Cross-country world champion Puck Pietrse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) won their respective elite short track (XCC) races at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series round held in Nové Město Na Moravě, Czechia, on Saturday.
The series returned after a six-week break and the Vysočina Arena course with a strong headwind on the finish straight, resulting in close finishes in both men's and women's events.
Pieterse finished with a winning time of 20:22 ahead of runner-up Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing - Pirelli) while Linda Indergand (LIV Factory Racing) finished in third place in the elite women's race.
A large group came into the last lap together with a powerful surge from Pieterse, who was quickest across the finish line, putting an end to Richards' perfect UCI XCC World Cup record coming into the event, and forced to settle for runner-up spot.
“It was a blast. My start was not so good, so the first two laps it took me a while to move up. Luckily, on the road section, because of the headwind, the peloton came to a standstill. I could move up and not leave the top three," Pieterse said.
“It was a bit different [to road racing] with the wide bars because now you are touching literally everybody if you want to move up. Apart from that, I used my race-smart a bit by staying in the wheels on the parts where it was necessary.”
Blevins continues 100% record
Blevins crossed the line just ahead of teammate and World Champion Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) and one second ahead of third-placed Filippo Colombo from Switzerland.
Blevins left it late to snatch a victory from his teammates and become the first rider to win the opening three UCI XCC World Cup rounds.
The American's race didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped, despite the victory, after suffering a dropped chain, which shuffled him down the pack on the last lap.
The lead group also faced a headwind on the finishing straight, but Blevins proved strongest under the conditions to capture his third straight XCC win this season.
“This one was definitely harder than the others. I felt great, but I dropped my chain with a lap to go, right before the last climb, and the mindset just changes," Blevins said.
“It was all out, the strategy out the window, and I just gave it everything. I was really surprised as it was such a long finish into a headwind, which really helped me; it was crazy."
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