Arriving in Switzerland from Australia, Namibia, Thailand and Brazil between the end of April and the beginning of May, the Under-23 and Junior athletes are already ticking the “race experience” box. After the Ötztaler Mountain Bike Festival in Haiming (Austria) in April, they are now between two rounds of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.
We catch up with them between back-to-back UCI World Cup rounds in Albstadt (Germany) and Nové Mesto Na Morave (Czech Republic).
Katherine Hosking (Australia), aged 21: In her last year as an Under-23 rider, Katherine has been racing National Championships back home since 2013. Her UCI World Championships in 2017 and 2019 were marred by crashes and she is ready to embrace training and racing in Europe. She is satisfied with her first UCI World Cup in Albstadt: “I had a pretty good start and quickly found a rhythm. Maybe too quickly,” rues the young athlete, who had to sit up to recover before finding the energy to go full gas again towards the end. A flat tyre at the furthest point from the technical zone saw her lose precious time but she nevertheless finished 38th.
UCI WCC Coach Charlie Evans said of her race: “It was frustrating for her but not the end of the world. When you consider that there are 10 to 12 riders within 15 seconds, you can quickly lose your position. She rode on the rim when she flatted and showed aggression, which is a plus.”
Gustavo Xavier Oliveira Pereira (Brazil), aged 20: After 9th place at the opening round of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike World Cup in Petropolis (Brazil) last month, Gustavo clinched his first UCI World Cup podium in Albstadt, finishing 2nd in the Under-23 race. “I felt confident and relaxed before the race. I wasn’t nervous so I think that helped. I am very happy with my performance,” he said.
Coach Charlie Evans confirms: “Gustavo rode a very composed race. He was in a group of seven riders up front and he just watched and waited. Then they were five, then they were three and finally he was racing for 2nd place. It was a really measured and smart race.”
Domenic Paolilli (Australia), aged 20: After two years with more training than racing due to restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the young Australian is eager to see where he stands in Europe. His first UCI World Cup experience in the bag, he has plenty of takeaways from Albstadt: “Even though I had quite a good position on the start grid, with number 53, it was all a bit overwhelming being at the start with 160 riders,” he says. “That was the hardest thing for me, the chaos, the aggressiveness. But once I settled in, I focused on moving forward and managed to make up some positions and really enjoyed it.”
As his coach points out, he overtook 25 riders in the final two laps: “He’s got the endurance and the speed. It’s now going to be about the mindset and learning to be more aggressive,” says Charlie Evans.
Gabriela Pereira Ferolla (Brazil) aged 17: As a Junior, Gabriela was competing in the UCI Junior Series in Albstadt. It was her first race in Europe and one in which she suffered two crashes – on the start line and in the 2nd lap - then a flat tyre in the last lap. But she is already excited for Nove Mesto: “These challenges gave me strength to keep going and do my best on the day. I’m excited for Nove Mesto. I have another chance to do a better job and to learn more and get more experience in my pocket.”
Eikie Yamauchi Leoncio (Brazil), aged 17 suffered much the same in the Men Junior Series, crashing on the second lap of a race where he was “learning the whole way” and trying to get to grips with different racing conditions, not least temperatures about half those of what he left in Brazil the week before.
All five of the UCI WCC trainees who took to the start in Albstadt finished their races, and for their coach that was a victory in itself.
“In my mind everyone had a win in Albstadt,” said Charlie Evans. “I couldn’t have asked more from them calibrating to this level of race in Europe,” he said. It was a really good week and the team has been brilliant. They are learning the racing in Europe.”
Following this weekend’s UCI World Cup in the Czech Republic, the athletes will travel back to the UCI World Cycling Centre to join fellow mountain bike trainee Hugo Hahn (Namibia) who is skipping the first races of the season as he comes back from injury. During the upcoming month-long training block, they will work on any weaknesses identified in their first races as they prepare for more events in Europe including another round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) in July and the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Les Gets (France) in August.
They will be joined in Aigle next month by Phunsiri Surimonghkon who is currently representing Thailand in the South East Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.