In the final round of the Olympic XCO World Cup before the Olympics, Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) sent out strong signals. Pieterse attacked on the opening lap and took the win by more than two minutes over Candice Lill. Hatherly left the competition behind halfway through the race to take the win solo, crossing the line 91 seconds ahead of Val di Sole runner-up Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon).
Ready/go and Cannondale Factory Racing immediately took the lead with Hatherly, Aldridge Andreassen setting the pace. Daniele Braidot (CS Carabinier – Cicli Olympia) also started very strong, moving into the top positions while his brother Luca (Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team) was a bit more careful.
During the race Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) also moved up the group and showed himself ready to challenge for the victory. But halfway through the race the South African Hatherly took the lead, demonstrating today that he has an edge.
In the last third of the race, Avondetto and Braidot try to get back on Hatherly, who leads the race over the Swiss Fluckiger, also solo but not brilliant in closing the gap. In the race for third place, Braidot accelerated with only Avondetto and Andreasson able to respond while Gaze lost a few meters due to a slide on the downhill.
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1. |  | HATHERLY Alan (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) | 1:23:14 |
| 2. |  | FLÜCKIGER Mathias (THOMUS MAXON) | 1:24:45 + 1: 31 |
| 3. |  | ANDREASSEN Simon (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) | 1:25:16 + 2: 02 |
| 4. |  | BRAIDOT Luke (SANTA CRUZ ROCKSHOX PRO TEAM) | 1:25:19 + 2: 05 |
| 5. | | AVONDETTO Simone (WILIER-VITTORIA FACTORY TEAM XCO) | 1:25:33 + 2: 19 |
| 6. |  | GAZE Samuel (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) | 1:25:52 + 2: 38 |
| 7. |  | SCHWARZBAUER Luke (CANYON CLLCTV XCO) | 1:26:02 + 2: 48 |
| 8. |  | CULLELL ESTAPE Jofre (BH COLOMA TEAM) | 1:26:04 + 2: 50 |
| 9. |  | PHILIPP Antoine (BOULDERS) | 1:26:06 + 2: 52 |
| 10. | | COLLEDANI Nadir (SANTA CRUZ ROCKSHOX PRO TEAM) | 1:26:09 + 2: 55 |
GENERAL WORLD CUP
