Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing XC) and Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) powered away from lead groups to win the elite short track races of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Snowshoe, West Virginia.
It was the first XCC victory of the season for the British rider. She broke free from a small pack of leaders to ride solo for the final one and a half laps. World Cup XCC points leader Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finished five seconds back for second, and Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker Genuins Racing) another four seconds later for third. Alessandra Keller (Thômus Maxon), who holds second place in XCC elite women’s standings, finished fourth, just ahead of Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV).
In the elite men’s race, Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) scored his third consecutive short track victory of the season, saving something for the final climb and riding away from Jordan Sarrou (Team BMC), who took second, and World Cup XCC leader Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV).
It was the seventh podium in seven World Cup events for the German. With his third place finish, Schwarzbauer secured the World Cup title in short track ahead of the season finale at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Québec next weekend, but he was not ready to accept the title yet.
“I have finished first? I think not, but I am even more happy for sure if won the overall,” Schwarzbauer said to Eurosport/GCN at the finish. “It was a good race. I felt very good. It’s a secret, but I think my numbers were not as good as in the beginning of the season in training. It was harder because I knew it was the end of the season. The race gives me confidence.”
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series landed in Snowshoe, West Virginia, for the seventh of eight rounds. Before the snow falls to convert the area to skiing, the exposed rocks and roots make the courses – Friday for short track, Saturday for downhill and Sunday for XCO – very technical.
Dry weather and mild temperatures across the Appalachian mountains of the eastern USA brought fast racing. The course had a unique start loop, a rocky chute and a massive rock garden. Positioning proved to be the key factor for both races, four laps for women and five for men, plus the start loop.
Results XCC Elite Women
Results XCC Elite Men
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