The 18th edition of the UCI Trials World Cup concluded on September 23-24 in Antwerp, Belgium, with the fifth and final round that also saw the overall titles awarded. This is the eighth consecutive year that the UCI Trials World Cup has visited Antwerp, where the athletes performed at the Grote Markt (Great Market Square), in the heart of the old city quarter: a stunning backdrop for the spectacular competitions.
In the Men's 20" competition, Abel Mustieles of Spain notched up his fourth win of the year. Finishing second was Lucien Leisier of Switzerland, with Thomas Pechhacker of Austria in third. Mustieles finishes the season with an impressive 1140 points to take his fifth UCI World Cup title after 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Second place overall goes to fellow Spaniard Benito Ros at 795, while Leiser vaults into third with an equal number of points to Ros.
In the Women's competition, it was UCI World Champion and defending UCI World Cup Champion Nina Reichenbach of Germany on the top step of the podium for her fourth win of the season, followed by Round 3 winner Manon Basseville of France and Nadine Kamark of Sweden. Reichenbach successfully defended her title with 1160 points, followed by Basseville at 1000 and Debi Studer of Switzerland at 720.
The Men's 26" category saw Jack Carthy, defending UCI World Cup Champion and winner of Round 2 take his second win of the season, followed by Round 1 and Round 4 winner Gilles Coustellier of France. Coustellier's countryman Nicolas Vallée finished third. Coustellier takes his fifth overall title nine years after first claiming UCI World Cup victory in 2008 and four years after his last overall win, in 2013. The Frenchman finished the season with 1020 points, followed by Carthy, who moved up to second with 950 points and Hermance, who dropped to third at 870 points.
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It is the second time, after 2015, that Swiss rider Lucien Leiser has finished third overall in the Men's 20" category. After a silver medal in the 2015 UCI Trials World Championships, he finished just off the podium, in 4th place, in 2016. This season, he had two podium results in the UCI World Cup, and won the Swiss Championships. He is currently ranked third in both the UCI rankings and the UCI World Cup rankings.