Courtney wins Albstadt Short Track and takes early MTB World Cup lead

The 29th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup opened on Friday in Albstadt, Germany, beginning with the Short Track (XCC), which was introduced to the programme last year. World champion Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) took the win for the women, beating Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory) and Kathrin Stirnemann (Thomus RN Swiss Bike).

The XCC consists of sub-25 minute cross-country races for Elite women and men on a shortened track, with the top 40 riders in the UCI ranking eligible to take part. The event offers a substantial 50 per cent of the points awarded in the cross-country (XCO), which will take place on Sunday. In addition, for this first event, a top placing guarantees a good start position for the XCO and, for the winners, the World Cup leader's jersey.

The women's race was whittled down to nine riders with a couple of laps remaining, and included Courtney, Neff, Stirnemann and Annika Langvad (Specialized). Coming onto the pavement for the final 100 metres, Courtney accelerated to the front, holding off Neff to take the win, with Stirnemann taking third.

"My tactic was to keep it slow in the beginning and then to go all out on the last lap," said Courtney. "It was perfect; the last lap was really hard, but that's normal for a Short Track race. I'm really happy."

Results