer (Germany) 0:09:52
53 Nicolas Delich Pardo (Chile) 0:10:07
54 Matej Ulik (Slovakia) 0:10:29
55 Lukáš Kobes (Czech Republic)
56 Georg Egger (Germany) 0:11:01
57 Raphael Auclair (Canada)
58 Filip Helta (Poland)
59 Thomas Litscher (Switzerland)
60 Fabian Costa (Austria)
61 Martin Loo (Estonia)
62 Shlomi Haimy (Israel)
63 Florian Wimmer (Austria)
64 Armin Embacher (Austria)
65 Samuel Gaze (New Zealand)
66 Jonathan Josue Quesada Castillo (Costa Rica)
67 Moritz Bscherer (Austria)
68 Ede-Karoly Molnar (Romania)
69 Zsombor Palumby (Hungary)
70 Ivan Filatov (Russian Federation)
71 Andrey Fonseca Ureña (Costa Rica)
72 Lucian Logigan (Romania)
73 Matija Meštrić (Croatia)
74 Edson Gilmar De Rezende Junior (Brazil)
75 Jaime Miranda Jaime (Mexico)
76 Volodymyr Kozlovskyy (Ukraine)
77 Aleksandar Aleksiev (Bulgaria)
78 Ingvar Omarsson (Iceland)
79 José Aurelio Hernandez De Jesus (Mexico)
80 Guy Sessler (Israel)
81 Luis Mariano Herrera (Costa Rica)
82 Carlos Miranda Jaime (Mexico)
83 Tumelo Makae (Lesotho)
84 Juliano Cocuzzi (Brazil)
85 Lachezar Angelov (Bulgaria)
DNF Pablo Rodriguez Guede (Spain)
DNF Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo (Mexico)
DNF Stephane Tempier (France)
DNF Bartlomiej Wawak (Poland)
DNS Manuel Fumic (Germany)
DNS Karl Markt (Austria)
DNS Martins Blums (Latvia)
 after his nation also won both the elite and under-23 women's titles earlier in the day. Mathias Flueckiger (Switzerland) took the silver medal after a hard fought battle with Titouan Carod (France).
The men started with looming grey clouds and wind, but the rain held off until the race was almost over and did not impact the course. However, the mud from a week's worth of rain made the descents slick and treacherous, with almost every rider getting into difficulty at one time or another.
Milan Vader (Netherlands) attacked on the start loop, opening small gap, but on the first of six laps, Sarrou bridged across to him. Behind, a chase group formed consisting of Henrique Avancini (Brazil), Flueckiger, Carod, Luca Braidot (Italy) and Victor Koretzky (France). Missing was defending champion Nino Schurter (Switzerland), who was never a factor in the race, eventually finishing ninth.
Sarrou and Vader rode at the front until the third lap, when Vader crashed fairly hard on a descent, chasing Sarrou. The Dutch rider got back up and going, but appeared to be shaken by his fall. He was caught by the chase group and then slid back through the field to eventually finish 23rd.
Sarrou continued to ride smoothly and powerfully throughout the race, making only small errors on the rooty descents. Staring the last lap he had over a minute lead, but almost did a face plant on a fast section of descending before backing off to ride more conservatively to the finish, 45 seconds ahead of Flueckiger.
Koretzky was the next to be dropped by the chasers, with Avancini doing a lot of the early work in the chase. However, when Flueckiger started to attack on the descents in the final two laps, the Brazilian quickly dropped off the group. Braidot was the next to get dropped, just before the start of the final lap, and then Flueckiger put in a dig on one of the last lap climbs to open a seven second gap over Carod, which he extended to ten seconds by the finish line.
Sarrou, winning his first medal at the Elite level, was emotional after his win, "I was really, really focussed and did my best in my ride. I can't believe ... I'm world champion ... I'm in a dream. I have no words. I just want to thank all my crew, the mechanics, the federation, my team, the support has been huge. I just can't believe it."
