Jolanda Neff seizes the initiative at the start and leads the field on the first lap. The Swiss rider opens up a small gap in a technical passage, but she doesn't try to escape.
Rebecca McConnell and defending champion Kate Courtney close the gap and a leading trio emerges for the time being, while Pauline Ferrand Prevot is already 50 seconds behind after a crash in the start phase.

Kate Courtney is unable to keep up and falls back. The Neff/McConnell duo leads by 26 seconds at the end of the second lap, but Pauline Ferrand Prevot has found the gas pedal and has already reached the chasing group.

On the third lap, Ferrand Prevot outpaces her companions Anne Tauber, Anne Terpstra (both Netherlands) and Kate Courtney on the longest climb over the "Zig Zag" passage.
At the end of the third lap, she is only twelve seconds behind Neff, who has just let Rebecca McConnell go.

It doesn't take long for Ferrand Prevot to catch up with her Swiss rival. She immediately rides past and sets off in pursuit of McConnell. By the time the lap is complete, she has overtaken Henderson and marches on to her second title win on the mountain bike after 2015.

Jolanda Neff is fighting for third place. Behind her, Dutch rider Anne Terpstra has taken another run-up, but Neff remains stable. On the contrary, she got going better towards the end and was able to catch the weakening McConnell on the final lap and overtake her on a climb to the applause of the crowd.
"I didn't feel good today and immediately realized that today was going to be tough for me. I'm very happy to have won silver on a day like this. Pauline was very strong today and deserved to win," commented Neff.
"I just didn't push myself to the limit and wasn't really broken at the finish. The fact that I was still able to win a medal here certainly has a lot to do with the fact that the course suits me best. I've always done well here and can make up time in the technical sections."

Linda Indergand crosses the finish line in tenth place and clenches her fist. "That was a relief," she says and laughs, "cool that it worked out again today."
Indergand sets out to get off to a good start and is able to do so. "I wanted to invest and then try to stay in front. That worked and I'm definitely very happy," says Indergand.
She stayed between ninth and eleventh position over the entire distance. "I made two or three mistakes at the start, but then found my rhythm."

Alessandra Keller has to stop twice to fix the saddle, which has slipped down. But she didn't have a good day and only finished 30th (+11:29).

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