World Cup wrap up: Nové Město na Moravě

The first cross-country World Cup of the season is always a big one. It’s the first time all the top riders will face each other, and it’s a chance for them all to show off their form and lay down their intentions for the year. This year, fan (and rider) favourite venue Nové Město hosted the opening round, and it didn’t disappoint. The racing was furious, the weather was challenging, and the level of competition was higher than ever. From an expanded U23 competition, to big wins for two multi-disciplinary young stars, let’s wrap up the action from the weekend.

Head over to GCN+ to watch race replays and free highlights from the Czech Republic.

Pidcock’s double and a winning start for Pieterse

As is traditional, the weekend kicked off with the short track, an important race with the first win of the year and crucial starting spots for Sunday up for grabs. The short track course at Nové Město is short and fast, with significant tarmac sections, so lends itself to a sprint finish.

The rain made for a slightly nervous, sketchy race and an early crash slowed several riders down. World champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers), Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) and Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing) were among the animators of the race, but on the final lap it was clear a sprint was coming. Five riders pulled slightly clear from the pack, and it was a long effort from Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) who took the win ahead of Keller and Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing).

Michal Cerveny - UCI Mountain Bike World Series

An elated Laura Stigger crosses the line in the women’s short track.

The men’s race was a similar story in many ways: an all-out fight from the gun, with no one going clear, and a sprint at the finish. After some confusion over whether the pair would even start, eventual winner Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and world champion Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) started on the very back row, so spent much of the race moving up the pack. Once they got to the front, it was all go and the pair led out the sprint in the final lap. It was Pidcock who just edged it in on the line, beating Gaze and Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV) into second and third.

With the start grid decided, all eyes then turned to the main event, Sunday’s cross-country Olympic race. It was Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing) who had the best start in the women’s race, going solo in the second lap, chased by Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Ferrand-Prévot. However, a rear flat and a slow change in the fourth lap saw Richards lose her lead, and it turned into a tight two-woman battle between Pieterse and Ferrand-Prévot. Going into the final lap, Ferrand-Prévot had a six second lead on Pieterse, but the first-year elite fought back to overtake the world champion. Pieterse held off the Frenchwoman for the second half of the final lap, taking victory by five seconds in a thrilling fight for the line. Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) took third, whilst Richards recovered to finish fourth.

Michal Cerveny - UCI Mountain Bike World Cup

Puck Pieterse crosses the line to take victory in her first-ever elite XCO World Cup race.

It was a fast start in the men’s race, and a couple of early crashes saw several riders held up, including short track runner-up Gaze. A small lead group emerged, including world champion Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), and it was Pidcock who pushed on, joined by Joshua Dubau (Rockrider Racing). A couple of technical slip-ups and a crash from Pidcock saw Dubau take the lead in the fifth lap, but Pidcock was chasing back hard. He rejoined the Frenchman in the final lap, and then attacked to go solo to the line, completing the double in Nové Město. Dubau finished second, whilst Schurter sprinted to third.

New races for the under-23s

In the U23 World Cup, there was a new race on the schedule as the riders had their own short track race for the first time this year. In the women’s race, it was Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing) who beat the favourites Noelle Buri and Sofie Pedersen to take her first win at a World Cup. In the men’s race, Trinity Racing’s Adrien Boichis pulled out a lead in the final lap to take victory.

After Line Burquier made the last-minute decision to move up to elites, along with Puck Pieterse, it was Sofie Pedersen who was the big favourite in the women’s race and the Danish rider stepped up accordingly. She was in the lead with Ginia Caluori (Thömus Akros Youngsters) for the majority of the race, but dropped the Swiss rider in the final lap to win solo.

Michal Cerveny - UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Oliver Sølvhøj wins the men’s U23 XCO ahead of Dario Lillo.

The men’s race was more open than ever after Martin Vidaurre graduated to the elite category. It was a battling start, but a group of three went clear around the halfway point, made up of Oliver Sølvhøj (Denmark), Dario Lillo (Scott Davos) and Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing). Amos was taken out with a puncture, and it was a head-to-head battle between Sølvhøj and Lillo towards the finish, with Sølvhøj just holding off his Swiss competitor to take the win.

Closely-fought marathon battles

Saturday in the Czech Republic saw the cross-country marathon race, and the first round of the newly-formed UCI Marathon World Cup. A 120km race lay ahead of the men’s and women’s bunches, taking in various terrains on a 60km loop north of Nové Město. Coinciding with the cross-country World Cup weekend, the fields were very open, with no top World Cup racers in the mix. It was a long and hard day out in the wet. The long flat sections made it fast, but the extremely technical rock garden descent put many riders in trouble.

Despite the length, the races were tight. In the women’s race, Lejla Njemčević (Allebike) eventually went clear in the second lap and held off her chasers to take the win, with Katarzina Sosna (Torpado Factory Team) and Irina Lützelschwab (Bulls Bikes) rounding out the podium. In the men’s, Wout Alleman (Wilier Pirelli) had been leading, but a crash in the second lap finished his race early. The group that remained were so tightly matched that it came down to a reduced bunch sprint in the finish, with European champion Fabian Rabensteiner (Wilier Pirelli) going clear in the final 200m to win ahead of Nicolas Samparisi (KTM Alchemist) and Simon Stiebjahn (Singer Racing Team).

Michal Cerveny - UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Fabian Rabensteiner celebrates victory in the men’s cross-country marathon in Nové Město.

Next up

The UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues in Finale Ligure, Italy on June 2-4 with the second marathon of the season and the third round of enduro racing.

Cross-country racing returns in Lenzerheide, Switzerland from June 8 to 11, with the downhill World Cup also making its long-awaited return.

The UCI Mountain Bike World Series is available live and on-demand on GCN+, with highlights of all races also available on GMBN Racing.