Neff secures World Cup win in Nove Mesto

By Tour of Japan
published

Dahle Flesjaa and Ferrand-Prevot round out elite women's podium

Image 1 of 20
Jolanda Neff (Stoeckli Pro Team) wins ahead of Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida Biking Team) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)

Defending women's World Cup champion Jolanda Neff (Stoeckli) retained the number one race plate after her win in this year's series opener at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, on Sunday.

After raining through the night, conditions gradually cleared throughout the day. However, the rain had soaked the course, and rocky sections quickly became mud covered and slippery, leading to many crashes.

Neff had her usual fast start to open a 15-second lead by the end of the start loop. Leading the chase was legendary Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida), who took her first World Cup victory 19 years earlier. With Dahle Flesjaa were defending Nove Mesto champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Rabobank Liv) and Annika Langvad (Specialized).

Dahle Flesjaa joined Neff on the first lap, and the two rode away from the rest of the field, with Langvad settling into third and Ferrand-Prevot in fourth. World champion Catharine Pendrel (Luna) worked her way up to fifth, but was already 49 seconds down after a lap. The race held this pattern until the final lap, when Neff dropped Dahle Flesjaa, only to see the Norwegian battle back to within a second by the finish line. Langvad crashed in the final lap, allowing both Ferrand-Prevot and Pendrel to get by her.

"It was really hard and it feels unreal," commented Neff. "I didn't believe it until I really crossed the line. I am really happy how it went today. Once she [Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa] even got a gap on me, but I caught her back. In the last lap I really rode as fast as I could. I knew if I went into the downhill first I had a good chance of taking the win.

"It was really important to start the season with a win. Nove Mesto means really a lot to me. In 2011 I won a junior World Cup, in 2012 the under-23 and now I finally win the elite. It feels absolutely amazing."

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jolanda Neff (Switzerland)1:34:29
2Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway)0:00:01
3Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (France)0:01:39
4Catharine Pendrel (Canada)0:02:21
5Annika Langvad (Denmark)0:02:27
6Irina Kalentyeva (Russian Federation)0:02:54
7Lea Davison (United States Of America)0:02:55
8Rebecca Henderson (Australia)0:03:19
9Helen Grobert (Germany)0:03:35
10Maja Wloszczowska (Poland)0:03:36
11Linda Indergand (Switzerland)0:04:01
12Emily Batty (Canada)0:04:39
13Georgia Gould (United States Of America)0:04:47
14Blaza Klemencic (Slovenia)0:05:07
15Tanja Zakelj (Slovenia)0:05:26
16Annie Last (Great Britain)0:05:59
17Eva Lechner (Italy)0:06:01
18Sabine Spitz (Germany)0:06:19
19Elisabeth Osl (Austria)0:06:34
20Esther Süss (Switzerland)0:06:55
21Barbara Benko (Hungary)0:07:19
22Githa Michiels (Belgium)0:07:20
23Isabella Moreira Lacerda (Brazil)0:07:25
24Chengyuan Ren (People's Republic of China)0:07:27
25Yana Belomoina (Ukraine)0:07:40
26Chloe Woodruff (United States Of America)0:07:49
27Peta Mullens (Australia)0:07:50
28Adelheid Morath (Germany)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Poland)0:08:04
30Anna Oberparleiter (Italy)0:08:36
31Erin Huck (United States Of America)0:09:12
32Karla Stepanova (Czech Republic)0:09:24
33Anne Terpstra (Netherlands)0:09:28
34Raiza Goulao-Henrique (Brazil)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Nathalie Schneitter (Switzerland)0:09:45
36Marine Groccia (Switzerland)0:10:13
37Nina Wrobel (Germany)0:10:23
38Hanna Klein (Germany)0:11:03
39Janka Keseg Stevkova (Slovakia)0:11:11
40Jovana Crnogorac (Serbia)0:11:14
41Alice Pirard (Belgium)0:11:15
42Paula Gorycka (Poland)0:11:37
43Jitka Skarnitzlova (Czech Republic)0:11:45
44Sabrina Enaux (France)0:12:10
45Corina Gantenbein (Switzerland)0:12:13
46Sandra Walter (Canada)0:12:19
47Pavlina Sulcova (Czech Republic)0:12:26
48Nataliia Krompets (Ukraine)Row 47 - Cell 2
49Agustina Maria Apaza (Argentina)0:12:46
50Mary Mcconneloug (United States Of America)0:12:47
51Kathrin Stirnemann (Switzerland)0:13:25
52Ekateryna Anoshina (Russian Federation)0:13:40
53Cindy Montambault (Canada)0:13:57
54Hielke Elferink (Netherlands)0:14:07
55Elisabeth Brandau (Germany)0:14:34
56Lisa Mitterbauer (Austria)0:14:37
57Mikaela Kofman (Canada)Row 56 - Cell 2
58Tereza Hurikova (Czech Republic)0:14:42
59Cherie Vale (South Africa)0:16:23
60Anna Villar Argente (Spain)0:16:42
61Rebecca Beaumont (Canada)0:16:48
62Lucia Vazquez Crespo (Spain)Row 61 - Cell 2
63Lucie Vesela (Czech Republic)Row 62 - Cell 2
64Nadine Rieder (Germany)Row 63 - Cell 2
65Iryna Popova (Ukraine)Row 64 - Cell 2
66Helle Haugaard Jessen (Denmark)Row 65 - Cell 2
67Aurélia Perry (France)Row 66 - Cell 2
68Kerry Macphee (Great Britain)Row 67 - Cell 2
69Ingrid Boe Jacobsen (Norway)Row 68 - Cell 2
70Rocio Martin Rodriguez (Spain)Row 69 - Cell 2
71Lisette Rosenbech (Denmark)Row 70 - Cell 2
72Anna Konovalova (Russian Federation)Row 71 - Cell 2
73Noelia Rodriguez (Argentina)Row 72 - Cell 2
74Mariske Strauss (South Africa)Row 73 - Cell 2
75Nina Baum (United States Of America)Row 74 - Cell 2
76Dagmara Drabik (Poland)Row 75 - Cell 2
DNFKate Fluker (New Zealand)Row 76 - Cell 2
DNFSerena Calvetti (Italy)Row 77 - Cell 2

 

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

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Tour of Japan

Latest on Cyclingnews