As elite racing launched at the new North American venue of Lake Placid on Saturday, Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) and Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) claimed victories in the short track cross-country at the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
Both crossed the line solo, with Frei breaking away with Jenny Rissveds in the final lap before dropping her on the final climb while Koretzky launched his winning attack away from the leading group of five as he approached the rock garden, taking victory in his newly acquired World Champion's jersey.
“It was amazing," said Koretzky. "It was my first race [in the jersey] and it was a lot of pleasure for me. It’s always special when you wear this jersey. It’s only for one year so you need to enjoy it."
Simon Andreassen (Cannondale Factory Racing) was second in the elite men's race while his teammate Alan Hatherly came third. In the elite women's race it was world champion Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) who came third behind Frei and Rissveds, outsprinting Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV). Eighth place was enough to secure the overall short-track series victory for Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) even though there is still one round to go.
“It’s amazing," said Keller. "Securing the overall means a lot to me. Even today I had a pretty good race, I made one mistake that basically cost me the podium but still I’m very happy to be there again and especially to secure it one round before the finish.”
The short-track cross-country and cross-country Olympic series concludes in Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada next weekend.
Results - Elite Women XCC
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Results Elite Men XCC
Results powered by FirstCycling
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