UCI MTB World Championships - USA pips France to win Team Relay

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The United States claimed the gold medals in the cross country team relay in the UCI MTB World Championships in Pal Arinsal on Wednesday.

Christopher Blevins closed the gap on the French team in the final lap to bring home the rainbow jersey along with teammates Brayden Johnson, Nicholas Konecny, Haley Batten, Vida Lopez de San Roman, and Madigan Munro.

"I've had 9 years of racing the relay, and to see the growth of US MTB and finally bring home the gold makes this one of the most special wins of my career," said Blevins on Instagram. "There aren't many chances in this individual sport to truly be a part of a team, and I loved the feeling of bringing home rainbows with this crew!"

France held on for the silver medal just three seconds behind with Italy finishing third for the bronze medal, 1:31 behind the Americans.

Italy and France swapped the lead in the first laps while the USA made huge strides midway through the race with Haley Batten pulling the team into third. Madigan Munro brought the USA into second, keying up Blevins to make the final push.

Blevins passed Frenchman Mathis Azzaro and claimed the narrow win for the team, breaking the decade long stranglehold the French and Swiss teams have held on the relay top spot.

The event, which in the last ten editions has been won five times each by Switzerland and France, was run on the 4km course which will also be used for the cross-country Olympic racing. The teams were made up of six riders with one representative each from the men's and women's Elite, U23 and Junior categories.

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