The MTB Cross Country World Cup returned over the weekend to one of the new cathedrals of mountain biking, Nove Mesto, in the Czech Republic, where the big winner was the Ineos Grenadiers team, with Pauline Ferrad-Prévot winning the women’s category and Thomas Pidcock winning the men’s.
In the women’s race, French INEOS team super champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot won the race with relative ease, ahead of American Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) and Swiss Alessandra Keller (Thomus Maxon), second and third, respectively.
“It was a great race. I wanted to ride at my pace and that it was key in the race to make the initial descent in first position. I did it and tried to keep my pace,” said Ferrand-Prévot, in statements collected by his team.
Then followed the men’s race, where Britain’s Thomas Pidcock, reigning Olympic and world champion, also from Ineos, won the men’s race ahead of Switzerland’s Nino Schurter and Marcel Guerrini.
“I’m quite satisfied with my performance as this was my first mountain bike race of the year. As soon as I got into the lead I tried to keep my pace until the end and I did well,” Pidcock said.
Both Ferrand-Prévot and Pidcock have expressed their desire to ride the MTB race at the Paris Olympics. The next round of the MTB World Cup will take place from June 14 to 16 in Val di Sole (Italy).
For America, the Colombian mountain bikers did not have their best day, the most outstanding was Diego Arias from Boyacá in 65th place, 7:39 behind the winner, while Hilvar Malaver was 91st and Jhonatan Botero was 98th.
MTB World Cup – Nové Mesto (República Checa)
Results XCO Woman
| 1 | Pauline Ferrand-Prevot | Francia | 1:24:44 |
| 2 | Haley Batten | Estados Unidos | 1:02 |
| 3 | Alessandra Keller | Suiza | 1:31 |
| 4 | Puck Pieterse | Países Bajos | 1:44 |
| 5 | Laura Stigger | Austria | 1:47 |
| 6 | Candice Lill | Sudáfrica | 2:35 |
| 7 | Mona Mitterwallner | Austria | 3:08 |
| 8 | Martina Berta | Italia | 3:21 |
| 9 | Greta Seiwald | Italia | 3:22 |
| 10 | Nina Benz | Alemania | 3:26 |
MTB World Cup – Nové Mesto (República Checa)
Results XCO Men
| 1 | Tom Pidcock | Gran Bretaña | 1:21:41 |
| 2 | Nino Schurter | Suiza | 0:32 |
| 3 | Marcel Guerrini | Suiza | 0:44 |
| 4 | Charlie Aldridge | Gran Bretaña | 0:46 |
| 5 | Mathis Azzaro | Francia | 0:46 |
| 6 | Mathias Fluckiger | Suiza | 0:59 |
| 7 | Luca Schwarzbauer | Alemania | 1:04 |
| 8 | Gunnar Holmgren | Canadá | 1:13 |
| 9 | Alan Hatherly | Sudáfrica | 1:15 |
| 10 | Lars Forster | Suiza | 1:29 |
Fuente: Revista Mundo Ciclístico