Women
The fast track at Nove Mesto led to a race of attrition, with a few riders getting shed every lap due to the high intensity. Woodruff stole off the front of the women's race and nobody was willing to take up the chase, allowing her to roll in for the best World Cup result of her career. Annie Last (KMC-Ekoi-Orbea) won the field sprint ahead of Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory) and World Cup leader Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM). Courtney continues to lead the women's standings, with Neff second and Woodruff moving up one spot to third.
"I was inspired by Kate [Courtney, Round 1 winner] last week," said Woodruff, "so this means a lot. I race short track all the time and I love it. I knew my best bet was to go early, but I didn't know how big a gap I had until the last corner."
Men
Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus) proved once again that he is the best XCC (short track) racer on the Mountain Bike World Cup circuit with his second win in a row, in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, on Friday night.
The men's race saw multiple riders take a turn at the front, with van der Poel biding his time until four laps to go, when he accelerated away. He quickly opened a nine second lead, with Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) leading the chase at the front of the field. The Dutchman eased up at the line, crossing just ahead of the field sprint, led by Maxime Marotte (Cannondale Factory) and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory). Van der Poel padded his lead in the overall standings over Mathis Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike), with Marotte moving up to third from fourth.
"Last year, this was a really nervous race," explained van der Poel, "so I didn't really want to take a chance with a sprint. It was really painful, but eventually I got a gap and just went full gas to the finish."
Brief Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chloe Woodruff (USA) | 0:22:08 |
| 2 | Annie Last (GBr) | 0:00:08 |
| 3 | Jolanda Neff (Sui) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| 4 | Kate Courtney (USA) | 0:00:09 |
| 5 | Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | Linda Indergand (Sui) | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| 7 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) | 0:00:11 |
| 8 | Anne Tauber (Ned) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Rebecca Ellen McConnell (Aus) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Yana Belomoina (Ukr) | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) | 0:20:49 |
| 2 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| 3 | Henrique Aavncini (Bra) | 0:00:01 |
| 4 | Nino Schurter (Sui) | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| 5 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | ordan Sarrou (Fra) | 0:00:02 |
| 7 | eter Disera (Can) | 0:00:04 |
| 8 | Alan Hatherly (RSA) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Anton Cooper (NZl) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Reto Indergand (Sui) | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
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