Bresset races to Nove Mesto cross country victory

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As the end of the Olympic qualification period approaches, the intensity of racing is increasing at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. Round 3 of the cross country series, in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, produced a close battle in the elite women's race on Sunday, when Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry) became the third winner and leader of the women's series.

In the 25.5-kilometre race, world champion and series leader Catharine Pendrel (Luna) struggled in the opening loop, dropping back to the mid-20s in the field and losing over 40 seconds on her rivals. Her Luna teammate Katerina Nash, racing in front of home fans, jumped into an early lead, before being joined by Bresset after one lap.

A group of chasers attempted to join the leaders, including Maja Wloszczowska (CCC Polkowice), the winner of round one, Blaza Klemencic (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic) and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida). However, only Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon) and, amazingly, Pendrel, were able to make it to the front. Kalentieva joined Bresset on lap three and Pendrel bridged up a lap later, with one lap to go. Nash at that point had faded to fourth, just ahead of another Luna teammate Georgia Gould, who had moved up steadily all race.

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Bresset attacked on the climb on the final lap, dropping first Pendrel and then Kalentieva, to solo in for her first World Cup win of the year. Kalentieva hung on for second, but Pendrel faded to sixth, with Nash taking a very popular third and Gould finishing fourth by outsprinting Klemencic in fifth.

In the overall standings, Bresset leads with 590 points to Pendrel's 540, with Wloszczowska a further 10 points back.

"I had a good feeling in my legs," said Bresset, "and I like this course very much. Katerina [Nash] went out very fast at the start, but I was slowly able to bring her back. I was most worried when Catharine [Pendrel] joined us, because she is a very strong and experienced rider, who won here against me last year."

"Some days everything goes perfect, and other days it doesn't," said Pendrel. "I was shocked after the start lap to find out I had lost over 40 seconds. I was able to make it back to third for a while, but I could really feel it in my legs on the last lap. This just makes me a little more hungry for the next one. It's exciting with the level of the riders right now, and three different winners in three races."

The Luna Pro Team won both day's team category and leads the overall World Cup team rankings.

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