Kate Courtney is the new world champion - Neff fourth
At the Cross-Country World Championships in Lenzerheide, Kate Courtney from the USA overtakes Annika Langvad from her long lead and takes the world title - in her first year in the elite category. Jolanda Neff is celebrated by the huge crowds for her fourth place. Linda Indergand takes 13th place, Ramona Forchini 23rd place.
Annika Langvad takes the pace on lap one and immediately opens up a gap to the competition with her enormous power. She soon had a lead of 30 seconds. "I decided not to hold anything back today," explains Langvad. Kate Courtney and Emily Batty position themselves behind her and fight for silver until halfway, while Jolanda Neff quickly falls behind after a less good start. She was only ninth for a while before finding her rhythm and making up positions. However, the gap to the front grew to over a minute.
Once the gap narrows as Annika Langvad slips off the front wheel. Her Specialized teammate Kate Courtney closes the gap to ten seconds, but the Dane gets back on track and increases the gap again. Meanwhile, Emily Batty is struggling and has to let Courtney go. Behind her, Jolanda Neff has ridden into fourth position, but the gap is just under a minute. Neff fights hard, but despite cramps, Batty ultimately successfully fights off the Swiss rider's chase. It was not enough for the medal she had hoped for and would have loved to present to the public.
"I gave it my all," commented Neff, "but I wasn't at one hundred percent today. The level is so high and you have to be at your best in every area. I had a small fall on my knee last week and couldn't do my training the way I wanted to. I also got a little cough. These things aren't too bad, but everything has to be right at a World Championships."
She couldn't blame herself. "I fought for every meter, got closer, but I didn't have the freshness for the medal decision today. Thanks to everyone on the course, it was deafening. I've never experienced anything like it, it was brilliant. I would have loved to give the crowd the gold medal, but I'm only 25 and still have a few years to get the jersey back."
In the battle for this jersey, Annika Langvad gradually runs out of steam in the last two of seven laps. She loses her power and can no longer push over the roots as before. Kate Courtney gets closer and closer, only ten seconds separate the two rivals as the last lap begins. The decision will be made in the Motorex Climb, a root passage. Langvad gets stuck on a root there and has to dismount, giving Courtney the opportunity to pass her. Langvad can no longer react and has to settle for silver. "It's a very special day," says Courtney after the first US title since Alison Dunlap won in Vail in 2001.
Linda Indergand finishes the home World Championships in 13th place (+5:13) after being in the top ten until two laps before the end. "Apart from the European Championships, that was my best race," says Indergand. "I tried to recover after La Bresse to start the race fresh, and that paid off. I only suffered a lot in the last two laps. But the fans pushed me on."
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.