Hatherly lands premiere and double victory in Les Gets
Pieterse's clear revenge
After the starting gun, the big names had mixed starts. Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) dropped back a dozen places, while Gwen Gibson (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) and Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker Racing Team) fared much better. Jenny Rissveds (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) went into the actual lap in the lead. Chiara Teocchi (Orbea Factory Team) also got off to her usual strong start. Henderson briefly took the lead on the first climb before Puck Pieterse launched an attack at the front, which was her only attack. After a few minutes of racing, Pieterse already had a six-second lead over Henderson. Behind her, Gibson crashed out of the decision.
While European champion Pieterse steadily extended her lead, Friday's short track winner Alessandra Keller had also worked her way back into the top ten. Australia's Rebecca Henderson and South Africa's Candace Lill, who had moved up and was obviously on a high, went into the second lap together 36 seconds behind. Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) chased them down, while Alessandra Keller was able to catch up and was now part of the strong chasing quartet.
On the third lap, large gaps opened up between the chasers. Lill and Keller were now both riding alone, while Richards had Henderson and Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) on his heels. Lill managed the gap to Pieterse and kept it largely constant, but was also unable to reduce it. Keller had a 30-second lead on both the riders in front and behind her.
Despite her large lead, Pieterse did not let up. Instead of relaxing, she maintained her aggressive, elbow-out position on the bike. Keller, for her part, kept fighting, knowing how easy it was to lose time on the climbs. The final drop into the Red Bull Roots and Rolls was the only time Pieterse got into trouble, albeit without consequences. A short time later, she took her first cross-country World Cup win of the season.
Lill, who had enjoyed third place in Val di Sole in Trentino (Italy), rode even better. Keller had not quite given up on second place and tried to make up time on the technical sections. But it was too late to close the gap completely. Candice Lill crossed the finish line 2:37 minutes behind and happy with her second place, which was her best performance. Keller rolled solidly into third place, ahead of Jenny Rissveds and Anne Terpstra.
"I tried to go full gas from the start and luckily it worked," Pieterse summed up. "I knew it was a course for climbers, so I tried to go full gas on every climb and take fewer risks on the descent. On the last lap I got a little tired and made a few mistakes, but luckily I still had enough time. After three laps, I was worried if I had gone at it too early, but luckily I was able to pull it off."
The result puts her in second place overall, ahead of Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing), who decided to skip the lap in Les Gets. Overall leader Keller was very happy with third place and says: "I'm going into my first ever Olympic Games with no pressure. I'll just try to enjoy the Games."
Hatherly with career high just before the Olympics
At the start, Cannondale Factory Racing immediately thundered off in formation, and the riders rode up the mountain in a formation of three. On the never-ending whoop climb, Simon Andreasson found himself at the front of the field. Daniele Braidot (CS Carabinier - Cicle Olympia) also got off to a good start, breaking the Cannondale dominance, while his brother Luca (Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team) took the lead on the second climb. Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon), meanwhile, rode into third place.
Hatherly started the second lap nine seconds behind Braidot, but was in the company of Flückiger. The next six riders, led by Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing), were 15 seconds back. Towards the end of the second lap, it looked like a three-way battle between Braidot, Flückiger and Hatherly. The Swiss rider overtook the South African by choosing a technical but faster passage between the trees. And Flückiger kept pushing downhill, so that Hatherly had to make a big effort to keep up with the Swiss.
The difference between Hatherly and Flückiger hardly seemed there until it suddenly became big. The South African got out of the saddle before the second climb of the lap and took off where it was steepest. That was enough to immediately open up an eight-second lead, which doubled in the last part of the lap. Hatherly rode well into the fifth lap with a 50-second lead over Flückiger, who in turn had almost a minute advantage over his pursuers.
In the final third of the race, the attacks began at the back. An attack by Avondetto took Braidot by surprise, but he was able to fight his way back. Andreassen was more interested in positioning himself by riding into the forest at the front. This immediately proved advantageous as Gaze had to jump off and run, holding off the others. The final lap was rung in, and both Hatherly and Flückiger rode in their positions with no worries.
In the race for third place, Andreassen seemed to have something left in the tank. He pulled away from Avondetto on the climb, but took Braidot with him. And while Andreassen and Braidot continued to battle it out, Hatherly rode to his first World Cup victory, ahead of Flückiger and Andreassen. Luca Braidot finished fourth ahead of his compatriot Simone Avondetto.
"Before the race I imagined doing the double and I'm so happy to have done it, especially with the Olympics coming up," said a delighted Hatherly. "When I was confident with my strategy, I just went for it. I was still surprised that I was able to drive away like that. But I'm very happy that I kept the pace constant right to the finish."
Flückiger was very satisfied, also because he had arrived directly from altitude training and had not enjoyed any special preparation: "I'm happy with my race. And Alan was simply on a different level today. The podium is good for my confidence and we still have a few weeks until Paris."
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.