Loana Lecomte powers away from world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to take cross-country victory

A stunning ride from Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) saw her power away from compatriot Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Ineos Grenadiers) on the final lap and take victory in the women’s UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Cross-country Olympic World Cup at Lenzerheide on Sunday.

The top 10 on the second lap were bunched together with Frenchwoman Lecomte narrowly leading the way but as they reached the halfway stage she had lost top spot to Alessandra Keller (Thomus Maxon)

However a French double attack saw Lecomte retake the lead with world champion Ferrand-Prevot coming into second. A fierce battle between those three and Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) continued for the final two laps, with none of the riders giving an inch. Puck Pieterse (Alpecin–Deceuninck) was just a tiny bit behind.

But the gap had grown coming into the final lap, with Ferrand-Prevot leading the way and Lecomte just behind as Terpstra and Keller slipped behind the two Frenchwomen.

And it was Lecomte who won, finding an incredible top gear to pull away from the world champion.

At that stage Ferrand-Prevot had completely run out of steam and was overtaken by Terpstra and Keller in dramatic scenes.

The winner of the last stage in Nove Mesto na Morave, 21-year-old Pieterse went into the race in the points leader jersey and got off to a strong start and led the group from her starting position in the front which she had secured on Friday with a top-eight finish in the short track.

Swedish National Champion Jenny Rissveds (Team 31 – Ibis Continental), who won the short track on Friday, moved up the group quickly, but it was Swiss rider Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) who soon took over from Pieterse at the front of the group. With Pieterse behind her followed by Martina Berta (Santa Cruz – RockShox Pro Team), Rissveds, Anne Tauber (Orbea Factory Team) and Keller, Frei led the group up the first climb.

Frei led for much of the first lap with Rissveds on her wheel, but after the Red Bull Roots and Rolls section, Lecomte overtook them both to move into the lead for the first time in the race. Lecomte and Rissveds powered ahead as a pair and created a slight gap to Pieterse and Frei who fronted the group behind.

As the two leaders approached the final straight of the start lap they were caught by the chasing group made up of Rissveds, Lecomte, Frei, Pieterse, Berta, Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing XC) and Ferrand-Prevot. They crossed the line together and remained as a strong front group as they started the second lap.

Lecomte regained her front position once more and was joined at the head of the race by fellow French rider Ferrand-Prevot who had moved herself to second wheel. Richards soon overtook Rissveds who was in third and at the same time Keller moved further up the group into fourth. The front group remained close and at this point, the top ten were separated by only 10 seconds.

By the time they had completed the second lap the gap between the top ten was a mere six seconds. Early into the third lap Keller took over at the front of the leading group, followed closely behind by Pieterse, Lecomte, Ferrand-Prevot, Terpstra, Rissveds and Berta. At the same time, Richards and Tauber had formed a chasing group and were 13 seconds behind while Frei, despite her pacy start, dropped back to over 20 seconds away from the front.

Lecomte then moved to second with Ferrand-Prevot behind, and the front group gradually began to thin out as Rissveds, Berta, Richards, Tauber and Frei all lost time. At the halfway point Keller crossed the line first with Lecomte right behind and they headed up the climb again. While the front group progressed into the fourth lap, Austrian Mona Mitterwallner (Cannondale Factory Racing) had worked her way into the top 10 and was 44 seconds back.

Gaps started to form at the front as Lecomte, Ferrand-Prevot and Terpstra were ahead momentarily before being joined once more by Keller and Pieterse to extend the front group from three to five.

Dutch champion Terpstra took over at the front with the French pair close behind followed by Keller, but Pieterse began to lose contact with those ahead. With the front group of four made up of the world champion, European champion, Dutch champion and Swiss champion, it was an exciting few laps that followed.

It was soon the penultimate lap and Lecomte and Ferrand-Prevot began to create a gap to Terpstra and Keller behind. They retained their lead for the entirety of the fifth lap and as they went into the final lap Lecomte led confidently up the climb. Lecomte then pushed on and staged two attacks, the second the most powerful of the two, and left the World Champion in her wake.

Lecomte continued to extend her lead and at the same time Ferrand-Prevot struggled to hold on to her second position and was soon overtaken by Terpstra. At this point, Keller was still in fourth and around ten seconds back from the world champion.

Lecomte was the clear leader going into the tech and feed zone which she passed through smoothly and held onto her 16-second lead on Terpstra as she went straight through and did not stop to take on any nutrition.

The European champion remained out of the sights of Terpstra and was rewarded with time to celebrate with fans and take in the atmosphere as she entered the final section of the course. With a beaming smile on her face, she crossed the line to take the win, her second in Lenzerheide following her victory in the same race there last year.

However, the race wasn’t quite over for those behind her. As Terpstra crossed the finish line for second, Ferrand-Prevot and Keller approached the bridge and the final few metres of the race. It was on the bridge that Keller launched her attack and overtook Ferrand-Prevot. The last-ditch attempt paid off for the Swiss rider who took third place in front of a home crowd.

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