Jordan Sarrou sprints to victory ahead of three Swiss athletes

Jordan Sarrous jubelt nach seinem beeindruckenden Sprintsieg gegen Nino Schurter.

Photo: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

At the penultimate World Cup race in Snowshoe, USA, Jordan Sarrou prevents a Swiss victory. The Frenchman wins ahead of Nino Schurter, Marcel Guerrini and Mathias Flückiger. In the women's race, Austria's Laura Stigger rides to her first World Cup victory. She wins ahead of Loana Lecomte and Martina Berta. Jolanda Neff takes fifth place.

Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) rides away early and leads for more than half of the spirited six-lap race in Snowshoe. The Austrian successfully kept her pursuers at bay, in some cases by over 30 seconds. But on the penultimate lap, Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) turned up the heat and reduced the gap to under 20 seconds. The possibility of the Frenchwoman closing the gap over the remaining one and a half laps became increasingly real.

However, even if Stigger doesn't ride quite as fresh on the last lap, Lecomte also loses ground again. The 23-year-old rode to her first World Cup victory in cross-country, keeping Austria's winning streak alive. Her compatriot Mona Mitterwallner, who had won the last two races, was involved in a crash at the start and had to queue up on the trails instead of catching up. She ends up tenth.

The sixth place of Puck Pieterse of Alpecin-Deceuninck is enough to secure the overall World Cup victory in cross country in 2023, and that before the last race. Italian Martina Berta (Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team) finished third after breaking away from a group that included Pieterse.

Jolanda Neff shows a strong race to catch up. After a slow start, the reigning Olympic champion got into the race better and better and fought her way up to fifth place behind the American Savilia Blunk. After a tough time, fifth place feels like a small victory, says Neff.Sina Frei and Alessandra Keller finished 14th and 15th respectively

Results

Premiere in front of three Swiss

In the men's race, it is Victor Koretzky and Luca Schwarzbauer who dictate the pace. The Swiss are not to be seen at the front at the start, nor is world champion Tom Pidcock. But gradually Nino Schurter, Mathias Flückiger and Marcel Guerrini move into the more promising positions. Pidcock is now also in the mix at the front.

The large leading group remains compact until the start of the fifth of seven laps. But then the race increasingly turned into an elimination race as defects piled up. First, the world champion suffered a puncture, while Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) and Jordan Sarrou (FRA) rode away at the front. However, the leading duo did not last as Schwarzbauer also took a break in the tech zone.

Jordan Sarrou holds on to the lead alone for two laps. But behind him, the Swiss trio of Flückiger, Schurter and Guerrini reduced the Frenchman's time cushion. Now Victor Koretzky, who was considered the big favorite, is gradually falling behind. Pidcock, on the other hand, who had to change his front wheel a second time, is gaining ground again.

The last lap has barely begun before the gap between Sarrou and his pursuers is closed. Now Flückiger loses the connection, Guerrini attacks a short time later but can't get away. Guerrini's energy is gone, however, when Nino Schurter attacks on the final climb to the finish. Now only Sarrou can follow and counterattack a little later. On the home straight, the Frenchman proves to have the stronger legs and wins his first Cross-Country World Cup ahead of Schurter. Guerrini is delighted with third place, his best career result, while Mathias Flückiger retains fourth place.

A strong second half of the race from Filippo Colombo. The Ticino rider finishes the World Cup race in ninth place. Luca Schwarzbauer doesn't really get back into the race after his puncture and finishes eleventh.

Results

Maxwell and Woods impress

In the U23 women's race, world champion Samara Maxwell (Rockrider Ford Racing Team) was in impressive form, winning by more than a minute ahead of Swiss riders Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing) and Ginia Caluori (Thömus Akros - Youngstars).

The pair had pulled away from the field on the first of five laps, but the Kiwi, who signed a contract with the Rockrider Ford team this week, overtook her Swiss rival on the second lap and never looked back.

Ginia Caluori (Thömus Akros - Youngstars) finished third after battling with Noëlle Buri (Bixs Performance race Team), who finished fourth, for much of the race. Swiss rider Calouri's performance was all the more impressive given that she was riding a borrowed bike, as her own bike was lost in transit.

Blöchlinger takes the lead in the series from Sofie Heby Pedersen (Wilier-Pirelli Factory Team XCO), who finished 25th.

Results

There was a strong win for Carter Woods (Giant Factory Off-Road Team-XC) in the U23 men's race. Canadian Woods and series leader Adrien Boichis (Trinity Racing MTB) were able to break away from the field on the first of six laps and extend their lead to almost a minute by the final lap.

The pair traded blows throughout the race, but it was Boichis who went first at the decisive moment of the race. He attacked around Woods in the second half of the sixth lap, but Woods had the legs to react and passed the Frenchman to finish five seconds ahead. US American Riley Amos gave the home fans reason to cheer as he finished around 55 seconds behind Woods in third. Boichis retains the lead in the overall standings. He is currently 160 points ahead of Woods and has 165 points at his disposal in Mont-Sainte-Anne.

Results