Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup action in Snowshoe: first XCO wins for Keller and Valero

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup action in Snowshoe (USA) got underway on a slippery short course with the cross-country short track (XCC) races on Friday, followed by the downhill (DHI) on Saturday and dramatic cross-country Olympic (XCO) racing on Sunday.

XCC: American double!

In the cross-country Short Track Jenny Rissveds (SWE) made the long break on lap 3 of 6 and was attacked by Alessandra Keller (SUI) on the final climb, only to fade as Anne Terpstra (NED) and USA’s Gwendalyn Gibson stormed through. Gibson sprinted to her first XCC win in her first season on the Elite UCI World Cup circuit.

Keller now leads the XCC overall with 1140 points from Rebecca McConnell who crashed early and recovered to finish 18th.

The men’s race saw a group including Vlad Dascalu (ROM), Luca Braidot (ITA) and Sebastian Fini Carstensen (DEN) push the pace. They were joined late by USA’s XCC UCI World Champion Christopher Blevins, who timed his attack perfectly to outsprint Dascalu to victory.

Nino Schurter took a heavy crash on the bridge and a shoulder injury meant he wouldn’t continue in the XCC or compete in Sunday’s XCO. And with his fellow Swiss Mathias Flückiger unable to travel to the USA, South African Alan Hatherley’s 6th place means he leads the XCC overall with 1002 points.

DHI Women: Balanche on top

On a muddy, slippery course with even more tough technical challenges than we’ve seen before, Gracey Hemstreet (CAN) was best of the Junior Women on the day, winning by 3-sec and extending her series overall lead.

In the Women Elite final, Valentina Höll (AUT) set out fast and took a crash, followed by Nina Hoffmann (GER) who occupied the hot seat longest. French UCI World Champion Myriam Nicole was on amazing pace, and even with a crash, resumed to take second place.

It was 2020 UCI World Champion Camille Balanche (SUI) who kept her head and her grip best again in the mud to take the win in 4:28.585. Höll and European Champion Monika Hrastnik (SLO) were 4th and 5th.

The Swiss rider heads the overall table with 1085 points from Nicole.

DHI Men: Pierron’s fourth

In the Men Junior competition, Canada’s Jackson Goldstone won by 5-sec, tightening his grip on the overall competition.

The course had dried more for the men but the action still brought thrills, spills and surprises. Britons Laurie Greenland and Danny Hart both led but were unseated first by the most decorated downhiller of all time, Greg Minnaar (RSA), then Andreas Kolb of Austria looking for a third straight podium, then the young Irishman Ronan Dunne chasing his first ever UCI World Cup Elite podium.

After another Briton, Bernard Kerr, went quickest and looked on target for his first ever win, it was left to the two fastest qualifiers, Frenchmen Thibaut Daprela and series leader Amaury Pierron to decide the result. Daprela went fast and crashed. Pierron went fast and stayed upright, to claim his fourth win of the season, in 3:34.442.

The 250 points for winner and fastest qualifier put him on 1180 overall, so he could clinch the overall title next time out.

“I have no words, I am stoked!” said Pierron. “After a bad crash in Andorra at the last UCI World Cup, this one meant a lot!”

XCO Women: Keller’s first UCI World Cup win

The Snowshoe XCO course at 1500m altitude saw clouds and mist from the start, and increasingly heavy rain came in from halfway. Loana Lecomte and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot did not race, and Rebecca McConnell (AUS), starting 18th, slipped a pedal and lost ground.

Rissveds, Keller and Terpstra broke away with Switzerland’s Olympic Champion Jolanda Neff, followed by a chasing group of Americans: USA Champion Savilia Blunk, XCC winner Gibson, Hayley Batten, and Kate Courteney, with Austria’s Mona Mitterwallner chasing them.

On the final lap Rissveds slipped for a second time, under pressure from Keller who took advantage and powered away for her first Elite XCO win from the Swede (+37 sec), Terpstra (+50), Mitterwallner and Neff in 5th.

Terpstra takes the overall lead on 1430 points from McConnell on 1422.

“The conditions are crazy,” said Keller. “It started raining and got more and more muddy. The more muddy it got the better it got. And somehow I won the UCI World Cup!”

XCO Men: Valero’s first!

With no Schurter or Flückiger there were great opportunities for competitors to score well and capitalise in the overall.

With rain from the start, early leader Alan Hatherly crashed on lap 3, leaving Blevins leading from Luca Braidot (ITA), Titouan Carod (FRA), Luca Shwarzbauer (GER) and Antoine Philipp (FRA), until the American punctured at half distance. Braidot and Carod went away, Philipp slid off, then Blevins came back to Schwarzbauer, passed him and chased down the leading duo, to be joined by David Valero Serrano (ESP), forming a leading four onto the last lap.

Valero outpowered Carod for his first Elite Men XCO win, and Braidot outsprinted Blevins for third, with Fillipo Colombo (SUI) 5th.

Nino Schurter retained the overall lead with 1342 points from Dascalu on 1227 (who crashed and finished 13th in Snowshoe).