Puck Pieterse and Victor Koretzky power their way to women’s and men’s short-track victories in Les Gets

Puck Pieterse and Victor Koretzky were victorious in the men’s and women’s short-track races in at the UCI Mountain Bike racing event at Les Gets.

Pieterse won the elite women’s race after successfully biding her time to move past early leader Loana Lecomte, and came out on top of a breakaway that included Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing) and Alessandra Keller (Thomus Maxon) heading into the final seven laps.

The Alpecin Deceuninck rider established a lead of a few bike lengths to finish first, while British rider Richards and Keller completed the podium to leave Lecomte in fifth. Haley Batten came home in foourth

There was disappointment for home favourite Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, as the French short-track champion was ill and not deemed fit enough to start the race. The result leaves Pieterse at the top of the short-track standings, with Keller in second.

Meanwhile, Specialized Factory Racing rider Koretzky came out on top, following an epic final-lap showdown with fellow Frenchman and Team BMC rider Jordan Sarrou, in the men’s event.

Koretzky’s victory was even more remarkable considering he had risen from 32nd place on the grid to take the victory, but it was a race of disappointment and frustration for Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV).

He led the way for most of the race, but was ultimately outgunned by Koretzky and finished third, with Sarrou in second.

Meanwhile, 35-time World Cup mountain bike race winner Nino Schurter scored a DNS after not showing up for the start of the elite’s men’s race.

Elsewhere, Liv Factory Racing rider Ronja Blochlinger was triumphant in the women’s U23 race, as she claimed her sixth cross-country short-track victory of the season.

Samara Maxwell of New Zealand was two seconds further behind in second, while Noelle Buri of BIXS Performance Race Team came third.

There was no shortage of drama in the men’s race either, as Adrien Boichis finished a mere three seconds above Riley Amos of Trek Factory Racing and Carter Woods from Giant Factory Off-Road Team.

Attention now turns to the downhill races on Saturday and cross-country event on Sunday, before the action moves to Morzine-Avoriaz for the UCI cross-country marathon World Cup and Chatel for the last round of the UCI Enduro World Cup next weekend.