Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Sam Gaze powered their way to short-track cross country victories at the Mountain Bike World Championships Thursday, successfully defending the rainbow jerseys that both riders won last year.
Though Scotland is known as being a wet and rainy locale, the weather held out at the Glentress Forest venue making for dry and fast conditions.
The men’s field set off first with Latvian Martins Blums leading early on along with Gaze of New Zealand and Henrique Avancini. The Brazilian was looking strong after taking the marathon cross country title last weekend, but he would later drop back from the front of the group and eventually abandon the race with a few laps to go.
Gaze was eager to control the front along with short track specialist Luca Schwarzbauer of Germany. Victor Koretzky also kept himself in the top five for much of the race. A lack of particularly long or steep climbs or technical sections made for a tactical race that did not play out to be very selective.
Tom Pidcock moved his way toward the front midway through the race, buoyed by racing in front of home crowds in the UK.
During the final lap, Gaze put in the decisive move on the uphill section, looking to avoid an all-out sprint finish. He opened up a small gap with Koretzky following and Schwarzbauer sitting in third wheel.
Heading into the final corner, Pidcock came inside of Schwarzbauer and got to the corner first, while the German rubbed wheels and hit the deck. Gaze maintained his lead against a fast-charging Koretzky, winning by a bit less than a wheel’s length while Pidcock rolled in for third-place.
In the women’s race, Martina Berta grabbed the hole shot followed by Puck Pieterse and home favorite Evie Richards, with Ferrand-Prévot and Rebecca Henderson also in contact. Much to the UK crowd’s excitement, Richards took a big pull on the third lap and kept the pace strong throughout the race.
As the race progressed, Pieterse, Henderson, Ferrand-Prévot, and Richards looked the strongest, with Alessandra Keller and Gwendalyn Gibson joining to form an elite group of six. Sina Frei had a freak crash in the start/finish chute, potentially helping solidify the split, though American Savilia Blunk and Switzerland’s Steffi Heberlin gave valiant chase.
Richards pushed the pace again on the penultimate lap, stringing out the group with the Dutch World Cup leader Pieterse and Ferrand-Prévot following.
The Frenchwoman waited until the final climb to put in a nuclear attack, bolstering her chances by getting a gap of numerous bike lengths. She had enough time to sit up and soak in her second-consecutive Worlds XCC victory as Pieterse rolled in for second and Richards placed third.
Elite Men’s XCC Results
- Samuel Gaze (NZL) 20:27
- Victor Koretzy (FRA) @ same time
- Thomas Pidcock (GBR) @ :02
- Alan Hatherly (RSA) @ :04
- Sebastian Fini (DEN) @ :05
- Martins Blums (LAT) @ :08
- Jofre Cullell (ESP)
- Thomas Litscher (SUI) both same time
- Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) @ :09
- Anton Cooper (NZL) @ :11
Elite Women’s XCC Results
- Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) 21:17
- Puck Pieterse (NED) @ :04
- Evie Richards (GBR) @ :09
- Gwendalyn Gibson (USA) @ :15
- Rebecca Henderson (AUS) @ :20
- Alessandra Keller (SUI) @ :25
- Steffi Haberlin (SUI) @ :38
- Savilia Blunk (USA) @ :44
- Jolanda Neff (SUI) @ :49
- Anne Tauber (NED) @ :57
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