Ferrand Prevot wins women's cross country at Nove Mesto World Cup

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Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Liv Pro XC) took the first Elite victory of her career in the third round of the World Cup at Nove Mesto, while Catharine Pendrel (Luna) showed that her early season injury hasn't affected her by taking second. Jolanda Neff (Liv Pro XC) retained the leader's jersey.

Blue skies and sun greeted the riders on race day, with just a bit of a breeze to stop the heat from becoming overwhelming. The weather in the 24 hours leading up to the final day of racing had dried out the course from previous torrential rains, leaving the circuit in perfect shape.

Ferrand Prevot, an Under-23 rider who is competing in the Elite category, charged to the front on the opening start loop from back on the fifth row in the start order, and had a slight gap on Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida), World Cup leader Jolanda Neff (Liv Pro XC) and Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory) as they started the first of five laps. Her gap steadily increased through the race, as she consistently laid down the fastest lap times on every lap.

The race for second came down to Dahle Flesjaa, Annika Langvad (Specialized Racing XC) and Pendrel. Former World Cup champion Pendrel, who was just returning to the World Cup from an early season injury (broken collarbone), made an impressive ride from the third row of the start to join the other two early in the third lap, before pulling away to solo in for second place. Dahle Flesjaa hung on for third. Neff, who struggled mid-race, recovered in the final lap to move into fifth and protect her overall series lead.

"Yes, I felt very good today and I have been in good shape since the beginning of the season," revealed Ferrand Prevot. "So I tried to get as big a gap as I could at the beginning of the race, and then tried to keep it."

"I was surprised [by the gap]. I started in the fifth row, so I didn't expect to be at the front at the beginning [of the race]. So, yes, it was a bit of a surprise. I felt good and I say okay, I will set my own tempo. I think my road training is paying off!"

After three rounds, Neff leads the standings with 490 points, 60 ahead of Irina Kalentieva (Russian National), with Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol) 82 points back.

Margo Moschetti (Scott-La Clusaz) won the Under-23 women's race, while Helen Grobert (Focus XC) took the overall lead from Jenny Rissveds (Scott-Odlo), after the latter suffered a mechanical and finished well back in eighth.

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