Luca Braidot makes it two in a row at Vallnord MTB World Cup
Short track winner Flückiger doesn't take to start line after falling ill, Schurter's third place extends series lead
Luca Braidot (Santa Cruz FSA MTB Pro Team) didn’t have to wait long for his second XCO Mountain Bike World Cup victory, taking the win at Vallnord after again being poised and in position to make the most of any of his rivals mishaps or missteps.
Last week Bradiot took the win at Lenzerheide after Mathias Flückiger (Thömas Maxon) and Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) crashed in a close passing manoeuvre while in the lead and this time it was a mechanical for Vlad Dascălu (Trek Factory Racing) on the final lap of the hot and dusty high altitude race that opened the door for the Italian.
“I can’t believe it. This week is pretty amazing for me.” said Braidot, with the bad luck of a snapped chain in the short track at Vallnord quickly turning around.
“Today Vlad was in front. He was the strongest today but he had a flat, or something like this, and he dropped down in the last lap and I had the way free and I go all out to the finish.”
David Valero (BH Temple Cafes UCC) came second just ten seconds back, with Schurter putting in a late surge to also overtake Dascălu and secure third ahead of the unfortunate Romanian. That extended the World Champion’s lead in the overall XCO World Cup series where his tally rose to 1154 points, with Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) in second with 943 and Mathias Flückiger (Thömas Maxon) third on 936.
Flückiger, the winner of the short track, didn’t take to the start of Sunday’s race after feeling unwell overnight, so the much anticipated rematch between the two closely matched Swiss riders who together crashed at Lenzerheide will have to wait for another round.
The next Mountain Bike World Cup will be in Snowshoe in the United States from July 29 to July 31.
Results powered by FirstCycling
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
2024 Paris Olympic Games medal table
The 2024 Olympic Games top nations and medal winners in road, mountain bike cross-country, BMX and track racing -
‘I can see that winning is possible’ – Grace Brown chases Australia’s first Olympic Games women’s time trial medal
‘I’m aiming for that gold medal, and if I fall short and land on the podium, I’m still going to be really happy’ -
Volta a Portugal: German Tivani wins stage 2
Stüssi keeps overall lead -
'Whatever the colour of an Olympic medal, it's worth gold' - Elisa Longo Borghini hopes for more Olympic medals
Italian hoping Lidl-Trek teammate Ellen van Dijk can win gold in Saturday's time trial