April 8/22 16:45 pm - MTB World Cup XCC report and results

Posted by Editoress on 04/8/22
 

Opening Round of the 2022 Mountain Bike World Cup in Petropolis, Brazil

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Women
The 2022 Mountain Bike World Cup opened on Friday in the new venue of Petropolis, Brazil; the first time that the World Cup has visited Brazil since 2005. Racing began with the first XCC [Short Track] of the new stand alone World Cup series for this discipline. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (BMC MTB Racing) became the first rider to don the new leader's jersey with a last lap attack in the women's six lap race. Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory) outsprinted XCO world champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory) for second.

There were two Canadians in the race, with national champion Jenn Jackson (Canyon MTB Racing) finishing 25th and her team mate Laurie Arseneault 32nd.

"I've been 25th way too many times in short track," joked Jackson. "it's like there's a magnet pulling me to finish there no matter how hard I try! No joke though, it was a hard race, long draggy efforts, I felt pretty strong but just didn't quite have the pace to get into the main group. I was almost there but got pinched out the back a few times through the chicanes and wasn't able to get in. Had some good fight and made back a few spots at the end but was still a few seconds out of the callup positions at the end. Looking forward to Sunday; Laurie and I had some really good pre-ride laps yesterday and are feeling good on it."

The 1.4 kilometre circuit did not offer any technical or climbing features to separate the field, so it was a high-paced race of attrition.

Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV), the 2021 World Cup overall champion moved to the front on the first lap, setting a fast pace that left others content to follow for the first half of the race. Richards challenged her a few times, but always slid back on the climbs as the front group shrunk to 15 riders.

Rebecca McConnell (Primaflora Mondraker Genuins) launched the first serious attack on Lap 5, opening a small gap before Richards, Ferrand Prevot, Stigger and Lecomte pulled her back. Richards then opened the throttle on the final lap and looked to be in control until the final short climb, when Ferrand Prevot surged and no one could answer.

"I'm very happy and I was not expecting it," said Ferrand Prevot. "It is my first short track of the season, and I have been doing Cape Epic so more longer distance races. But I have I worked hard over the winter on my weaknesses."

"I missed a pedal at the start but I was able to come back after an effort. Then I tried to sit in a bit and recover. Coming from road racing, I am used to tactics and I just waited for the right moment."



Men
The 2022 Mountain Bike World Cup opened on Friday in the new venue of Petropolis, Brazil; the first time that the World Cup has visited Brazil since 2005. Racing began with the first XCC [Short Track] of the new stand alone World Cup series for this discipline. Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory) took the first short track win of his career with an attack just before the final descent to the finish line to overtake Thomas Litscher (Kross Orlen) in the final 50 metres. Maxime Marotte (Santa Cruz FSA) took third.

There were two Canadians in the race, with Marc Andre Fortier (Pivot Cycles - OTE) finishing 22nd, good enough for a third row call up on Sunday. Peter Disera (Norco Factory) was 28th. Unfortunately, Leandre Bouchard (Foresco Holding Proco Rl) crashed in training before the start and was taken to hospitel. He tells us he is diagnosed with a concussion and contusions, so likely no race start for Sunday.

Fortier commented,"Very fast race. So much fun racing with the big names and super stoked to have had the opportunity of giving it a go. As a bonus, the result is good and gives me a front of grid start, but the real race is Sunday and I'm focussed on that now."

All eyes were on Brazilian star Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory), racing in his home town on a course that he and his father designed. Avancini did not disappoint the huge crowd in the early laps, taking control at the front of the race for the first two laps and always staying in the top three.

Litscher and XCO world champion Nino Schurter (Scott SRAM) both tested the front of the race before 2021 World Cup champion Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus Maxon) attacked hard at the start of Lap 5. The top contenders all responded immediately, with Marotte moving to the front for the penultimate sixth lap. Things seemed to settle down a bit for this lap, with no one willing to make a long attack. Schurter jumped at the beginning of the final lap, but neither he nor Avancini could respond when Litscher surged on the final climb. The Swiss rider looked to have it won on the descent into the finish, but Hatherly attacked hard in the final flat run-in to the finish line to come by for the win.

"It's incredible," admitted Hatherly, the first ever South African short track winner. "This is unbelievable, the crowd is insane. Super happy to take the win for the team. It was a really crazy race. A few efforts were going with three laps to go, but nothing was sticking, so I sat back a bit and waited, using some road tactics."

Results