Cross-country short track: Keller and Flückiger dominated
With temperatures well over 30°C, Alessandra Keller from Switzerland stood out on the dusty course that had somewhat reduced visibility. Going into the penultimate lap, Keller and Linda Indergand had a sizeable lead. Keller overtook Indergand but was soon caught up by Rebecca McConnell (AUS). The gap was then narrowed but Keller dug deep to secure the victory in 20:50, ahead of Anne Terpstra (NED) and McConnell in third place.
McConnell remains in lead in the overall standings of the UCI World Cup, despite having the same number of points (990) as Keller. Terpstra is in third place with 834 points.
Intense from the start, it did not take long before Thomas Litscher (SUI) was in the lead. Litscher that has just recovered from Covid-19 and a broken collarbone. In the fourth lap (out of seven), a group of seven riders were in the lead before Luca Braidot (ITA) overtook them. Braidot was in a sizeable lead before disaster struck and his chain jumped out of place. Mathias Fluckiger (SUI) took the lead instead and claimed his fourth UCI World Cup victory. South Africa’s Alan Hatherly came second with Romania’s Vlad Dascalu in third.
An emotional Flückiger retained the overall leader’s jersey (988 points) with Hatherly second (872 points) and Germany’s Luca Schwarzbauer (746 points) in third.
Downhill – Höll and Vergier fastest on the track
In the women’s downhill race, New Zealand’s Jess Blewitt took the lead early on with a time of 3:15.002. The stunning effort from the 20-year-old would however soon be obliterated by 2021’s overall UCI World Cup winner Valentina Höll (AUT). Her time of 3:09.803 was nearly four seconds faster than Germany’s Nina Hoffman, who finished second with a time of 3:13.341. Switzerland’s Camille Balanche came in third with 3:13.487 with Blewitt in fourth.
“It was such a relief,” Höll said after the race. “I just tried to ride smart.”
The result leaves Höll in third place in the overall standings with 811 points and France’s Myriam Nicole second with 905 points. Balanche strengthens her lead with 1,085 points.
Loic Bruni has often performed well at Vallnord. This is where he won the first of his four UCI Elite world titles in 2015. Expectations were however low after he broke his collarbone in a big crash in May during practice at Forth William, Great Britain.
He had to be at his best as American Aaron Gwin (five-time UCI Downhill World Champion and winner of the overall UCI World Cup in 2017) made his return with a magnificent run of 2:46.913. He was in the lead until Canada’s Finn Iles finished in 2:46.197.
Then came Bruni. And the French did a great performance. After losing time over the first section, he effortlessly gained seconds and finished on 2:45.918. France’s Amaury Pierron was up next. The man who won three of the first four rounds of this year’s UCI World Cup still looked shaken after a bad crash in the morning that smashed his bars in half. He did well to finish 13th.
Finally, there was just France’s Loris Vergier left. Vergier had endured a difficult season so far but took the lead at the top and never relinquished it, smashing the competition with 2:44.500. “It feels really good to be up here, Vergier commented. I don’t know what happened in the race but I’m happy to win, obviously. Thanks to everyone, thanks to the crowd. It was a good weekend.”
The result lifts Vergier to third in the overall standings of the UCI World Cup (655 points). Finn is second with 666 points while Pierron retains a clear lead with 930 points.
In the Men’s Junior downhill, Canada’s Jackson Goldstone took the win. Jordan Williams (GBR) was second with Canada’s Tegan Cruz in third. Goldstone extends his overall lead to 280 points with Williams in second (260 points) and New Zealand’s Lachlan Stevens-McNab in third (191 points).
Great Britain’s Phoebe Gale won the Women’s Junior downhill with Gracey Hemstreet (CAN) in second and New Zealand’s Jenna Hastings in third. Hemstreet leads the overall standings (275 points) with Gale (270 points) and Hastings (210 points) in second and third, respectively.
Olympic cross-country – Terpstra and Braidot held out
The weekend finished with a day of Olympic cross-country. In the women’s race, Anne Terpstra built on her cross-country short track form by securing the victory in 1:15.21. Mona Mitterwallner (AUT) finished second in 1:16.18 with Switzerland’s Ramona Forchini third (1:16.55).
In the overall standings, Rebecca McConnell’s (1,317 points) lead is only 112 points more than Terpstra (1,205 points) with Loana Lecomte (1,204 points) close behind.
In the men’s race, France’s Victor Koretzky set the pace early but he couldn’t sustain it. Spain’s David Valero then hit the front before being overtaken by Luca Braidot. The winner from last week overcame his disappointment over the mechanical problems during the Friday by storming to victory in 1:15.31. Valero finished second, just 10 seconds behind with Switzerland’s Nino Schurter in third (1:15.58).
The result leaves Schurter (1,342 points) in a clear lead over Vlad Dascalu (1,082 points) in the overall standings. Alan Hatherly is third with 1,063 points.
In the Women’s U23, France’s Line Burquier secured the victory with Ronja Blöchlinger (SUI) in second and Puck Pieterse (NED) third. The results increases Burquier’s overall lead to 215 points over Pieterse (485 points) with Sofie Pedersen (DEN) third on 270 points.
Canada’s Carter Woods won the Men’s U23. Luca Martin (FRA) finished second with Riley Amos (USA) third. Chile’s Martin Vidaurre Kossman maintains his lead (680 points) in the overall standings with Woods now second (435 points) and Italy’s Simone Avondetto third with 397 points.
The sixth round of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will take place in Snowshoe (USA) from 29 July to 31 July 2022.