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August 26, 2021
Mountain Bike World Championships 2021 – XCC WE – Val di Sole
For the first time since 2019, a full UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will take place this week in Val di Sole,
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August 26, 2021
Mountain Bike World Championships 2021 – XCC WE – Val di Sole
For the first time since 2019, a full UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will take place this week in Val di Sole, in the northeast of Italy. This year, the full complement of categories – junior, under-23 and elite – will race in every event. Val di Sole, in the Trentino region, is no newcomer to the top level of the sport, having hosted both the World Championships and multiple World Cups over the past two decades. Usually it is hot and dusty but weather forecasts call for temperatures in the high-teens and rain for the entire week. Nevertheless, riders will face long and steep climbs and steep, root-filled descents that will be more treacherous than usual if the expected rain does materialise. Each lap of the four-kilometre cross-county circuit includes 190 metres of elevation gain.
The first-ever world titles in the Short Track (XCC) were awarded on Thursday evening in Val di Sole, Italy. Sina Frei of Switzerland took the women’s title, to enter the history books as the first Short Track world champion, while Christopher Blevins of the United States won the men’s title, the first American man to win in a cross-country event since John Tomac in 1991 – also in Italy at Ciocco.
While the XCC has been a fixture of the World Cup for the past few years, it has been used as a qualifier for a good start position in the main XCO event. This year is the first year it is a stand-alone rainbow jersey event, and the intense action of these 20-minute races was cranked up even higher with a world title on the line.
The course featured punchy climbs in the first half before riders hit the berms of the 4-cross circuit, leading into a descent and a final 300-metre flat section of grass with a U-turn at 100 metres from the finish line.
The women’s race quickly came down to six riders – the three Swiss Olympic medalists – Frei, Linda Indergand and Olympic champion Jolanda Neff, plus Evie Richards (Great Britain), Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) and Rebecca McConnell (Australia). These six rode together until the final lap, when first McConnell and then Neff fell off the pace.
Coming into the final 250 metres, it was a battle between Frei and Richards to get the holeshot into the final 180-degree turn 100 metres from the finish line. Frei came out of the corner first, and held off Richards at the line as both riders threw their bikes. Ferrand Prevot finished just behind in third.
“In the beginning of the race I was waiting. But in the last lap I finally tried to be in the front on the last lap, but I wasn’t really sure if I could make it. I went all out, but the finish was super tight with Evie, so I was happy to win that sprint finish,” Frei said about her strategy for the win.
“My coach always tells me I spend too much time at the front, and I probably did,” admitted Richards. “It was a bit nervous out there and I wanted to stay near the front, but I was maybe too much at the front.”
Results :
1 Sina Frei (Switzerland) 0:20:11
2 Evie Richards (Great Britain)
3 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) 0:00:01
4 Linda Indergand (Switzerland) 0:00:02
5 Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) 0:00:11
6 Rebecca Mcconnell (Australia) 0:00:17
7 Iryna Popova (Ukraine) 0:00:26
8 Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) 0:00:37
9 Greta Seiwald (Italy) 0:00:41
10 Alessandra Keller (Switzerland) 0:00:42
11 Candice Lill (South Africa) 0:00:43
12 Eva Lechner (Italy) 0:00:49
13 Janika Lõiv (Estonia) 0:00:52
14 Annie Last (Great Britain) 0:00:58
15 Haley Batten (United States Of America) 0:01:01
16 Jitka Čábelická (Czech Republic) 0:01:08
17 Kelsey Urban (United States Of America) 0:01:11
18 Ramona Forchini (Switzerland) 0:01:12
19 Laurie Arseneault (Canada) 0:01:16
20 Mariske Strauss (South Africa) 0:01:18
21 Linn Gustafzzon (Sweden) 0:01:19
22 Kristina Ilina (Russian Federation) 0:01:21
23 Hannah Finchamp (United States Of America) 0:01:25
24 Nadine Rieder (Germany) 0:01:26
25 Steffi Häberlin (Switzerland) 0:01:30
26 Sandra Walter (Canada) 0:01:31
27 Elisabeth Brandau (Germany) 0:01:43
28 Viktoria Kirsanova (Russian Federation) 0:02:07
29 Janka Keseg Stevkova (Slovakia)
30 Haley Smith (Canada)
31 Jana Czeczinkarová (Czech Republic)
32 Leticia Jaqueline Soares Candido (Brazil)
33 Maria Trinidad Moreno Camus (Chile)
DNF Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Netherlands)
DNF Chiara Teocchi (Italy)
DNS Kate Courtney (United States Of America)
DNS Lea Davison (United States Of America)
DNS Nicole Koller (Switzerland)
DNS Lena Gerault (France)
 were awarded on Thursday evening in Val di Sole, Italy. Sina Frei of Switzerland took the women's title, to enter the history books as the first Short Track world champion, while Christopher Blevins of the United States won the men's title, the first American man to win in a cross-country event since John Tomac in 1991 - also in Italy at Ciocco.
