Riley Amos was pushed all the way at the U23 Short Track World Cup and crossed the finish line just two seconds ahead of Bjorn Riley (Trek Factory Racing). However, it was a different story in the cross-country race, which he won by a margin of 37 seconds.

The US American took the bull by the horns on the start loop and only Bjorn Riley (USA) and Rens Teunissen van Manen (NED) were able to keep up with his pace. Riley and Teunissen van Manen were just able to keep up with Amos for the first two laps, but on lap three the overall leader pulled away completely and made up 16 seconds on his compatriot, whose race soon became even more exciting.

Teunissen van Manen's afternoon went off the rails when he lost a minute on the leaders on the second lap and finished ninth, which put Luca Martin (Orbea Factory Racing Team) on the podium. While Amos continued to set the pace at the front, Riley crashed in the muddy conditions, then had problems with his chain and handlebars and lost almost a minute to Martin. He fell behind the Frenchman, who was in second place from the moment Teunissen van Manen dropped away.

However, Riley responded magnificently, using the A-line in the drier sections to chase down Martin and eventually reclaim second place. Nevertheless, it was a strong result for Martin in the battle with Swiss rider Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) for third place in the overall standings. His rival finished seventh and Cole Punchard achieved his best result of the season for Pivot Cycles-OTE with fourth place.

"I think today was the hardest and most difficult race of my U23 career so far," said Amos afterwards. Everyone knew it was going to be an absolute battle. I gave everything from the start to get to the front early, to decide the race in my favor, to make as few mistakes as possible and just try not to risk too much," said winner Amos.

Results

Onesti with first win of the season

After finishing second in Val di Sole last weekend, Olivia Onesti (Trinx Factory Team) went one better in Crans-Montana. The Frenchwoman got faster and faster over the four laps and won the U23 World Cup cross-country race by more than a minute ahead of Madigan Munroe (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli). Emilly Johnston (Trek-Future Racing), the winner of Friday's short track, was a further 83 seconds back in third place. 

"It was a really tough race, with lots of rain and mud," said Onesti. "I like it because it's different, but it was difficult. I'm so happy because this win was hard work."

Germany's Kira Böhm finished seventh and thus retains the lead in the overall standings of the U23 World Cup. Right behind her was Böhm's compatriot Finja Lipp, while Monique Halter rode to ninth place in Switzerland.

Results