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September 28, 2024
MTB – XCC – World Cup 2024 ME – 7 – – Lake Placid, USA 🇺🇸
As the name suggests, these races take place on shorter versions of the XCO tracks,
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September 28, 2024
MTB – XCC – World Cup 2024 ME – 7 – – Lake Placid, USA 🇺🇸
As the name suggests, these races take place on shorter versions of the XCO tracks, and are usually around 20 minutes in length. It’ll have fewer big features than the main XCO course, and is an all-out race from start to finish. The XCC kicks off the weekend of racing, taking place on the Friday evening. Short track was initially introduced to the World Cup series in 2018, when it was used to determine the start grid for the XCO race, and fed into the overall points. From 2022, the short track still determines Sunday’s start and there are points available for the XCO overall, but it also has its own overall competition.
The women’s elite XCC got the action underway on a dry short track course and it was Rio 2016 Olympic champion Jenny Risveds (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) who set the early pace. The Red Bull Rock and Roll rock garden looked like it could cause trouble with its various technical lines, but while it slowed the speed, all riders made it through with no issues.
Series leader Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) fought her way to the front, but she couldn’t get any breathing room from the chasing pack, which still numbered double figures.
Chiara Teocchi (Orbea Factory Team) and Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing) both attempted to go alone, but their surges were reeled back in before a breakaway finally appeared to have set in by lap five – Risveds, Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing), Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) and Koller gaining some ground. And when Stigger stumbled in the rock garden, Koller, Risveds and Lecomte went clear.
The new UCI XCC World Champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) wasn’t far off the pace though, bridging the gap in her first race in the rainbow jersey. The Brit had won her two previous XCC races in the US too and appeared to be winding up for an attack to claim her third.
It wasn’t to be though. Frei had also timed her tactics well and going into the final lap, she and Risveds broke clear. The pair were inseparable through the rock garden, but the Swiss rider threw down the hammer on the final climb to drop her Swedish competitor.
Risveds had no answer, with Frei soloing to the line. Behind them, Richards outsprinted Lecomte to take third.
With Puck Pietrse (Alpecin-Deceunick) not racing in North America, the series title was effectively a foregone conclusion, but Keller’s eighth confirmed it. Tomorrow, she’ll be attempting to do the same in the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup.
Speaking after the race, Sina Frei said: “It’s very nice. It’s my first UCI World Cup victory in short track and it’s very special. I tried to stay on the wheels and wait and be patient and in the last lap we just went full gas until the finish line. I felt in that moment that I had to go. I just tried it and I’m super happy that in the end I won.”
Allesandra Keller said: “It’s amazing. The overall is a big goal of mine. Consistency is one of the goals in my life. Securing the overall means a lot to me. Even today I had a pretty good race, I made one mistake that basically cost me the podium but still I’m very happy to be there again and especially to secure it one round before the finish.”
Results :
 who set the early pace. The Red Bull Rock and Roll rock garden looked like it could cause trouble with its various technical lines, but while it slowed the speed, all riders made it through with no issues.
Series leader Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) fought her way to the front, but she couldn’t get any breathing room from the chasing pack, which still numbered double figures.
Chiara Teocchi (Orbea Factory Team) and Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing) both attempted to go alone, but their surges were reeled back in before a breakaway finally appeared to have set in by lap five – Risveds, Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing), Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) and Koller gaining some ground. And when Stigger stumbled in the rock garden, Koller, Risveds and Lecomte went clear.
The new UCI XCC World Champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) wasn’t far off the pace though, bridging the gap in her first race in the rainbow jersey. The Brit had won her two previous XCC races in the US too and appeared to be winding up for an attack to claim her third.
It wasn’t to be though. Frei had also timed her tactics well and going into the final lap, she and Risveds broke clear. The pair were inseparable through the rock garden, but the Swiss rider threw down the hammer on the final climb to drop her Swedish competitor.
Risveds had no answer, with Frei soloing to the line. Behind them, Richards outsprinted Lecomte to take third.
With Puck Pietrse (Alpecin-Deceunick) not racing in North America, the series title was effectively a foregone conclusion, but Keller’s eighth confirmed it. Tomorrow, she’ll be attempting to do the same in the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup.
Speaking after the race, Sina Frei said: “It’s very nice. It’s my first UCI World Cup victory in short track and it’s very special. I tried to stay on the wheels and wait and be patient and in the last lap we just went full gas until the finish line. I felt in that moment that I had to go. I just tried it and I’m super happy that in the end I won.”
Allesandra Keller said: “It’s amazing. The overall is a big goal of mine. Consistency is one of the goals in my life. Securing the overall means a lot to me. Even today I had a pretty good race, I made one mistake that basically cost me the podium but still I’m very happy to be there again and especially to secure it one round before the finish.”
<strong>Results : </strong>
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