UCI Trials World Cup: victories in Cordon for Montalvo, Barón and Carthy

November's final round will be the decider

Round 3 of the 2024 UCI Trials World Cup in Cordon, France, saw victories for Spain’s Alejandro Montalvo (Men Elite 20”) and Vera Barón (Women Elite) and Britain’s Jack Carthy, (Men Elite 26”).

With one round remaining, the overall is still to play for.

Women: Barón at her best

The first final of Sunday 15 September was the Women’s category where the three Spanish riders – Vera Barón, Alba Riera and Andrea Perez Zamora – took on Germany’s Nina Reichenbach, Nina Vabre of France and Czechia’s Eliška Hříbková.

Three-time UCI Trials World Cup overall winner Barón scored a perfect 60 on section 1, with only 2023 UCI World Champion Reichenbach close to matching her. Riera and Hříbková both struggled with 10s. Even as Riera and Reichenbach both matched Barón’s sector 2 score of 30, it was the 20-year-old Spaniard who immediately hit back with another 60, showing that she ultimately couldn’t be caught.

Barón won round 3 with 240 points from Reichenbach on 210 and Riera on 180.

With three straight wins, Barón’s 600 points will be tough for Riera (460) or Reichenbach (440) to catch in the final round.

“At first I was a little bit nervous, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Vera Barón. “After the first section I felt really good. I did a silly mistake on section 2, but after that I felt good again on the bike.

“First we have the Europeans, I want to win that again. But then if I can win the UCI World Cup and the UCI World Champs, it will be great!”

Men 20”: Champion’s performance from Montalvo

The six finalists in the Men 20” were Alejandro Montalvo, Eloi Palau and Borja Conejos (all from Spain), being challenged by Austria’s Thomas Pechhacker, and the two Italians, Diego Crescenzi and Marco Bonalda. But it was the Spaniards who showed their class.

Section 1 saw strong starts from riders eager to gain an early advantage, with five scoring 50. And it was a close affair with most riders finding section 2 a tough challenge before reigning UCI World Champion Montalvo hit a 30 on section 3 and 2021 UCI World Champion Conejos scored 40. While Conejos and 2022 UCI World Champion Eloi Palau both recorded clean 60s on section 4, it was Montalvo’s consistent high scoring that took him to the win, leading a Spanish 1-2-3.

Alejandro Montalvo won with 200 points from Borja Conejos with 170 and Eloi Palau with 150.

Following his win in Wadowice (Poland) and third place in Myrkdalen (Norway), Montalvo (540) now tops the overall table from Palau (510) and Conejos (455).

“I really enjoyed my riding here in France.” said Alejandro Montalvo. “So happy to take the win here and also to take the lead of the UCI World Cup!

“The last section was very very hard, with a big move. And I’m so happy to finally make it possible. We have one more UCI World Cup, so I will try to keep the lead and the general classification.”

Men 26”: Carthy back on top

The Men’s 26” final, unusually, featured more British than Spanish riders. The trio of Jack Carthy, Charlie Rolls and Oliver Weightman took on the Spanish pair of Julen Sáenz and Daniel Barón, along with Nathan Charra of France.

After his slow start to the season with recovery from injury, UCI World Champion Carthy came out firing on all cylinders in Cordon, scoring 60 points on section 1 while his fellow finalists hit 50.

And despite high scoring from Sáenz , Rolls and Barón, it was a slight advantage that Carthy would not relinquish. Even after a worrying 20 on section 5 the British star came back with a 50 in the final section to secure the significant win by a slender margin.

Carthy’s 200 points edged Sáenz (190), while Rolls (160) edged Barón for third.

With one victory each, Rolls leads the overall (520) from Carthy (485) and Barón (450).

“I’m happy to be back and winning,” said Jack Carthy. “I’m stupid though because I gave it away on section 3, but I’m happy to win and try to get back for the rest of the season. The competition here today… it’s amazing. The sections are so fun to ride… it’s been great.

“Just before the season started I broke two ribs so we’ve been chasing time, we’re there now. And now it’s just building for the UCI World Championships in December.”

The 2024 UCI Trials World Cup will conclude in Mouilleron-le-Captif - Vendée, France, in November.