Rissveds finishes solo in Cross-Country Olympic race ahead of home nation's Ronja Blöchlinger while Martin prevails after long battle with Adrien Boichis
For a second week in a row world champion Jenny Rissveds got to celebrate on the top step of the podium, taking a solo victory in the women's elite Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) race at the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lenzerheide.
Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing), on the other hand, turned a run of second places into victory this time turning the tables by claiming the top spot in the men's elite race after a long battle with last week's winner in Leogang, Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing).
The lead group was whittled down from six to four and then two, with Boichis pushing on the climbs and launching a last lap attack on asphalt as he chased a second victory on the trot, but then he slipped out on the gravel and crashed. That was all Martin needed to get away and pull out a gap that left him crossing the line with time to celebrate.
“I’m so happy after three second places, I needed to win. It was a crazy race. In the first part I tried to stay at the back [of the leading group] and feel my shape," said series leader Martin in a media release after taking his first World Cup XCO win of the year and second of his career.
“I knew the last lap would be very dangerous and it was never finished. When Adrien attacked I felt like I could come back in the downhill. He crashed, it was very slippery, when I saw that I had to go.”
Behind Martin and Boichis, it was Bjorn Riley (Scott SRAM MTB) in third.
For Rissveds, there was no final lap battle as the world champion and series leader took off solo early after reeling in an opening surge by home-nation rider Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing). After that Rissveds forged on alone right to the line, to take the win with a one minute advantage to the Swiss rider Blöchlinger, who held firm for her first World Cup XCO podium finish and second podium of the weekend.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I’m really happy about today’s race. In short track on Friday, I was pretty exhausted to be honest," said Rissveds, also mentioning that it hadn't been an easy week given controversy surrounding the contact with Savilla Blunk that resulted in a crash for the Decathlon Ford Racing ride on the first lap in Leogang in the last round.
“I was just trying to be patient today, but then I realised that I was feeling good.”
Blunk, who earlier won the short track in Lenzerheide, claimed third, 12 seconds back from Blöchlinger.
After two weekends in a row of racing, there will now be a couple of weeks until another set of close rounds – La Thuile, Italy from July 3-5 and Pal Arinsal, Andorra from July 10-12.
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
