Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) continued their short track winning streak at the UCI MTB World Series in Leogang on Friday.
Pieterse, the reigning cross-country world champion, arrived fresh off a victory in Nové Město Na Moravě, while Blevins has now secured four in a row, having also won in Nové Město Na Moravě, and both rounds in Araxá.
Pieterse caught her rivals off guard with a surprise attack on a five-rider front group mid-race, and then crossed the line 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Factory Racing) and 21 seconds ahead of third-placed Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing), who had jumped ahead of fourth-place Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing) on the final climb.
"It’s been good. It was a completely different short track from two weeks ago. Then it was way more cagey and ended in a sprint finish, and today it was like an XCO course, so I went for it early. Normally, after 10 minutes, riders start to get tired, so I tried to make use of that," Pieterse said after her victory.
"I’ve some good memories from Leogang. I won my first U23 World Cup here, so it carries good memories.”
US rider Christopher Blevins in Leogang (Image credit: UCI Mountain Bike World Series)
In the elite men's short track event, Blevins attacked on the final ascent to put himself in the best position on track as he led entering the descent, and crossed the finish line first.
It was a 1-2 finish for Specialized Factory Racing as Martin Vidaurre Kossmann finished second place in the two-up sprint against his teammate, while Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) finished in third place one second back.
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"I’m just taking it race by race and focusing on my process. Right now, the process is working. That was the hardest one yet. Just look at that climb. Sometimes you’ve got to surf it and find the little pockets to shoot through. Sometimes the guys at the back are working harder than the guys at the front. But on a course like this, it’s max effort for 20 minutes, and everyone is so strong," Blevins said.
“Tactics here are more like how you’re pushing your body and how you’ll find that edge and go just to the tip of it every time, and then last lap it’s all out. I saved that final match and definitely burned it for the win."
Blevins also became the first rider to win the first four UCI XCC World Cups of the season. He is now turning his attention to the elite men's cross-country event, where he could win his third in a row this season after winning round two in Araxá and round three in Nové Město Na Moravě.
“The pressure is outside of you," he said. "It’s other people’s projections. I’ve been winning by just focusing on my process, the mental side of it, the emotional side of it, bringing the mind and body to the closest I could get to doing my best at every single race. You’re just focusing on the processes, you don’t really think about pressure.”
The elite women's and elite men's cross-country XCO events will take place on Sunday in Leogang, Austria.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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