There were no surprises in round three of the four cross Mountain Bike World Cup at Fort William, Scotland, with Jana Horakova (Duratec) taking her second victory of the year before a crowd of 8,000 spectators.
Fort Bill was uncharacteristically warm and dry, making the course dusty and loose, and causing numerous washouts in the corners. The organizers also replaced a rock garden halfway down the course with extra turns, after rider complaints that it was too narrow. Despite the conditions, the top four qualifiers in the women's field made it through to the finals.
The women's defending World Cup champion, Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) qualified fastest, and easily made it to the final, along with Horakova, Anita Molcik (Yeti) and Czech rider Romana Labounkova. One rider missing from the final was Australian Sarsha Huntington - Huntington has been consistently among the top riders this season, but crashed hard in the small final for fifth place while leading, and had to be carried off the course on a backboard.
In the final, Horakova was first out of the gate, followed by Molcik, and these two held their positions to the finish. Beerten had a poor start, and struggled all the way down the course, finishing fourth and last behind Labounkova. Lucia Oetjen (Thoemus Racing) won the small final for the remaining podium spot.
"I'm very happy, I didn't expect this," said Horakova. "I didn't have a very good gate, I thought, so I am surprised to win here."
Horakova also said that this will be her last World Cup until the final round in Windham, New York, as she switches to BMX for the upcoming world championships in South Africa. She now leads the series with 220 points to Molcik's 180, with Beerten a distant third at 130 points.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jana Horakova (Cze) Duratec |
| 2 | Anita Molcik (Aut) Yeti |
| 3 | Romana Labounkova (Cze) |
| 4 | Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 5 | Lucia Oetjen (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team |
| 6 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team |
| 7 | Katy Curd (GBr) |
| 8 | Sarsha Huntington (Aus) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 9 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center |
| 10 | Steffi Marth (Ger) |
| 11 | Eva Castro Fernandez (Esp) |
| 12 | Susanne Lacey (GBr) |
| 13 | Angelika Hohenwarter (Aut) |
| 14 | Neven Steinmetz (USA) |
| 15 | Dana Elena Schweika (Ger) |
| 16 | Stephanie Teltscher (Ger) Dr-Gravity Union |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RSP 4 Cross Racing Team | 71 | pts |
| 2 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 40 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Agang Racing | 30 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Team Sunn Montgenevre | 26 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Suspension Center | 20 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Thoemus Racing Team | 15 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Commencal | 12 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Norco World Team | 10 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 7 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Rocky Mountain UK | 6 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jana Horakova (Cze) Duratec | 220 | pts |
| 2 | Anita Molcik (Aut) Yeti | 180 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center | 130 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team | 120 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Sarsha Huntington (Aus) | 100 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Romana Labounkova (Cze) | 80 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center | 60 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Caroline Buchanan (Aus) Commencal | 40 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Lucia Oetjen (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team | 35 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Katy Curd (GBr) | 20 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Angelika Hohenwarter (Aut) | 5 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RSP 4 Cross Racing Team | 231 | pts |
| 2 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 115 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Suspension Center | 95 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 61 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Agang Racing | 60 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Norco World Team | 50 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Commencal | 44 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Team Sunn Montgenevre | 26 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Rocky Mountain UK | 26 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Thoemus Racing Team | 18 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | RC Alpine Commencal Austria | 12 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | 2Stage Factory | 5 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
-
Samara Maxwell and Christopher Blevins secure 2025 Mountain Bike World Series overall cross-country titles
In final round at Mont-Sainte-Anne Jenny Rissveds takes back-to-back win as Charlie Aldridge delivers home-nation XCO victory -
Two decisive attacks 'not the easiest but definitely the most beautiful' way for Florian Vermeersch to win first rainbow jersey at UCI Gravel Worlds
Belgian says victory confirms mental and physical triumph from leg fracture a year ago -
'Why not?' - Tom Pidcock defends decision to race Il Lombardia and Gravel Worlds in the same weekend
'It's not ideal, but who cares?' British rider finishes sixth in back-to-back events -
'I regret it now' – Yara Kastelijn apologises to Shirin van Anrooij after chasing down teammate at Gravel World Championships
Kastelijn played a part in pulling chasing group to lone leader Van Anrooij in Saturday's elite women's race
