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While many eyes last Sunday were on the Tour de France’s gravel stage in Troyes, there was another major off-road event happening 400 km southeast as the Mountain Bike World Cup stopped in the Alpine ski town of Les Gets for the final showdown for the athletes ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.
Summer rain storms saturated the course, similar to the last round in Crans-Montana, causing slimy conditions for the women’s race that was won by Puck Pieterse. The course dried out a bit for the men’s race, which saw Alan Hatherly ride to his first World Cup XCO victory.
Enjoy these shots from the day from photographer Piper Albrecht.
Les Gets brings a stunning mountainous backdrop to the racing action. Rain or shine, umbrella holder is an important role at the start line.Trek Factory’s Gwendalyn Gibson was out with injury earlier this season, but she appears poised for a big result any race now.Standing still to flat out in an instant.Yet another peloton in France goes off-road, but this one stays there.Primaflor-Mondraker rider Rebecca Henderson’s Aussie champ stripes add some color to an otherwise gloomy day.Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) went solo early on and remained focused through the race.Mud sprays off Candice Lill’s tires as she navigates one of the hardest corners on course. The 32-year-old privateer and five-time African Continental champion is having arguably her finest season ever; her second-place finish at Les Gets was a career best.Savilia Blunk (Decathlon-Ford) trails Henderson through the bike park berms section.Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) found the front early on but ultimately finished in 15th.Blunk was the top American finisher in seventh place.Team 31-Ibis’ Zoe Cuthbert takes a berm on the lower part of the course.Pieterse’s winning form is looking promising ahead of Paris.Pieterse was joined on the podium by Lill, Alessandra Keller, Jenny Rissveds, and Anne Terpstra.The elite men take the line.Cannondale Factory hit the front early with Simon Andreassen, Charlie Aldridge, and Alan Hatherly setting the pace.Martin Vidaurre (Specialized Factory) started fast but ultimately faded to 13th.This steep drop-in caused trouble for multiple riders, including Fabio Püntener of Bike Team Solothurn.XCO involves not only staying on your bike, but avoiding others who have fallen off, as this KMC rider skillfully demonstrates.Primaflor-Mondraker’s Ondrej Cink finding flow in the French forest.And here he navigates the greasy, grassy corner.Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory) had a run-in with the ground, as demonstrated by the dirt on his right side.Hatherly disappeared up the trail and clearly had the best legs and tactics.Mathias Flückiger (Thömus maxon) rode solo most of the day, holding off the chasers for the second step on the podium.Santa Cruz-Rock Shox’s Luca Braidot on his way to fourth place on the day.The powerful Sam Gaze took 6th place for Alpecin-Deceuninck.The French Decathlon-Ford team sported a fresh kit for their home race, modeled here by Maxime Marotte.Flückiger on his way to clock out after a strong day in the office.Hatherly finally finds a win.Andreassen, in third, joined Hatherly on the podium after a great showing from the Cannondale riders.Hatherly takes the XCO series lead with two races remaining, and Paris waiting.