While the XCC has been a fixture of the World Cup for the past few years, it has been used as a qualifier for a good start position in the main XCO event. This year is the first year it is a stand-alone rainbow jersey event, and the intense action of these 20-minute races was cranked up even higher with a world title on the line.
The course featured punchy climbs in the first half before riders hit the berms of the 4-cross circuit, leading into a descent and a final 300-metre flat section of grass with a U-turn at 100 metres from the finish line.
The women's race quickly came down to six riders - the three Swiss Olympic medalists - Frei, Linda Indergand and Olympic champion Jolanda Neff, plus Evie Richards (Great Britain), Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) and Rebecca McConnell (Australia). These six rode together until the final lap, when first McConnell and then Neff fell off the pace.
Coming into the final 250 metres, it was a battle between Frei and Richards to get the holeshot into the final 180-degree turn 100 metres from the finish line. Frei came out of the corner first, and held off Richards at the line as both riders threw their bikes. Ferrand Prevot finished just behind in third.
"In the beginning of the race I was waiting. But in the last lap I finally tried to be in the front on the last lap, but I wasn't really sure if I could make it. I went all out, but the finish was super tight with Evie, so I was happy to win that sprint finish," Frei said about her strategy for the win.
"My coach always tells me I spend too much time at the front, and I probably did," admitted Richards. "It was a bit nervous out there and I wanted to stay near the front, but I was maybe too much at the front."
<strong>Results : </strong>
1 Sina Frei (Switzerland) 0:20:11
2 Evie Richards (Great Britain)
3 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France) 0:00:01
4 Linda Indergand (Switzerland) 0:00:02
5 Jolanda Neff (Switzerland) 0:00:11
6 Rebecca Mcconnell (Australia) 0:00:17
7 Iryna Popova (Ukraine) 0:00:26
8 Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) 0:00:37
9 Greta Seiwald (Italy) 0:00:41
10 Alessandra Keller (Switzerland) 0:00:42
11 Candice Lill (South Africa) 0:00:43
12 Eva Lechner (Italy) 0:00:49
13 Janika Lõiv (Estonia) 0:00:52
14 Annie Last (Great Britain) 0:00:58
15 Haley Batten (United States Of America) 0:01:01
16 Jitka Čábelická (Czech Republic) 0:01:08
17 Kelsey Urban (United States Of America) 0:01:11
18 Ramona Forchini (Switzerland) 0:01:12
19 Laurie Arseneault (Canada) 0:01:16
20 Mariske Strauss (South Africa) 0:01:18
21 Linn Gustafzzon (Sweden) 0:01:19
22 Kristina Ilina (Russian Federation) 0:01:21
23 Hannah Finchamp (United States Of America) 0:01:25
24 Nadine Rieder (Germany) 0:01:26
25 Steffi Häberlin (Switzerland) 0:01:30
26 Sandra Walter (Canada) 0:01:31
27 Elisabeth Brandau (Germany) 0:01:43
28 Viktoria Kirsanova (Russian Federation) 0:02:07
29 Janka Keseg Stevkova (Slovakia)
30 Haley Smith (Canada)
31 Jana Czeczinkarová (Czech Republic)
32 Leticia Jaqueline Soares Candido (Brazil)
33 Maria Trinidad Moreno Camus (Chile)
DNF Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Netherlands)
DNF Chiara Teocchi (Italy)
DNS Kate Courtney (United States Of America)
DNS Lea Davison (United States Of America)
DNS Nicole Koller (Switzerland)
DNS Lena Gerault (France))
