Mountain Bike World Championships 2020 [FULL RACE – XCO] (ladies)

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

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (France) became the first woman to successfully defend the Elite Women Cross Country title at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships since her French compatriot Julie Bresset in 2012-13, with a dominating victory on Saturday in Leogang, Austria. Eva Lechner (Italy) outsprinted Rebecca McConnell (Australia) for second place.

While the expected rain held off, the course was still extremely wet and muddy, making the uphills slow in the sticky mud and the downhills slick and treacherous, with almost every rider going down at some point.

Ferrand Prevot rode away from the rest of the field on the start loop, never to be seen again. Besides her obvious strength on the climbs, Ferrand Prevot was riding the technical descents better than anyone, increasing her lead by as much as 30 seconds per lap, to beat Lechner and McConnell by a massive three minutes-plus.

The real battle was for silver. McConnell took control of second place on the start loop and looked to have it wrapped up in the early laps, with a significant gap over Lechner, Sina Frei (Switzerland), and Yana Belomoina (Ukraine). Belomoina had a problem with her dropper post and had to have it replaced in the pits, eventually finishing seventh. The 2018 world champion, Kate Courtney (USA) also had mechanical issues, eventually dropping out.

Lechner and Frei fought for the bronze medal position through the first four laps, with Lechner stronger on the climbs and Frei bringing her back in the technical sections. However, Frei began to tire in the last lap and a half, as did McConnell, enabling Lechner to drop the Swiss rider and close in on the Australian. The last lap was a see-saw battle for silver, with McConnell pulling away, only to crash on one of the final descents, allowing Lechner to catch up in the last 100 metres, with the Italian taking silver in a bike throw. McConnell had to settle for bronze, the same position she finished in last year.

For Ferrand Prevot, it was the third elite XC title of her career, putting in her in a select club of Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway (4 titles), Alison Sydor of Canada (3 titles) and Margarita Fullana of Spain (3).

“I feel great,” said Ferrand Prevot. “It was an amazing race. I wanted to have a good start because I knew on the uphills and downhills it would be a bit hectic in a group. I wanted to go solo but didn’t expect to have such a big gap. It was good to have a good gap because of the possibility of a mechanical or a crash; something can always happen. I wanted to be safe until the end, and this way I could keep calm and ride a good pace. It’s great to be able to defend the jersey, and I’m super happy to ride another year with the world champion’s jersey because I really like it. It’s a good day for France, with the Under-23 women’s title also for Loana Lecomte.”

Results :
1 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) 1:27:33
2 Eva Lechner (Italy) 0:03:01
3 Rebecca Mcconnell (Australia)
4 Sina Frei (Switzerland) 0:03:46
5 Isla Short (Great Britain) 0:04:17
6 Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) 0:04:46
7 Yana Belomoina (Ukraine) 0:05:28
8 Maja Wloszczowska (Poland) 0:05:44
9 Tanja Žakelj (Slovenia) 0:06:12
10 Alessandra Keller (Switzerland) 0:06:25
11 Jitka Čábelická (Czech Republic) 0:07:36
12 Malene Degn (Denmark) 0:07:49
13 Evie Richards (Great Britain) 0:08:11
14 Lena Gerault (France) 0:08:36
15 Linda Indergand (Switzerland) 0:08:44
16 Nicole Koller (Switzerland) 0:08:51
17 Erin Huck (United States Of America) 0:08:52
18 Nadine Rieder (Germany) 0:09:25
19 Katarzyna Solus-Miskowicz (Poland) 0:09:38
20 Janika Lõiv (Estonia) 0:10:27
21 Anne Tauber (Netherlands) 0:10:35
22 Rocio Del Alba Garcia Martinez (Spain) 0:10:40
23 Daniela Campuzano Chavez Peon (Mexico) 0:11:26
24 Elisabeth Osl (Austria) 0:11:33
25 Githa Michiels (Belgium) 0:12:14
26 Sofia Gomez Villafane (Argentina) 0:12:21
27 Emily Batty (Canada) 0:12:31
28 Jennifer Jackson (Canada) 0:12:44
29 Haley Smith (Canada)
30 Cherie Redecker (South Africa)
31 Jana Czeczinkarová (Czech Republic)
32 Antonia Daubermann (Germany)
33 Maghalie Rochette (Canada)
34 Julie Bresset (France)
35 Karla Štěpánová (Czech Republic)
36 Sophie Von Berswordt (Netherlands)
37 Candice Lill (South Africa)
38 Elisabeth Brandau (Germany)
39 Vera Medvedeva (Russian Federation)
40 Mari-Liis Mõttus (Estonia)
41 Barbara Benkó (Hungary)
42 Janka Keseg Stevkova (Slovakia)
43 Kim Anika Ames (Germany)
44 Nadja Heigl (Austria)
45 Raiza Goulao Henrique (Brazil)
46 Gabriela Wojtyla (Poland)
47 Iryna Slobodyan (Ukraine)
48 Mariske Strauss (South Africa)
49 Leticia Jaqueline Soares Candido (Brazil)
50 Adriana Maria Rojas Cubero (Costa Rica)
51 Aleksandra Podgorska (Poland)
52 Monica Vega Torres (Mexico)
53 Jovana Crnogorac (Serbia)
54 Josefina Casadey (Argentina)
55 Maaris Meier (Estonia)
DNF Kate Courtney (United States Of America)
DNF Jenny Rissveds (Sweden)
DNF Anne Terpstra (Netherlands)
DNF Fabienne Schaus (Luxembourg)
DNS Annika Langvad (Denmark)