In round 2 of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup eliminator on Friday, Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory) went two-for-two among the women, in a performance that shows the Swedish rider is clearly the dominant rider in the sport right now.
Engen, the world champion in the discipline, was clearly in control, qualifying first and then only working as hard as necessary to make it through each round on her way the final. She was joined in the final by the next fastest qualifiers: Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike), Ingrid Boe Jacobsen (Sepura XC Superior) and Peta Mullens (Colnago Sudtirol).
Stirnemann took charge in the start of the final; however, Engen was just biding her time, and swept by on the finishing straight to easily win.
"It was so crazy, so nice [to win]," Engen said. "Kathrin [Stirnemann] did a marvelous race. I know she wanted to jump to the right side, so I braked and wanted to hold her back and she jumped to the left side instead. Then she went full gas, which was more or less my tactic. When I caught her, I thought it might last and it did."
Engen now has a perfect 120 points in the World Cup standings, with Stirnemann a distant second at 65 points and Jenny Rissveds (Scott-Odlo) at 60. Mullens, who missed the first round, is eighth, with 25 points.
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing |
| 2 | Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team |
| 3 | Ingrid Boe Jacobsen (Nor) Sepura XC Superior |
| 4 | Peta Mullens (Aus) Team Colnago Sudtirol |
| 5 | Jenny Rissveds (Swe) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team |
| 6 | Aline Seitz (Swi) Switzerland |
| 7 | Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau (Can) |
| 8 | Eva Lechner (Ita) Team Colnago Sudtirol |
| 9 | Kate Courtney (USA) Specialized Racing XC |
| 10 | Anne Terpstra (Ned) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team |
| 11 | Andréanne Pichette (Can) |
| 12 | Rachel Pageau (Can) |
| 13 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) |
| 14 | Barbara Benko (Hun) Focus XC Team |
| 15 | Pierina Beeli (Swi) Switzerland |
| 16 | Lena Putz (Ger) Genesis Mountainbike Racing Team |
| 17 | Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team |
| 18 | Sina Frei (Swi) Switzerland |
| 19 | Irena Berkova (Cze) |
| 20 | Anna Oberparleiter (Ita) |
| 21 | Iryna Popova (Ukr) Cycling Club Roma MTB Team |
| 22 | Hielke Elferink (Ned) |
| 23 | Iwona Kurczab (Pol) |
| 24 | Paula Gorycka (Pol) 4F Racing Team |
| 25 | Nicole Koller (Swi) Switzerland |
| 26 | Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Specialized Racing XC |
| 27 | Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) |
| 28 | Michelle Andres (Swi) Switzerland |
| 29 | Anna Konovalova (Rus) Format-Udmurtia |
| 30 | Maxine Filby (GBr) |
| 31 | Jelena Eric (Srb) Serbia |
| 32 | Amber Johnston (NZl) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing | 120 | pts |
| 2 | Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team | 65 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Jenny Rissveds (Swe) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 60 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Eva Lechner (Ita) Team Colnago Sudtirol | 34 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Ingrid Boe Jacobsen (Nor) Sepura XC Superior | 30 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Jolanda Neff* (Swi) Liv Pro XC Team | 30 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Kate Courtney (USA) Specialized Racing XC | 30 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Peta Mullens (Aus) Team Colnago Sudtirol | 25 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Aline Seitz (Swi) Switzerland | 18 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau (Can) | 16 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team | 16 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Jovana Crnogorac (Srb) Salcano Alanya | 14 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Barbara Benko (Hun) Focus XC Team | 13 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Helen Grobert (Ger) Focus XC Team | 12 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Anne Terpstra (Ned) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team | 10 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Andréanne Pichette (Can) | 8 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Emily Parkes (Aus) | 8 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Rachel Pageau (Can) | 6 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Paula Gorycka (Pol) 4F Racing Team | 6 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) | 4 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Amber Johnston (NZl) | 4 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Pierina Beeli (Swi) Switzerland | 2 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Lena Putz (Ger) Genesis Mountainbike Racing Team | 1 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
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