<strong>Results : </strong>
1 Jordan Sarrou (France) 1:25:37
2 Mathias Flueckiger (Switzerland) 0:00:45
3 Titouan Carod (France) 0:00:55
4 Luca Braidot (Italy) 0:01:23
5 Ondřej Cink (Czech Republic) 0:01:37
6 Maxime Marotte (France)
7 Filippo Colombo (Switzerland) 0:02:12
8 Nadir Colledani (Italy) 0:02:29
9 Nino Schurter (Switzerland) 0:02:33
10 Henrique Avancini (Brazil) 0:02:49
11 Vlad Dascalu (Romania) 0:02:52
12 Maximilian Brandl (Germany) 0:03:14
13 David Valero Serrano (Spain) 0:03:20
14 Victor Koretzky (France) 0:03:21
15 Mirko Tabacchi (Italy) 0:03:36
16 Daniel Mcconnell (Australia) 0:03:40
17 Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Italy) 0:03:51
18 Daniele Braidot (Italy) 0:03:55
19 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spain) 0:04:01
20 Lars Forster (Switzerland) 0:04:12
21 Jan Vastl (Czech Republic) 0:04:19
22 Sebastian Fini Carstensen (Denmark) 0:04:27
23 Milan Vader (Netherlands)
24 Julian Schelb (Germany) 0:05:04
25 Martin Haring (Slovakia) 0:05:07
26 Leandre Bouchard (Canada) 0:05:08
27 Thomas Griot (France) 0:05:21
28 Matthias Stirnemann (Switzerland) 0:05:50
29 Keegan Swenson (United States Of America) 0:06:00
30 Krzysztof Lukasik (Poland) 0:06:25
31 Pierre De Froidmont (Belgium) 0:06:26
32 Simon Andreassen (Denmark) 0:06:45
33 Guilherme Gotardelo Muller (Brazil) 0:07:01
34 Maximilian Foidl (Austria) 0:07:12
35 Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spain) 0:07:20
36 Luiz Henrique Cocuzzi (Brazil) 0:07:30
37 Fabio Hernando Castañeda Monsalve (Colombia) 0:07:31
38 Andrew L'Esperance (Canada) 0:07:34
39 Anton Sintsov (Russian Federation) 0:07:44
40 Peter Disera (Canada) 0:07:46
41 Anton Cooper (New Zealand) 0:08:03
42 Jan Škarnitzl (Czech Republic) 0:08:04
43 Gregor Raggl (Austria) 0:08:14
44 Frazer Clacherty (Great Britain) 0:08:26
45 Lukas Flückiger (Switzerland) 0:08:47
46 Andri Frischknecht (Switzerland) 0:08:50
47 Alan Hatherly (South Africa)
48 Jhonatan Botero Villegas (Colombia) 0:08:51
49 Dmytro Titarenko (Ukraine) 0:09:05
50 Rok Naglič (Slovenia) 0:09:16
51 Marc Andre Fortier (Canada) 0:09:37
52 Luca Schwarzbauer (Germany) 0:09:52
53 Nicolas Delich Pardo (Chile) 0:10:07
54 Matej Ulik (Slovakia) 0:10:29
55 Lukáš Kobes (Czech Republic)
56 Georg Egger (Germany) 0:11:01
57 Raphael Auclair (Canada)
58 Filip Helta (Poland)
59 Thomas Litscher (Switzerland)
60 Fabian Costa (Austria)
61 Martin Loo (Estonia)
62 Shlomi Haimy (Israel)
63 Florian Wimmer (Austria)
64 Armin Embacher (Austria)
65 Samuel Gaze (New Zealand)
66 Jonathan Josue Quesada Castillo (Costa Rica)
67 Moritz Bscherer (Austria)
68 Ede-Karoly Molnar (Romania)
69 Zsombor Palumby (Hungary)
70 Ivan Filatov (Russian Federation)
71 Andrey Fonseca Ureña (Costa Rica)
72 Lucian Logigan (Romania)
73 Matija Meštrić (Croatia)
74 Edson Gilmar De Rezende Junior (Brazil)
75 Jaime Miranda Jaime (Mexico)
76 Volodymyr Kozlovskyy (Ukraine)
77 Aleksandar Aleksiev (Bulgaria)
78 Ingvar Omarsson (Iceland)
79 José Aurelio Hernandez De Jesus (Mexico)
80 Guy Sessler (Israel)
81 Luis Mariano Herrera (Costa Rica)
82 Carlos Miranda Jaime (Mexico)
83 Tumelo Makae (Lesotho)
84 Juliano Cocuzzi (Brazil)
85 Lachezar Angelov (Bulgaria)
DNF Pablo Rodriguez Guede (Spain)
DNF Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo (Mexico)
DNF Stephane Tempier (France)
DNF Bartlomiej Wawak (Poland)
DNS Manuel Fumic (Germany)
DNS Karl Markt (Austria)
DNS Martins Blums (Latvia))
