October 6/24 21:49 pm - Final 2024 XCO World Cup Titles Awarded on Sunday at MSA

Posted by Editoress on 10/6/24
 

The 2024 Mountain Bike World Cup season concluded on Sunday at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, with a packed day of XCO racing - the final rounds for the men and women in both the Under-23 and Elite categories. While there were no changes to the overall leader's jerseys, multiple categories saw positions change below the top spot.

Under-23 Women
Canadian world champion Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) was going for her fifth win in the five World Cup XCOs she has competed in this season, which would have likely bumped her up to third (or possibly second) in the final overall standings. The race began as predicted, with Holmgren opening a gap by the end of the start loop, which she had stretched to nearly a minute by the second lap. Then she crashed hard in a rock garden, flying over the bars and standing at the side of the course for a few minutes before starting to ride again. She pulled into the pits to get her bike checked and then kept riding, but slowly, before pulling out a lap later.

World Cup leader Kira Böhm (Cube Factory) assumed the lead for the second half of the race to win by 31 seconds over Olivia Onesti (Trinx Factory) and 43 seconds ahead of Fiona Schibler Bike Team SoloThurn). Ella MacPhee (Pivot Cycles - OTE) was the top Canadian with a strong ride into fifth, her second fifth in two weeks. Emilly Johnston (Trek Future) took eighth, and Marin Lowe (Pittstop Racing) was 11th.






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"It feels really good," admitted MacPhee. "I've been wanting have some strong results like this at the end of the season, because it is really motivating for the next year. It's a super technical course. I was able to really give it on the climbs and just try and keep calm on the descents; it really came together well. I've had Pivot Cycles [team] behind me, really helping me, and making it all possible. Without them, I wouldn't be performing this way, so I'm really thankful for them."

Böhm took the overall title, which she has held from the first round, followed by Onesti and Madigan Munro (Trek Factory - Pirelli), with Johnston moving up one spot to fourth and knocking Holmgren down to fifth. MacPhee remained in eighth.

Elite Women
This race became at two rider battle between Loana Lecomte (Canyon Collective), the defending winner at MSA, and Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory). Lecomte attacked on the first lap, but was joined by Stigger. Sina Frei (Specialized Factory), the winner of the XCC on Friday tried unsuccessfully to bridge across and rode solo in third for much of the race. At the front, Lecomte and Stigger rode together until the final lap, when Lecomte attacked on a climb to open a small gap, which she held to the line, winning by nine seconds. Canadian champion Jenn Jackson (Liv Factory) finished 23rd, with Laurie Arseneault (Pittstop Racing) finishing 32nd.

"I matched my number plate [23]," said Jackson. "I feel that I was capable of more today, but I just struggled to find the traction; I felt like maybe I went up a bit too much in air [tire pressure]; being cautious of flatting and gave up some confidence on the descents. I'm a little disappointed with that, that I wasn't riding super well. But the fans were cheering me on the whole way, so I feel super lucky for that. I just hung in tough for the last few laps. Overall, it's night and day improvements from last year, 12th in the short track, top-20 in the XCO [17th], when I was in the 30s. I was consistently finding myself in the top-10 for the first half of races this year; I just need to find that bit extra resolve in the back end of the races. Still a work in progress, but I'm excited for next year."








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The overall title had already been all but locked up by Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon), who finished fifth on the day. Stigger's second jumped her up to second from fourth, with Candace Lill holding onto her third place overall after finishing fourth. Jackson moved up one spot to finish 17th overall.

Elite Men
World champion and World Cup leader Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory) had a very strong lead in the standings going into the race, but wasn't content to play it cautious, attacking hard on the first lap to splinter the chase, gaining over 30 seconds by the third lap. The chase was taken up by Mathis Azzaro (Decathlon Racing) and XCC champion Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory), however, by Lap 4 Koretzky was fading back to a chase group, while Azzaro was starting to pull back Hatherly, joining the leader on the sixth lap (of eight). The duo rode together for a lap before Hatherly attacked again to solo in for the win. Koretzky seemed to get a second wind in the last couple of laps, chasing with Charlie Aldridge before dropping the Brit in the final kilometre to take third.






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Canadian champion Leandre Bouchard (Foresco Holding Proco RL) had a blazing fast start, getting right to the front of the race on the start loop, but started to fade after that, eventually finishing 21st. Tyler Orschel (Pivot Cycles - OTE) had one the strongest races of his World Cup career, making it into the top-25 before fading slightly to finish 32nd. Gunnar Holmgren (KMC Ridley) also made it into the top-25 before fading to finish 40th.

"I had a clean start," said Orschel. "My goal was to be in the top-40 off the start, and I was there. I had nothing to lose in the last World Cup of the season, so i just went a little over the limit for as long as I could, and I ended up holding it until the last lap, and then just exploded a bit on the last lap. It was worth it. In reality, it's my best World Cup - I've done a top-30 before, but it wasn't a full field like it was this year, so this is my best World Cup result. I made a lot of improvements from last year, last year I had a bit of a down season, and this year I'm back on track."

The race made no change to the top six overall standings, with Hatherly finishing over 300 points ahead of Koretzky and Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM) taking third, just ahead of team mate Nino Schurter, who had hinted this could possibly be his last MSA appearance. Holmgren remains the top Canadian in the standings, moving up one spot to 36th.

Under-23 Men
Canadian champion Cole Punchard (Pivot Cycles - OTE) came into this race with high expectations, after having won the previous round in Lake Placid, NY, a week earlier. Initially, this looked to be well-founded, with Punchard joining Friday's XCC winner Dario Lillo (Giant Factory) and world champion Luca Martin (Orbea Factory) in a break at the front of the race. However, Punchard began to struggle and was dropped on the second lap. He would continue to lose places through the race to finish 11th. Ian Ackert (Trek Future) was the next best Canadian, in 20th place. The World Cup leader, Riley Amos (Trek Factory - Pirelli) and second place overall Bjorn Riley (Trek Future) were also having an off day. The two leaders rode together until late in the final lap, when Lillo managed to open a gap to win by 13 seconds. Frenchman Yannis Musy took third at 26 seconds.

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"It was a really tough day out there today," admitted Punchard. "Just really couldn't find the rhythm. I had a great start - I wanted to position myself into the first downhill in the top-3, and I did that. On the second and third lap, the wheels just started to come apart a bit, and I was making way too many mistakes out there. I just couldn't find the next gear that I needed. Everyone has their off days, and you wish you didn't have it at the home race, especially. It was a tough one out there, but I was happy to fight to the end, and happy to find something on the last lap. It's been a really great year, building all the way throughout the season. The icing on the cake was, for sure the win last week, that was a really good feeling."

There were no changes in the overall standings for the podium, with Riley Amos winning, followed by Bjorn Riley and Luca Martin. Lilllo moved up one spot, to fourth. Punchard remained in seventh overall.


Results