Schurter and Batty take Bonelli Park victories

Three-time World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team) took the early lead and parlayed it to victory in the Bonelli Park US Cup race, holding a slim lead at the line over runner-up Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles), with Spaniard Sergio Mantecon (Trek) in third.

Although Cannondale Factory Racing’s Henrique Avancini put in the first attack, hitting out hard on the opening lap, it was Schurter who jumped away up the gravel climb to a lead that was nearly scuttled by a puncture on lap five.

Mantecon and Gagne had been working together to slowly pull back Schurter’s lead, and were helped when Schurter had to stop to change the rear puncture. Unfortunately, Schurter once again pulled away with ease toward the start of the penultimate lap. Tired from the chase, Mantecon and Gagne fought hard to keep the Swiss Champion in their sights, only to see Schurter take the win convincingly.

“It was a super tough course out there,“ said Schurter at the finish. “You have to be really careful in cornering. One mistake and you’re crashing. I like the shorter climbs so it was a perfect course for me.”

It the women's race, it was Canadians who led the way, with Emily Batty (Trek) taking a sprint victory over world champion and compatriot Catharine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team), with Swede Jenny Rissveds (Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team) third.

Luna Pro Cycling’s Georgia Gould got hole shot, with Specialized’s Lea Davison charging hard just behind. The women flew around the start loop and headed out for the first of six laps. Rissveds was first to attack and establish a commanding lead over the chasing group which contained the Luna Pro contingent of Gould, Katerina Nash and Catharine Pendrel, along with Batty, Erin Huck (Scott 3 Rox) and Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance).

By the second lap, with Rissveds still out front, the chase group began to come apart under the stress of an attacking Pendrel, who continued to apply pressure on the climbs. Pendrel and Batty continued to attack put the others in trouble. At the end of lap two, Pendrel managed to bring Rissveds back, with Huck tacking on at the midpoint of the race.

Pressure on the climbs saw off Huck, as Pendrel and Batty built up a commanding lead that would last until lap five. The leaders sat up for a breath, which enabled Huck to come close to rejoining, followed again by Rissveds. Just as they were about to make contact, Pendrel put in another hard effort to build up another gap on Huck during the descent, Batty again on her wheel.

The two leaders (Pendrel and Batty) seemed content to face off in a finish line sprint, where Batty made a crafty move just past the final left hand turn to come around Pendrel in a tight sprint for the win. Rissveds made it in for third, followed by Gould and Huck.

“I’ve worked so hard leading up to this,“ Batty said. “Hats off to Catharine for not making it easy! I really just had fun with it, throwing the rhythm off and dictating how I wanted it to go. I threw an attack in the corner and left it all out there.”

Full Results