October 5/24 7:58 am - Leandre Bouchard has Career-best 11th at MSA XCC

Posted by Editoress on 10/5/24
 

The Elite XCC World Cup series concluded on Friday at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, with the women's and men's leaders heading into the final round maintaining their positions atop the standings. Canada's Leandre Bouchard (Foresco Holding Proco RL) finished a career-high 11th in the men's race, while national champion Jenn Jackson (Liv Factory) was 13th in the women.

The 1.1 kilometre circuit has proven to be deceptively hard, opening with a long climb before traversing the ski hill to drop partly back down before traversing back across hill on a pump track section of small rollers. The riders then drop down to the base for a fast, flat section into a U-turn before the finish line.

Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) had already won the women's title with an insurmountable lead, but the rest of the podium (and the top-10) was still up for grabs, especially given the absence of Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), second overall going into the final round. Keller stayed out of trouble, finishing eighth, while a battle developed in front of her. The main instigators were last week's winner, Sina Frei (Specialized Factory), Loana Lecomte (Canyon Collective), world champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory - Pirelli) and Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker). The four finished in that order, with Frei sprinting to the front in the last half lap. Jackson rode a steady race, sitting in the mid-teens for most of the time before moving up to 13th on the final lap. Richards leapfrogged Henderson to take second overall by four points, with Frei moving up to fourth, a further two points back. Jackson actually dropped a spot to 12th, when Lecomte moved up from 13th to eighth overall.

"I had to chase back so many times," commented Jackson. "I kept getting pushed wide in the same corner mid-race, and it put me back 5-6 places, so I'd end up at the tail end of the lead pack. There was no rest whatsoever, no sitting up on the start-finish straight. Such a hard short track. I'm really happy with my short tracks this year; last year I only got to race them partway through the season, so being in them all year and consistently getting front row, second row call ups ... going into this weekend 11th overall was awesome. Just to feel that I belong in the competitive part of the race and I'm not just a tail gunner is an awesome feeling."

The men's race had the potential for a lead change, with Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) within striking distance of leader (and world champion) Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory). However, for the second week in a row, Gaze struggled, eventually finishing a distant 38th, which meant Koretzky pretty much had the title in his pocket. However, he was clearly looking for more and, along with defending champion Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon Collective) and Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory) was at or near the front for much of the race. In the final lap, it came down to Koretzky and French champion Mathis Azzaro (Decathlon Ford), with Koretzky outsprinting his countryman to put his stamp on the title. Hatherly took third. Bouchard and Gunnar Holmgren (KMC Ridley) rode cautiously mid-pack for much of the race after both started on the back row. In the final two laps they began to move up, with Bouchard taking 11th and Holmgren 15th. In the overall standings, Hatherly moved up from third to second, while Schwarbauer - after finishing fifth - overtook Gaze for the final podium spot, by five points. Holmgren matched his best result of the season move up to 26th (from 31st), while Bouchard went from 49th to 44th.

"A very good last short track for the season," said Bouchard. "That's so cool ... last week I was not in [qualified for] the short track, and this week I am 11th, so it is pretty sweet. And at home, so it's really looking good for the main show Sunday [the XCO]. It's always hard [at MSA] but I knew some spots where it would slow down and I could do some smart, good passes without using too much energy."

Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup: Elite Women and Men XCC results