Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) climbed away from the competition to take her second-consecutive World Cup XCO victory this season.
The Italian Chiara Teocchi (Orbea Factory Team) led the start loop at her home World Cup in Val di Sole, and was followed by Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon), Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker Genuins), and Linda Indergand (Linda Indergand).
Ferrand-Prévot and privateer Candice Lill quickly worked their way up to join the leaders before the first lap was over, as did Canyon’s Loana Lecomte and Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing).
On the second lap, Ferrand-Prévot, Pieterse, and Lecomte separated themselves from the rest of the pack, but the French national champion would soon drop off the pace. It didn’t take long for the world champion to put distance into Pieterse too, unbothered by the steep grades of the northern Italian mountains.
Behind, the field was shelled with riders time trialing solo or in small groups, including series leader Haley Batten.
More than three minutes eventually separated the top-10, signaling the high level of racing, and the tough climbs and technical sections of the course.
In the end, nobody could touch Ferrand-Prévot, who rode to victory by 50 seconds over Pieterse, with Lill, Lecomte, and Decathlon’s Savilia Blunk rounding out the top five.
Brief analysis
- Ferrand-Prévot’s solo ride appeared effortless, a common occurance from the multi-time world champion. The French woman is clearly on form ahead of a home-country Olympics and what may be her final season on the World Cup circuit. After Nove Mesto, she signaled that she will be racing on the road next season and all signs point to her decamping Ineos in favor of Visma-Lease a Bike.
- The French rider Lecomte has yet to find her winning form that we have seen on numerous occasions, including last year’s mud-fest at Mont-Sainte-Anne. She also won the Paris test event last year (though that was a lower-level race).
- A couple riders had trouble in the lower feed zone, getting squirrely trying to grab a bottle on uneven ground. At one point, support staff evidently did not realize the lead Ferrand-Prévot had, having to jump out of the way and to the side of the track at the last minute.
- Candice Lill is having a great season, and her third place today is a career best. The South African national champion races without any team support, showing that the privateer dream is still alive.
- With Olympic qualification complete and most national team selections made, riders are at various forms of fitness as the first half of the season leads into the Olympics.
Women’s XCO results:
- Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers)
- Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:50
- Candice Lill +1:13
- Loana Lecomte (Canyon) +1:39
- Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford) +1:50
- Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) +2:24
- Mona Mitterwallner (Cannondale Factory Racing) +3:15
- Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) +3:31
- Jenny Rissveds (31 Ibis Cycles Continental) +3:32
- Alessandra Keller (thömus Maxon) +4:03
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