MTB World Cup Araxá – Haley Batten wins XCO battle with Jenny Rissveds

There was a re-shuffling of the top three spots in the second round of women’s elite racing in Brazil at the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, with Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) continuing her winning form in Araxá on Sunday by adding the elite women’s cross-country Olympic (XCO) victory to Saturday’s short track (XCC) win.

Batten and the winner of the first Brazilian round in Mairiporã, Jenny Rissveds (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental), were locked in battle in the final lap with the rider from the United States ultimately attacking and carving out a gap of 17 seconds on the Swedish rider by the finish line. Batten’s compatriot, Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) – who had taken second place in the opening round of racing for 2024 – held on for third in Araxá.

“It’s crazy,” said Batten after the race. “You train so hard all winter but to put it all together on race day when it’s so tactical like that, I just had no idea what was happening, so to pull it off feels insane. For both Savilia and me this is a huge year, for the Olympic Games, so yeah, a pretty good day.”