Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) exhausted at the finish
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory Team)
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Start of the Men's race
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Jenny Rissveds (Team 31)
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory Team)
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Chloe Woodruff (Team USA)
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The leg killer of a climb
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Rebecca McConnell Primaflor Mondraker Rotor) and Anne Tauber (CST Sandd Bafang MTB Racing Team
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing)
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot(Canyon Factory Team)
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Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing XC)
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Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory Team) takes the win ahead of Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing XC)
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Rebecca McConnell (Primaflor Mondraker Rotor)
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Everyone else chasing Jolanda Neff
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Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing XC) attacked immediately
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Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) leads Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing) and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) over the roots
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing) attacks on the climb
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Torpado Ursus)
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Jordan Sarrou (Absolute-Absalon) takes a turn at the front
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Victor Koretzky (KMC-Ekoi-Orbea) and Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Torpado Ursus)
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Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) at the front
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Final 4 start the last lap: Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus), Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing), Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Maxime Marotte (Cannondale Factory Racing)
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) defeats Henrique Avancini Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) at the finish MXCCLENZWC_DSC1975 Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) exhausted at the finish
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Left to right: Henrique Avancini, Mathieu van der Poel, Nino Schurter
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Left to right: Jolanda Neff, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Jenny Rissveds
(Image credit: Rob Jones)
Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) proved once again that he is untouchable in the World Cup short track event, taking his fifth win in six races at Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on Friday. The only one he hasn't won this year was at Andorra, a race he didn't attend.
Held on a tight, twisty circuit at 1500 metres of altitude, a large group was still in contention with four laps to, before world champion and World Cup leader Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) accelerated. Only van der Poel and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory) were able to go with him, and van der Poel took over the pace setting for the final two laps. In the final lap, Avancini attacked on a climb and van der Poel immediately countered, pulling away from the Brazilian to cruise across the finish line. Schurter took third.
"It is a good feeling [to win so many short tracks], but every one has been pretty hard to win," said van der Poel. "Nino was really strong today, and he did a different tactic than what I am used to from him; pulling all during the race and making it really hard. I'm really satisfied with my season; I've made the step up to be with the top guys. Winning two [XCO] World Cups so far and the European XCO championship; it's been a fantastic season for me on the mountain bike."
With his win, van der Poel has pulled to within 71 points of Schurter, with Avancini maintaining his third place in the standings.
Ferrand-Prevot adds first short track win
One week after winning her first cross-country World Cup since 2015, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory) showed that it was not a fluke by winning Round 6 of the Short Track in Lenzerheide, Switzerland; her first win in the new discipline.
Held on a tight, twisty circuit at 1500 metres of altitude, the race saw a group of ten riders still in contention with three laps to go in the 20 minute race. Ferrand-Prevot had sat in the middle of the group, rejoining the leaders after crashing on the first lap. She began to to accelerate the pace, and the only riders able to go with her in the final lap were World Cup leader Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory) and Swedish champion Jenny Rissveds. Ferrand-Prevot got the inside line on the sweeping curve into the finish, crossing the line half a bike length ahead of Neff.
"It was incredible to win because I crashed on the first lap and was back in 12th position," said Ferrand-Prevot. "I came back, but it was so hard. I knew that I could not give up so I went full gas. For the sprint, since I won [the XCO World Cup] last week against Jolanda, I had some confidence, and I just gave it everything."
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With her second place, Neff padded her lead in the overall rankings ahead of former leader Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM), while Ferrand-Prevot moved up one spot to third overall.
