Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) rose to the occasion and gave her home fans a victory to celebrate at the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup in Bike Kingdom – Lenzerheide (Switzerland), presented by Le Gruyère, while newly crowned UCI XCO World Champion Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team – XC) survived a last lap scare to win the Men Elite category.
The Swiss crowd also said an emotional farewell to Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) who retired following a stellar career.
The dry and dusty conditions at the Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide provided dramatic races which were impacted by mechanicals and punctures.
While her rivals faded away, Keller kept calm before launching her bid for glory on the penultimate lap. Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) was just seven seconds behind the lead on the final lap before puncturing and finishing fourth. Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) finished second following a determined performance, while Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) recovered from a crash while leading to take third.
In the men's Elite, Hatherly re-produced his commanding display from Valais the previous weekend as nobody could follow his mid-race attack. That was until the last lap when the Giant Factory Off-Road Team – XC rider saw his one-minute advantage halved due to mechanical trouble with his chain. Meanwhile, Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) led a four-man chasing group home for a personal best second XCO result, and Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) placed third.
In the men’s U23 category, Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) continued his domination by winning both the Cross-country Short Track (XCC) and XCO events in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide. Meanwhile, American Vida Lopez de San Roman (Trinity Racing) powered away from rival Valentina Corvi (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) to win the women’s U23.
KELLER ENDS LONG WAIT FOR SECOND WORLD CUP WIN
Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) ended a long wait to clinch the second UCI XCO World Cup win of her career. The Swiss rider was crowned UCI XCC World Champion in Valais but had been without a UCI XCO World Cup victory since winning at Snowshoe in July 2022 – a total of 1,144 days earlier. In an intense women’s Elite battle, Keller proved strongest as she took a stellar victory.
Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) won Friday’s UCI XCC World Cup and was targeting a weekend double. Overall series leader Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) initially joined Rissveds before also being distanced as the course tracked back on itself with short and sharp climbs. Meanwhile, Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) suffered an opening lap crash which almost halted Keller. Pieterse was forced to get off her bike to fix a mechanical, before later suffering more problems and pulling out.
The asphalt at the end of the first lap allowed Maxwell, Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team), and Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) to regroup at the front with a clear 12-second gap over the chasers. Rissveds continued her pressure at the front and Blunk followed, as Keller also bridged across to the leaders.
Decathlon Ford Racing Team rider Blunk was targeting her first UCI World Cup win and used her technical ability to put her rivals under pressure as Richards and Maxwell were distanced. Disaster struck for Blunk after 40 minutes of racing when she went to adjust her sunglasses and crashed. The American rider dropped back to the chasers, 33 seconds behind the leaders.
After recovering from her earlier effort, Richards looked to power across the gap to the leaders with over two laps remaining. Heading into the penultimate lap, the British rider had drawn back to within 15 seconds of the leading duo, and Blunk was also chasing 21 seconds behind.
Keller sensed opponent Rissveds was weakening and used the long climb and switchbacks early in the lap to pull out a slender lead. Taking the last lap bell, Keller led by 14 seconds from Richards, who had joined Rissveds in the podium battle.
The British rider was on the charge, and she powered away from Rissveds and had Keller and the victory in her sights at seven seconds. However, disaster also struck for Richards and she stopped in the technical zone to change a rear wheel puncture, falling back to fourth after losing 25 seconds.
The incident allowed Keller to enjoy her home victory. A chasing Rissveds was rewarded for her efforts by taking second, 16 seconds behind, and Blunk third at 25 seconds.
Following her victory Keller said: “It was a tough one, but I had everyone cheering. I gave it my all, I had a gap in the second-from-last lap and went all in. I tried to go as fast as I could with everyone cheering.”
“It’s amazing with everyone here, the family and the team. The race was crazy, first Puck crashed in front of me and I basically rode over her, I couldn’t do anything.
“Savilia was so strong, but she somehow crashed and then there was two of us. Jenny made such a strong effort. I tried to go into the long uphill first and I had a little gap.
“I just suffered until the finish line. It was totally worth it.”
HATHERLY ENDS SEASON ON HIGH AS SCHURTER BOWS OUT
Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team – XC) completed his mountain bike campaign with a first UCI World Cup victory of the year. The South African has been riding a mixture of road and mountain bike races this campaign and showed his form to ride away from his rivals.
Meanwhile, the Swiss fans turned out to say goodbye to Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) who retired following a career of nine UCI World Cup overall titles, 10 UCI World Championship titles, and 36 World Cup race wins.
The narrow start loop at Bike Kingdom – Lenzerheide saw the men’s Elite field tightly grouped with little room to move. At the front it was Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Team) who led, while Schurter moved up to 15th from 33rd on the starting grid.
Overall series leader Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) had another day to forget as a snapped chain on the second lap saw him lose a host of time and positions.
