Austrian Osl wins final World Cup round at home

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Elisabeth "Lisi" Osl gave the Austrian crowd what they had hoped: a home win and the World Cup title at the eighth and final round in Schladming, Austria. Osl took her third World Cup win of the season after an impressive start to finish ride on the front.

Lene Byberg (Specialized) confirmed her second place overall by catching Canada's Catharine Pendrel (Luna) on the final climb to take second, while Pendrel hung on for third in both the race and the overall standings. Lea Davison (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) was the top US finisher in 12th, two spots ahead of Mary McConneloug (Kenda-Seven). Emily Batty (Team Canada) finished 25th, and took second overall in the Under 23 final World Cup standings behind World Champion Aleksandra Dawidowicz (CCC Polkowice).

Osl came into the final round of the World Cup with a 65-point lead over Byberg. Pendrel was mathematically still in the running to win the title, but more concerned with holding onto third ahead of World Champion Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon). The only other rider who could have been in the mix - Marga Fullana (Massi) - was out after fracturing a vertebra in a crash a week earlier prior to the Champery, Switzerland, round.

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The steep climbs of Schladming certainly suited the diminutive Osl, who was out in front by the top of the first climb of the four-lap race. Premont gamely hung on for most of the first lap, joined by Pendrel, but then slipped back to join a chase group with Byberg, Anna Szafraniec (JBG-2) and Kalentieva. Pendrel was gaining on Osl after the technical, muddy descents, but would lose time on each climb. The Austrian was steadily extending her lead, to eventually finish more than a minute ahead.

"I have no words," said Osl, who was emotional on the podium during the Austrian national anthem. "It has been a fantastic season, and I have surprised myself this year. My tactic today was just to give it my best. My legs felt bad before the start in the warm-up, so I just decided to go out hard and see what would happen. But the pressure, it was not easy. To come to Austria in the leader's jersey and hold onto it ... this was great pressure."

The effort the Canadian champion was expending would eventually catch up with her, as Byberg, Premont and Szafraniec slowly began reeling her in. Premont was at the front of the trio on the last lap when she slid out in a corner, giving Byberg to opportunity to attack and finally bridge up to Pendrel for the final climb of the race. The pair swapped attacks until Byberg was able to just get ahead and finish eight seconds in front of Pendrel. Szafraniec came in for fourth, less than 30 seconds later, closely followed by Premont. The four chasers were separated by less than 50 seconds.

"I'm pretty pleased," said Pendrel, "I just wish that I could have held Lene [Byberg] off on that last climb! For a while I was able to keep Lisi [Osl] in sight, but the steep climbs suited her a lot more than me, and I had to back off a bit and go my own pace. Then Lene caught me, and we attacked each other a couple of times until she managed to get in front. But, overall, this is my best season ever, with a World Cup victory, the national title, third in the series and sixth at the World Championships, so, I'm satisfied."

For Premont, who has struggled with breathing problems all season, it was a strong end to the season. "Yes, I am happy with this result. It has been a hard season for me, with good results, then bad, then good. So, this shows me that I am on the right track and I go into the preparation for next season with a good feeling."

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