Nové Město XC World Cup Wrap
It was a weekend of flat-out racing at the Nové Město na Moravě round of the 2024 XC World Cup. Here’s a recap of the Elite XCO races.
The Men’s Race
Tom Pidcock came through the field to win his fourth Elite XCO, in a row, at Nove Mesto. The race was a real nail-biter for the first three laps as Alan Hatherly and others set a ferocious pace. Then Pidcock decided to shake things up big time. On lap three, he launched a massive attack up the middle climb, opening a gap on everyone but Nino Schurter and Victory Koretzky. Eventually Koretzky dropped back and the stage was set for a showdown between Schurter and Pidcock, two absolute powerhouses in XC racing.
Schurter dug deep, giving it everything to stay on Pidcock’s wheel, but after some relentless attacks, he drifted back. In the end, Pidcock crossed the line 32 seconds ahead of Schurter, while Marcel Guerrini put in a solid effort to nab third place and Charlie Aldridge outpowered Mathis Azzaro in the sprint for fourth. What a race! After looking very strong in the opening laps, Alan Hatherly crossed the line in ninth. Incredibly, Alan now sits fifth in the XCO overall points and seventh in the XCC points standings.
The Women’s Race
Pauline Ferrand Prevot kicked off her 2024 World Cup season with a bang and took the win at Nove Mesto. Her winning strategy? – to out-power the field on the climbs and maintain her advantage on the tricky descents. Puck Pieterse tried to hold her wheel but then fell back into the pack as things got intense which created a tight scrap for the podium spots. Haley Batten, the series leader, found an extra gear in the final lap, managing to close in a bit on Ferrand Prevot, though she still crossed the line just over a minute behind.
Alessandra Keller, who won the XCC on Saturday, had a solid race, coming back strong after a slow start to nab third place ahead of Pieterse and Laura Stigger. The ride of the day surely should go to South Africa’s Candice Lill who crossed the line in an incredible sixth place, which is her best World Cup result. Together with her outstanding results in Brazil and her seventh place in Saturday’s XCC, Candice is now seventh in the XCO overall standings and 12th in the XCC points.
In the U23 Men’s Race, a flat cost SA’s Luke Moir any chance of another top result. Luke is still placed 9th in the XCO points chase. The XC World Cup riders have a three week break before the next round in Val di Sole, Italy. //
| IMAGES: Red Bull, UCI |