Wloszczowska wins Val di Sole World Cup

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Maja Wloszczowska (Kross Racing) won her first World Cup since 2012, the fourth of her career, in a thrilling round 4 of the UCI Mountain Bike XCO World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy. A start loop crash taking out World Cup leader Annika Langvad (Specialized) out of the race, allowing Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) to move into the leader's jersey, after finishing third in Val di Sole.

The four-kilometre Val di Sole circuit featured some of the steepest climbs on the World Cup; two each lap, followed by technical descents where good descenders could catch back on.

A crash in the first 200 metres, at the front of the race, took Langvad out of the race with a wrist injury, as well as Linda Indergand (Focus XC). Fourth-ranked Anne Tauber (CST Sannd American Eagle) and Annie Last (KMC-Ekoi-SR Suntour) were both also delayed by the incident, although Tauber had a strong ride back up from the mid-30s to finish 10th.

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A group of five formed on the first lap, which stayed together for all but the final lap and a half of the six-lap race. Neff shared the early pace setting with Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory). Canadian champion Emily Batty (Trek Factory) followed them without much problem, while Wloszczowska and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Team Merida Gunn-Rita) would get gapped on the climbs but re-join the front of the race before the end of each lap.

Halfway through the penultimate fifth lap, Wloszczowska attacked hard on the second climb, opening a gap as Neff wouldn't chase her teammate and the others hesitated. Batty finally took up the chase, marked by Neff, as Ferrand-Prevot and Dahle Flesjaa dropped back for good. Neff gapped Batty slightly before crashing, and was then dropped on the final lap by Batty, who was chasing Wloszczowska hard, but could not close the gap, finishing nine seconds back, followed by Neff at 30 seconds, then Ferrand Prevot and Dahle Flesjaa.

"Winning here means that I am still young and powerful," said Wloszczowska. "I've been so many times second and third, and last year I was second overall, but there was always something missing. Today I had an okay start, but not in the leading group. I managed to chase up, but Jolanda, Pauline and Emily looked like they were stronger than me, but as the race went on I was feeling better and better, and I knew that I needed to make a move, and wait to the end. So, I tried with two laps to go and it worked."

Langvad drops to second in the standings after not finishing, 52 points behind new leader Neff who has 975 points. Ferrand-Prevot remains in third at 806 points, with Wloszczowska moving up to fourth from sixth with her win.

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