Gaze and Ferrand-Prévot retain mountain bike cross-country short track rainbows

Two in a row

Two in a row for Sam Gaze and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

Mountain bike cross-country action continued in Glentress, Scotland, on day eight of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. Four rainbow jerseys were up for grabs on Thursday: two in Junior cross-country Olympic (XCO) and two in Elite cross-country short track (XCC).

Frenetic battles were fought in the XCC with New Zealand’s Sam Gaze and France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot both retaining their titles from 2022.

Earlier in the afternoon, Canadian Isabella Holmgren and Denmark’s Albert Philipsen had claimed the Women Junior and Men Junior XCO rainbow jerseys. For both of them it was their second UCI World title of the year after dominating other disciplines.

Gaze doubles up!

Although Switzerland’s Nino Schurter and newly-crowned road race UCI World Champion Mathieu Van der Poel (NED) did not take the start - opting to focus on Saturday’s cross-country Olympic (XCO) - the XCC Men Elite field was nevertheless riddled with star riders that promised an intense battle.

The start was gridded by UCI ranking, so while the likes of Luca Schwarzbauer (GER), Ondřej Cink (CZE), Daniele Braidot (ITA), and Alan Hatherly (RSA) were near the front, Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock, winner of the first round of the 2023 UCI World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, started in 30th position. And lining up right at the back was Slovakia’s road star Peter Sagan, a throw-back to his days as 2008 Junior XCO UCI World Champion.

Schwarzbauer (winner of the XCC UCI World Cup races in Leogang, Austria and Val di Sole, Italy) led out of the first corner, together with 2022 UCI World Champion Sam Gaze, the newly crowned UCI Cross-country Marathon (XCM) World Champion Henrique Avancini (BRA), Mārtiņš Blūms (LAT) and Hatherly.

By Lap three of 11, Gaze controlled the pace at the front with Victor Koretzky (FRA), Thomas Litscher (SUI) Schwarzbauer and Hatherly the top five. Pidcock reached them at half distance. 

Despite the fast pace, the lead riders eyed each other cagily until the penultimate lap when Gaze attacked up the climb, pulling a gap from the Frenchman, who gave everything and closed in on the finish straight. 

Pidcock chased, passing Schwarzbauer who fell on the final corner, but no-one could catch the Kiwi, who punched the air as he retained his title. Koretzky took silver half a bike length back and Pidcock the bronze, two seconds behind.

“For me I felt it was safest to ride from the front, ride my tempo and try to recover a little bit on the climbs,” said Gaze afterwards. “It’s super technical, super-fast but with the climbs it was also an attritional race.”

Unstoppable Ferrand-Prévot

The Women Elite XCO saw a top-class field set a blistering pace, despite the absence of Austrian Laura Stigger, winner of two 2023 XCC UCI World Cup races, due to illness.

Italy’s Martina Bertha led the pack out of the first corner with Puck Pieterse (NED), Evie Richards (GBR) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) hot on her heels. 2021 UCI World Champion Sina Frei (SUI), and Rebecca Henderson (AUS) joined them on lap two of ten. 

By half distance a selection of six riders had been made: Ferrand-Prévot, Henderson, Pieterse, 2021 UCI World Championships silver medalist in the specialty Richards, 2022 UCI World Cup overall winner Alessandra Keller (SUI) and 2022 UCI Worlds bronze medalist Gwendalyn Gibson (USA). Savilia Blunk (USA) and Steffi Haberlin (SUI) joined them on lap seven.

As the Australian pushed the pace with two laps to go, Keller dropped back, then the Briton took to the front, with her every move marked by Ferrand-Prévot.

And it was the French reigning UCI World Champion who attacked hard on the last climb. Only Pieterse could follow, but the 21-year-old was soon gapped and Ferrand-Prévot cruised across the line to win. Puck Pieterse took silver (+0:04) and Richards the bronze (+0:09).

Women Junior XCO: Classy Canadian 1-2 

The 2023 Women Junior XCC UCI World Champion title went to Isabella Holmgren (CAN), who added her rainbow jersey to that she won at the 2023 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands. Her time of 1:07:37 for the five-lap race saw her beat fellow Canadian Marin Lowe into the silver medal position by 39 seconds, with bronze going to Natalia Grzegorzewska of Poland.

Men Junior XCO: Philipsen does the double

Then along came the multi-disciplinary talent, 16-year-old Albert Philipsen (DEN). Only five days after becoming UCI World Champion in the Men Junior road race, he claimed the 2023 XCO rainbow jersey, leading the Men Junior race from start to finish.

Philipsen finished the six-lap race in 1:07:55, 54-sec ahead of Italy’s Elian Paccagnella, with the bronze for Ian Ackert, who added another medal to Canada’s tally in Glentress.