Pidcock and Ferrand-Prévot deliver thrilling rides to claim XCO rainbow bands

Fifth XCO UCI World title for Ferrand-Prévot.

Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock today took the last mountain bike UCI World titles of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, winning the Elite cross-country Olympic (XCO) races in Glentress, Scotland.

It was a fifth Elite XCO title for the Frenchwoman, while Pidcock added the rainbow jersey to his Olympic XCO title.

Ferrand-Prévot makes it five!

A track dampened by rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of the star-studded Women Elite field that was to tackle seven 3.5km laps, each with 145m vertical gain coming mainly across two tough climbs.

After the 1km start loop, France’s Loana Lecomte pulled a 15-sec lead from Puck Pieterse (NED), Alessandra Keller (SUI) and Ferrand-Prévot, winner of the cross-country short track two days earlier. Ferrand-Prévot had a bad start but soon recovered: as the drizzle stopped, she caught and passed her 24-year-old compatriot on lap 2, quickly making a gap but initially unable to break the elastic, as French National Champion Lecomte cut the deficit on the descents and kept her in sight.

But Ferrand-Prévot’s pace remained relentless and she gained more seconds on every sector. Her advantage over her countrywoman was 1-minute at the 20km mark.

Further behind Pieterse battled with Austria’s Mona Mitterwallner – newly-crowned UCI World Champion in the cross-country Marathon –, who had steadily closed in on the chasers towards the half-way mark. Keller struggled to keep the pace and Great Britain’s Evie Richards, who had also been in the mix, dropped off into a solo sixth position.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won in a time of 1:24:14 to retain her XCO rainbow jersey, with Lecomte second, 1:14 further back and the bronze medal position for Pieterse (+1:27) who overtook Mitterwallner in the final kilometre.

“It was a super hard race,” said Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who adds a fifth XCO rainbow jersey to her collection. “I didn’t have a great start, but I went my own pace: full gas uphill and trying to recover on the downhills. I kept to my plan. I had one mission today and I had to reach it.”

Pidcock overcomes the legend Schurter

In the much anticipated Men Elite race, 10-time UCI World Champion Nino Schurter (SUI) pushed the early pace, wanting a fast race and an early selection. A lead group of nine riders soon built up a 12-sec advantage over four chasers.

The lead group dwindled as Schurter, Jordan Sarrou (FRA) and Alan Hatherly (RSA) turned the screw. The trio was soon joined by Olympic Champion Pidcock to form a lead quartet.

At half distance, 2020 UCI World Champion Sarrou slipped away, joining a chasing group that two-time XCC UCI World Champion Sam Gaze (NZL) had just joined from behind.

Schurter and Pidcock attacked in turns, distancing their original breakaway partner Hatherly on lap six of eight. Then the Yorkshireman attacked again, putting clean Scottish air between himself and the Swiss legend, making an 11-sec gap at the start of the penultimate circuit and 24-sec at the bell.

Gaze reeled in Hatherly and set his sights on Schurter, passing him on the shorter climb for the silver medal position. Gaze continued to make ground on the leader, but the Yorkshireman had enough in the tank, winning in 1:22:09. Sam Gaze took silver (+0:19) and Nino Schurter (+0:34) the bronze medal.

“The first five laps were super fast,” said Tom Pidcock. “It was tough to come back from where I was. It was a super hard race, but after last year I know that the UCI World Championships are another level from the UCI World Cups.”