Following the conclusion of the second lap, a group of nine riders had gathered in the front group. Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) had made the front group before puncturing and ripping his back tyre off its rim, ending his challenge.
As the race started to explode, Hatherly attacked on the lap’s main climb and pulled out 12 seconds.
Behind the lone leader, British competitor Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) led the chasing pack with Andreassen.
A cagey race unfolded behind for the remaining podium positions, as Hatherly pulled out his advantage to 54 seconds on the penultimate lap.
Taking the bell, Hatherly had extended his lead to a minute over a four-rider chasing group who battled out the remaining podium positions. Aldridge pushed the pace in pursuit of a second-place finish, while Andreassen suffered a puncture to end his hopes.
There was one last twist as Hatherly had mechanical trouble with his chain and had to dismount on two occasions. However, the South African was able to nurse his bike home to take victory, with celebrating Aldridge second 32 seconds behind and Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) rewarded for his persistence with third.
Following his own mechanical issues, Blevins finished 27th and saw his overall lead reduced to 290 points with two rounds remaining.
After taking victory, Hatherly said: “This is a really special venue for me, I’ve only won once here, my Under 23 world title. I was really hungry to get a win. This is my final World Cup of the season, unfortunately, so I wanted to do the jersey justice and go out on top.
“I’m at a high again. I finished last season on a similar high, I’m really happy to be back at my normal level now.”
“The whole purpose of this season has been to combine road and mountain bike racing, the road is really a big challenge for me but I’m enjoying every step of the way.”
Talking about his last lap mechanical problem, the Giant Factory Off-Road Team – XC rider added: “I dropped a chain, it’s never happened before but was one of those fluke things that happens.”
“Fortunately the gap was big enough and I was able to seal the deal.”
Schurter came over the line to a massive ovation as he finished 24th on the day, 3 minutes 27 seconds behind the winner.
He added:“It’s super-cool. I’m so thankful for everything, it was an amazing career and it feels so good.”
“It’s better than I could ever imagine. Today was a beautiful day, it was again hard for me. I was scared of the 80% rule, so I had to push hard to get through the race.”
LOPEZ DE SAN ROMAN CELEBRATES FIRST U23 XCO WORLD CUP SUCCESS
American Vida Lopez de San Roman timed her last lap attack perfectly to win her first Women U23 UCI XCO World Cup.
The 19-year-old finished runner-up in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) and the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships last weekend.
In Friday’s UCI XCC World Cup, she was joined at the front of proceedings by series leader Valentina Corvi (Canyon CLLCTV XCO).
Once again, the duo pulled away from their competitors on the opening lap as they were evenly matched on the tough course.
After a slower start fellow Italian Sara Cortinovis (Ghost Factory Racing) came through strongly to join the bronze medal fight.
On the last lap Lopez de San Roman powered away from Corvi to take victory by 24 seconds.
Meanwhile, Cortinovis beat Marta Cano Espinosa (Trek Future Racing) and Ella Maclean-Howell (Cube Factory Racing) into fourth and fifth respectively.
Heading into the final two rounds Corvi has a healthy 123-point overall lead and could seal the title at Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York (USA).
Following her victory Lopez de San Roman said: “It honestly came down to the very last lap on the first climb, we were super evenly matched the whole race up until that point.
“I decided to put an acceleration on the switchbacks and a got a few seconds, so I just went all in and didn’t look back once and it seemed to stick.
Lopez de San Roman will return to America when the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returns to Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York next month.
TREUDLER COMPLETES WEEKEND DOUBLE AT HOME
Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) produced a show of strength for his home Swiss supporters to win the Men U23 UCI XCO World Cup and extend his overall series lead.
The newly crowned U23 UCI XCO World Champion has dominated both Cross-country formats this year and won the XCC event on Friday with a devastating attack on the penultimate lap. The 22-year-old provided another dominant display for his home fans and attacked on the second lap to pull out an advantage.
Rens Teunissen Van Manen (KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team) won the XCO round in Val Di Sole – Trentino (Italy) and led the battle behind in second.
Despite pulling time back on the fifth lap Teunissen Van Manen had to settle for the runner-up position finishing 34 seconds behind.
Meanwhile, Heby Gustav Pedersen (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) was locked in a battle for third position with fellow Danish rider Mikkel Lose – with the former finishing just six seconds ahead of his countryman.
Treudler increased his overall advantage to 422 points and has sealed the series with two rounds remaining.
Following his victory Treudler said: “It was such a special moment lining up, the crowd were going nuts.
“I had to really push today to win, and I’m just really happy with the performance today.
“I’ll have some quiet weeks at home now, it has been two hectic weeks so I look forward to some rest.”
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series takes a week break before continuing for its penultimate round in Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York (USA) between 3-5 October.
