Bad start denies Jolanda Neff victory

"Where is Jolanda Neff?" That was a question that was asked more than once on the side of the track during the first lap of the women's race. She was only spotted in 23rd position and was a little perplexed afterwards as to why that was.
"I've never been so far back after the start in a World Cup and I don't know exactly why. I think those at the front just rode fast and paid for it afterwards. But I couldn't go any faster either," explains Neff afterwards. "Afterwards, I got better and better and caught up with one after the other."
45 seconds behind after one lap. However, she was already twelfth. She then sets a best lap time and catches up with the leading group at the start of lap three.

Pauline Ferrand Prevot attacks first, but her attack fizzles out. It is surprisingly Anne Terpstra from the Netherlands who passes the Frenchwoman and rides to a 15-second lead.
Jolanda Neff fights her way up from fifth position to third, overtakes Ferrand Prevot and sets off in pursuit. On the penultimate lap, she caught up with Terpstra. "Maybe I should have ridden on from there, but I couldn't go any faster," said Neff.

So the leading duo rode into the last lap together. Neff takes over the leading position, gains a few meters, but Terpstra catches up again after the short descent and attacks powerfully.
"That's when I ran out of energy. I had no answer when she attacked," explains Neff. Terpstra quickly increased her lead and rode to the first World Cup victory of her career, the first ever for a Dutch woman.

Frei in the race

Sina Frei was in the leading group for a long time. "I tried to ride my rhythm and not overpace. I lacked a bit of strength at the end, but I'm happy with my race," explained Frei about her ninth place. She fought for a place on the five-rider podium until two laps before the end, but then she had to let her rivals go.

This also includes Olympic champion Jenny Rissveds. The Swede is riding her second World Cup race since returning from depression. She first rides from 25th position to 13th and after a while puts the pedal to the metal again. Rissveds finishes fifth and there are moving scenes in the finish area. The Swede is riding for her own Team31, which refers to Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Ramona Forchini gets off to a bad start and is then involved in duels with a lot of elbow action. As a result, she is initially in the region where Jolanda Neff is also struggling.
She was then able to gradually ride her way forward and finish in a pleasing 14th place (+3:02). "At some point, holes opened up and I was able to ride the way I wanted. It was a battle, everything was so close together. In the end, I can be happy with 14th place," explained Forchini.

Nicole Koller in fourth place

Nicole Koller finished fourth in the U23 Women's World Cup in the Bikepark Vallnord, Andorra. Koller finished 1:57 minutes behind the winner Ronja Eibl from Germany, who also took the overall lead with her first success.

Nicole Koller got off to a bad start, a problem she has often had. "I thought that was it. But then it went very well, at least much better than last year," explains Koller with a view to the altitude of 1800 meters.
She rode steadily to the front, passing Haley Batten in the World Cup leader's jersey on the penultimate lap and then the Austrian Laura Stigger, who won in Albstadt.

However, the gap to third place is too big to close. "It's a shame that it wasn't enough for the podium, but I'm definitely satisfied," said Koller, who is 36 seconds off third place with Martina Berta (+1:21).
Ronja Eibl pulls away from the higher-ranked Brit Evie Richards in the penultimate of five laps and wins in 1:08:09, 52 seconds ahead of Richards.

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