On the final day of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series at Mt Van Hoevenberg – Lake Placid, there was a party atmosphere as the Elite riders took to the full course for the Olympic World Cup cross-country (XCO) UCI.
Source: UCI press release
In warm, dry conditions, both the men's and women's Elite XCO races were hot from the start. But the fast, wide course had the opposite effect to what had happened in the U23 races 24 hours earlier, with large groups of riders staying together until the end.
Both would end in sprint finishes, with Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) and Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) taking the win for Specialized in the Elite category at Mt Van Hoevenberg – Lake Placid.
STIGGER SPRINTS OUT TEAM-MATE FREI TO WIN RANKING RACE
Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) overcame what looked like a mid-race crisis to sprint past teammate Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) at the finish line for the American team’s third Elite victory of the weekend.
Candice Lill set the early pace with a lead group that included Loane Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV XCO), Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Stigger, while series leader Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) and Frei were not far behind.
On the long, grueling climb at the start of each lap, Lill would always lead, extending her lead, but the group would soon rejoin as the riders converged on the descents and rock gardens that dotted the second half.
The leading group was shrinking lap by lap, however. First it was Keller who was dropped, while on lap four, home favourite Blunk lost some metres after Stigger and Lecomte went on the offensive.
And then on the penultimate lap, it looked like Stigger’s race was over: the Austrian was unable to keep pace with Lill and Lecomte as they pulled away on the climb. The Frenchwoman and 10-time UCI XCO World Cup winner appeared to have created a significant gap between herself and Lill, and as she crossed the start-finish straight for the final time, her seven-second lead looked set to only grow.
The chasing group of Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker Racing Team), Stigger and Frei did not let up. Although the Australian was dropped early, Stigger and Frei soon regrouped with Lecomte and Lill ready for the final sprint.
Stigger had other ideas. Mirroring Frei’s winning attack the day before, the Austrian exploded out of the pits with Frei right behind, while Lecomte failed to respond. In a two-man sprint, Stigger did enough to stay ahead of Frei, denying the Swiss rider an XCC-XCO double, although her teammates didn’t seem to mind as they celebrated together after crossing the line.
In the overall standings, Keller has one hand on the series title: the Swiss rider already crowned the overall XCC winner yesterday with one round still to go.
The 2022 series overall winner currently has a 322-point lead over runner-up Blunk and, with 330 points up for grabs, she effectively only needs to finish 35th to secure the series double.
STANDINGS
| 1. |  | STIGGER Laura (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) | 1:18:36 |
| 2. |  | FREI Sina (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) | 1:18:36 |
| 3. |  | LECOMTE Loana (CANYON CLLCTV XCO) | 1:18:40 +4 |
| 4. |  | LILL Candice | 1:18:40 +4 |
| 5. |  | HENDERSON Rebecca (PRIMAFLOR MONDRAKER RACING TEAM) | 1:19:02 +26 |
| 6. |  | BLUNK Savilia (DECATHLON FORD RACING TEAM) | 1:19:27 +51 |
| 7. |  | Risveds Jenny (TEAM 31 IBIS CYCLES CONTINENTAL) | 1:19:57 + 1: 21 |
| 8. | | KOLLER Nicole (GHOST FACTORY RACING) | 1:20:29 + 1: 53 |
| 9. | | KELLER Alexandra (THOMUS MAXON) | 1:20:37 + 2: 01 |
| 10. | | HABERLIN Steffi (TEAM BMC) | 1:21:00 + 2: 24 |
GENERAL WORLD CUP
KORETZKY SCORES A BRACE
After a fast-paced and intense battle for the women's XCO, fans were treated to the same thing in the men's final.
Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Victor Koretzky set the early pace, but by the time the peloton crossed the start-finish straight for the first time, the lead group still numbered more than 20 riders. The first flashpoint was a big crash by Martín Vidaurre (Specialized Factory Racing): the Chilean fell to the ground in the first rock garden on the second lap, his bike narrowly missing teammate Kortezky as he went flying through the air. Although he remounted, he quickly stopped and appeared to be suffering from a broken collarbone.
At each climb, another rider took the baton: Mathis Azzaro (Decathlon Ford Racing Team), Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team), Marcel Guerrini (BIXS Performance Race Team), but none of them managed to make the attacks last.
And then disaster struck for Hatherly. Halfway through the fourth lap, the new UCI XCO World Champion punctured his rear wheel. Luckily for the South African, he was close to the technical zone. But it wasn’t ideal.
By the end of lap 26, he was back up to XNUMXth, but on such a fast course, it would take a lot of legwork to get back into contention. The next lap, it was Schurter's turn to suffer bad luck in the same spot.
At the front, the group appeared to have shrunk to five during the sixth lap, but with two to go, it had swelled again to 11, including Hatherly.
Eleven became nine by the start of the final lap, and in the final long race, it was Colombo who set the pace. Koretzky was firmly locked into his wheel, but the pace was too high for three riders, including local favorite Chris Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing).
Just like the women’s race, the sprints started in the final technical zone, and it was Colombo who looked strong and in control. But Koretzky showed why he is the UCI XCC World Champion, giving it his all and outsprinting everyone on the line to claim the double, his first since Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) in 2023.
The result means the men's overall standings go to the final in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, but like Keller, Hatherly has a nearly unassailable lead.
The UCI XCO World Champion currently has a 259-point lead over runner-up Koretzky, with Colombo (1085 points) the only other rider in attacking distance.
STANDINGS
| 1. | | KORETZKY Victor (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) | 1:22:17 |
| 2. | | HATHERLY Alan (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) | 1:22:18 +1 |
| 3. | | COLUMBUS Philip (SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING TEAM) | 1:22:18 +1 |
| 4. | | GUERRINI Marcel (BIXS PERFORMANCE RACE TEAM) | 1:22:18 +1 |
| 5. | | FLÜCKIGER Mathias (THOMUS MAXON) | 1:22:20 +3 |
| 6. | | BLEVINS Christopher (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) | 1:22:21 +4 |
| 7. |  | BRAIDOT Luke (SANTA CRUZ ROCKSHOX PRO TEAM) | 1:22:23 +6 |
| 8. |  | LIST David (LEXWARE MOUNTAINBIKE TEAM) | 1:22:30 +13 |
| 9. |  | ANDREASSEN Simon (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) | 1:22:34 +17 |
| 10. | | FORSTER Lars (THOMUS MAXON) | 1:23:08 +51 |
GENERAL WORLD CUP
