Leogang XCO World Cup: Domination from Pieterse, fairytale for Cink
After her dominant solo win on Friday's XCC race, Puck Pieterse was firmly in control once again in Sunday's cross-country showdown. Now in the rainbow bands of world champion, the Fenix-Deceuninck rider had a strong start, dispatching her two closest rivals Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) and Loana Lecomte (BMC) to take a half-minute lead into the third lap.
Pieterse proved especially strong uphill, eventually increasing her advantage to 50 seconds over Maxwell at the finish, with Ramona Forchini (BIXS Performance) taking a statement third place 1:26 down, and Lecomte slipping to sixth after her early efforts to follow the world champion.
In the men's race, Chris Blevins' hot streak was finally brought to an end in the Austrian mud as surprise winner Ondřej Cink (Cube Factory Racing) took victory, a first ever MTB World Cup win for the 34-year-old Czech rider, who got the better of Swiss powerhouse Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon) and compatriot Fabio Püntener in the closing laps.
Top 5 Women's XCO – Leogang
- Puck Pieterse 1:26:39
- Samara Maxwell +0:50
- Ramona Forchini +1:26
- Jolanda Neff +1:41
- Tamara Wiedmann "
Top 5 Men's XCO – Leogang
- Ondřej Cink 1:25:05
- Mathias Flückiger +0:18
- Fabio Püntener +0:27
- Mathis Azzaro +0:43
- Lars Forster +1:13
