Blevins is unstoppable in the short track in Leogang
Puck Pieterse misses the first two World Cup rounds of the season to concentrate on the road, but the reigning UCI XCO World Champion quickly makes up ground in the cross-country short track: she takes her second victory in Leogang in her second start of the 2025 season.
While the Dutchwoman impressed in the sprint at the World Cup in Nové Město Na Moravě (Czech Republic), she opted for a different tactic in Austria: she attacked early and built up an unassailable lead.
At first it looked as if Jolanda Neff wanted to ride a similar race. She opened up a six-second lead after the first lap. But the field quickly catches up and Neff's effort takes its toll, she ends up riding to 30th place. Candice Lill then took command, while Pieterse remained part of a seven-rider lead group.
On lap four, Lill picked up the pace and reduced the lead group to five riders: Pieterse, Evie Richards, Samara Maxwell and Jenny Rissveds. Then Pieterse ignites the turbo: just as the leader Maxwell reaches for the bottle on the start-finish straight, Pieterse launches an attack that catches the competition off guard. Maxwell was able to follow briefly, but Richards and Rissveds tore away.
As the course flattened out, Pieterse stepped up the pace again, and this time Maxwell was unable to counter. The Dutch champion rides confidently to victory.
The battle for third place remains exciting: Austrian Mona Mitterwallner and Swiss Nicole Koller work their way forward together, leaving Richards and Lill behind. In the end, Koller attacks on the last climb and secures third place, much to the chagrin of the Austrian fans. With Alessandra Keller in seventh place and Ramona Forchini in tenth place, a total of three Swiss women ride into the top 10.
After the race, Puck Pieterse says: "That was good. Very different from two weeks ago. Back then it was tactical and ended in a sprint, today it was like an XCO race. I wanted to attack early because many riders get tired after ten minutes and I wanted to take advantage of that. I have fond memories of Leogang, I won my first U23 World Cup here, that remains something special."
Blevins continues his winning streak
Before the start of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series 2025, Christopher Blevins had not won a UCI XCC World Cup since 2022. Since the first race weekend in Araxá, Minas Gerais (Brazil), however, the American has been in a completely different league to the rest of the field, winning all four rounds of the series (as well as two UCI XCO World Cups).
With start number 1, he shoots off the line but is soon swallowed up by the lead group, in which Simon Andreassen and Nino Schurter take command. However, the duo do not stay at the front for long, Schurter eventually drops out and Andreassen ends up 33rd.
On the third lap, Charlie Aldridge comes to the front. While Victor Koretzky, Schwarzbauer and two-time Saalfelden Leogang XCO-XCC double winner Mathias Flückiger are also in the mix at the front.
Every lap experiences a concertina effect. The leader seems to be clearly in front on the start and finish straight, but the field gathers again at the foot of the climb.
Mathias Flückiger tries to seize the initiative on lap eight, attacks early, but cannot shake off Aldridge. The Briton takes the lead again at the start of the penultimate lap. But he also has Blevins at his side, who holds back in the now four-man lead group.
Aldridge continues to lead at the start of the last lap and even appears to have fended off an attack from Blevins on the final, steep climb. But as the climb reaches its highest point, the American shows why he is still unbeaten in this format in 2025, attacking again and taking his teammate Vidaurre with him.
The Specialized duo lead into the final descent, and with the finish line in sight, there can only be one winner. Blevins retains his 100% win rate in 2025 and breaks several records in the process. The best Swiss rider is Lars Forster in fourth place, followed by Fabio Püntener in fifth. Mathias Flückiger finishes in ninth place.
First XCC victories for Benoit and Treudler: Swiss double success in the U23
Swiss rider Elina Benoit celebrates her first victory in the UCI XCC Women's U23 World Cup.
Bailey Cioppa (USA) leads the first two laps before Switzerland's Monique Halter takes the lead at the end of the third lap. Her compatriot Benoit remains close on her heels. As the pace picks up, a seven-strong leading group forms, led by Canadian Ella MacPhee.
MacPhee, who finished third in Nové Město, is considered the favorite in the absence of the Holmgren twins, but Benoit has other plans. On the sixth lap, Vida Lopez de San Roman (USA) attacks, only Benoit can follow. At the start of the final lap, the duo lead by six seconds.
Benoit has saved some reserves, goes on the final attack and rides solo to victory. The American Lopez de San Roman finishes second, MacPhee once again secures third place. Fiona Schibler in fourth and Monique Halter in sixth place put two more Swiss women in the top ten.
"I don't even understand how I did it," said Benoit after the race. "I just felt really good. The course suits me, I'm strong when it's steep. I just wanted to give it a go and it worked. Now I also have more confidence for Val di Sole. The first races weren't good. Not at all in Brazil, it was better in Nové Město. Now I can see that my form is right. That gives me confidence for the rest of the season."
The U23 men's race is less tactical. Finn Treudler takes the lead on the third lap and clearly pulls away from the competition with an attack on lap four.
The Swiss rider never relinquishes the lead, even though Oleksandr Hudyma (UKR) comes dangerously close to him at the end. The Ukrainian was 21 seconds behind with three laps to go and reduced the gap to five seconds by the finish.
German Paul Schehl completed the podium in third place. Things did not go well for the previous overall leader Heby Gustav Pedersen, who finished fourteenth.
Treudler explained at the finish: "I really liked the course. I knew that I had a good chance today. I felt great right from the start and suddenly had a gap on the third lap. From then on it was clear: just keep going until the finish. Towards the end it was close again, I had to really fight, but I'm mega happy with the win."
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.