The Under-23 women kicked off the cross-country racing of the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano on Saturday. Victory went to Swedish Champion Jenny Rissveds (Scott-Odlo) in Nove Mesto na Morave, the Czech Republic.
Rissveds rode away from last year’s winner of the Czech round Margot Moschetti (Betch.nl Superior Brentjens) to take the win and don the UCI World Cup leader's jersey. American Champion Kate Courtney (Specialized) finished third. Rain was forecast and threatened throughout but did not materialise. Rissveds, Moschetti, Courtney and Alessandra Keller (Strueby-Bixs) quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field on the long climbs. Rissveds and Moschetti then dropped the other two riders to fight for the win, while Courtney and Keller battled for the final podium spot. Rissveds dropped Moschetti more than once in the technical sections in the first half of the race, but the French rider would always come back on the climbs, until the third lap, when Rissveds finally opened a lead that would stick to the end of the race. She finished 42 seconds in front of Moschetti. Keller held onto the two leaders longer than Courtney, but the American surged on the third lap and the Swiss rider could not respond. Courtney extended her lead through the last lap as Keller faded, to finish one minute and 9 seconds behind Rissveds. "I was excited to get this win in the first World Cup of the season," said Rissveds. "We knew that Margot would be stronger on the climbs, so my goal was just to control the race there, and it worked perfectly." The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano continues on Sunday with the Under-23 Men, Elite Women and Elite Men. Follow the Elite race action live on www.redbull.tv.
Results