Rissveds lands another win for Sweden in Nove Mesto World Cup

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Jenny Rissveds (Swedish National Team) became the second Swedish rider in two rounds of the UCI Eliminator World Cup to win, following in the footsteps of compatriot Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory). Engen retained her overall lead in the series after finishing third.

The Nove Mesto eliminator course was very different from the first round, in Albstadt, Germany, last week. Where the opening round was very technical, running through city streets, this week incorporated parts of the cross country circuit, with a rock garden and long climb, requiring power and endurance.

Rissveds, who had been favoured to make the final in the first round before crashing in the semi-final there, had a clean run through to final with the exception of her quarter-final race, when she had to play catch up from last place after slipping a pedal in the start.

In the final, Rissveds was up against round one winner and world champion Engen, Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike) and cross country World Cup leader Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol). The group rode together through the opening jumps and rock garden, and then Rissveds made her move on the long paved climb halfway through the 1070-metre circuit, attacking to get the lead as the riders headed into singletrack.

"Jenny was too strong," said Engen. "She attacked at the top of hill and I just couldn't get on her wheel. She was fastest today. This is a course that you can be tactical on and wait until later in the race, but Jenny was just too strong."

Rissveds cruised in for the win, while Engen lost a close sprint for second to Stirnemann.

"My tactic was to be powerful at the beginning and look back at technical section to see if anyone was there," Rissveds said. "It wasn't easy, but I think my tactic was the best today. The course had everything - tech sections and you had to be powerful on the climb. The crash last week gave me some motivation, but I was also a little bit nervous because of it."

Engen retains the eliminator World Cup overall lead with 90 points, with Rissved in second 10 points back, tied for points with Stirnemann.

Elite women's eliminator full results

Elite women's eliminator World Cup standings after round 2