Lechner wins women's cross country at Cairns World Cup

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The women's five-lap race at round 2 of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Cairns, Australia, started out as expected, with a battle between World Cup leader Jolanda Neff (Liv Pro XC) and Eva Lechner, who quickly opened a gap on the rest of the field. However, Neff began to struggle on the climbs in the second lap, allowing the Italian champion to open a 26-second gap by the start of the third lap. Lechner never looked back, as she soloed in for the third World Cup victory of her career.

Behind it was a different story, with Neff fading to finish ninth and barely hanging onto her leader's jersey. Sabine Spitz (Sabine Spitz Haibike) moved into second, followed by Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) and Russian national champion Irina Kalentieva. Batty flatted on lap three allowing Kalentieva to catch up, but the Russian then made a mistake on lap four, with Batty once again moving clear in third. 

The position shuffling still wasn't done, with Spitz also flatting in lap four, and getting passed by both Batty and Kalentieva. Batty was gradually pulling clear of the other two to lock down second, but Spitz was in third on a climb, only to lose it in a crash on a descent in the last lap, giving Kalentieva third place.

"I really cannot believe it," said Lechner, "because I was expecting a bigger group in the front. I was leading the whole race alone, which was a surprise to me. By the second lap I was looking back, and I couldn't believe the gap I had. Usually I don't like conditions like this, with the humidity and the heat, I like it more when it's raining and it's cold. So I'm very happy to be able to win a World Cup in these conditions."

"It was a pretty solid start for me," said Batty, who equalled her best ever finish in a World Cup. "Leading into the first climb, I was top six or seven and feeling really strong. I burped my wheel in a corner, but it worked out fine, because I was able to get to the tech zone and get a fast wheel change without losing too many positions. Thankfully it was on the second lap, early enough in the race that I was able to regain the places I lost."

After two rounds, Neff continues to lead the World Cup overall with 350 points, however, Spitz has moved into second with 330 and Batty into third at 300 points.

Full results