Langvad and Van der Poel Win First Ever World Cup Short Tracks

The first ever Mountain Bike World Cup short track (XCC) was held on Friday evening in Albstadt, Germany, with Annika Langvad (Specialized) and Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) coming out the winners. The top-16 finishers in the women and men will fill the first two rows for Sunday's cross-country (XCO) races, plus the event offered World Cup substantial points – 50 per cent of the XCO.

The 1.7-kilometre course began with the start of the cross-country circuit on pavement and then grass past the tech zone, followed by a section of the singletrack near the end of the XCO circuit and the pavement finish.

Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) took the hole shot through the first corner for the women, but a group of 15 formed at the front by the end of the first lap, including most of the favourites, except for Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) and Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Canyon Factory), who had to chase hard to get back to the leaders.

The lead yo-yo'd through the remaining eight laps, with no one able to open an advantage. However, Langvad, who had remained tucked in the middle of the group until that point, launched an attack halfway through the final lap to take the win ahead of Neff and Linda Indergand (Focus XC). The win cemented Langvad's lead in the World Cup standings.

By finishing in the top 16, some riders dramatically improved their start positions for the XCO, while others lost out. The winners were Barbara Benko (Ghost Factory), Kate Courtney (Specialized) and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Merida), who will jump to the front row. The losers were Ferrand Prevot and Sabine Spitz (Wiawis Bikes), who drop to the third row.

The men's race featured an immediate upset, when world champion Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) had to stop right after the start to fix a problem with his electronic shifting. Schurter chased for a few laps before eventually abandoning, and will now start on the third row for Sunday's XCO. At the front, the race was dominated from start to finish by Van der Poel.

World Cup leader Sam Gaze (Specialized) had to chase up from a poor start, but joined the front group and then marked Van der Poel. The Dutch former cyclo-cross world champion attacked with a little more than two laps to go, and the rest of the group did not react for a lap before Maxime Marotte (Cannondale Factory) finally started to chase. Van der Poel easily soloed in for the win, and Gaze outsprinted Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus-RN Racing) for third.

Gaze continues to lead the World Cup standings, but Van der Poel has jumped from fourth to second and Marotte moves into third, while Schurter drops to fourth. On the start line for the XCO, the winners are Mathias and his brother Lukas, plus Lars Forster (BMC) and Marco Fontana (Cannondale Factory) - all jump to the front row; Fontana up from the fifth row. Losers are Schurter and Anton Cooper (Trek Factory), who drop to the third row from the first.

Results