Tom Pidcock bookends UCI Mountain Bike World Series with stunning victory in Mont-Sainte-Anne

Tom Pidcock bookended the UCI Mountain Bike World Series with a win on the final weekend to complement his opening win in Nove Mesto na Morave earlier in the year.

Mathias Fluckiger suffered two flat tyres, a similar fate to Pidcock the week before, but finished second in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Despite the 14th-place finish on the day, Nino Schurter did enough to claim his ninth overall World Cup title.

Pidcock got off to a fast start for the season finale, but it was fellow Brit Charlie Aldridge who was within the top two early on. Simon Andreassen led the group into the woods while Schurter lagged 30 places back.

Fluckiger moved himself to second on foot in the start lap, while Pidcock moved up into sixth. Fluckiger took the lead minutes later and remained ahead as he completed the first lap with a 10-second advantage on Pidcock.

The Brit moved to the front but a counterattack on foot from Fluckiger saw him take over in the lead again. He went clear but a puncture cost him time in the tech zone but rapidly returned to within 20 seconds of Pidcock and was third at the end of the lap.

The two then joined back up as Fluckiger put in an impressive effort to rejoin Pidcock. The Swiss racer saw an opportunity to attack and went around the outside of Pidcock into the woods to lead the race once more. The two crossed the line at the same time after the third lap around the mud-laden course. Jordan Sarrou took second in the overall standings while Fluckiger finished the season in third. Luca Schwarzbauer, the winner of the overall XCC title on Friday finished fourth in the XCO rankings.

At the end of the fourth lap, Fluckiger had crafted an eight-second lead. Behind Pidcock, fellow Swiss rider Marcel Guerrini continued to push on solo in third. Pidcock moved to join the man at the front before disaster struck in the same place as before for the Thomus maxon rider. His second puncture put him out of contention for the win as Pidcock overtook him before he’d reached the tech zone.

After another speedy change, Fluckiger was away again, but Pidcock was already 27 seconds ahead. The 24-year-old held his lead as he went into the final lap, then with a gap of 33 seconds. Schurter’s route to the overall win was disrupted in the final lap by a dropped chain that forced him to come off the bike to try and fix the issue.

Pidcock took the season finale win in the rainbow bands with a 26-second advantage on Fluckiger who crossed the line in a commendable second. Schurter’s 14th-place finish secured him a ninth overall XCO World Cup win.

Loana Lecomte stormed to victory in the women’s race with a dominant performance in Mont-Sainte-Anne, but it was Puck Pieterse who took the overall XCO title.

Martina Berta had an early lead and crossed first at the start lap with Pieterse two seconds behind her. Rissveds crossed the line in third to start the first lap.

Pieterse stayed with Berta and got off her bike to run at any possible point throughout the course. She moved into the lead in the first lap, but Lecomte moved herself from behind into second.

She joined Pieterse, but a flat tyre dropped her to 11th while she was in the tech zone. By the time they crossed for the end of the first lap, Lecomte had moved back into contention with a hard-fought move to fifth place.

The French national champion moved up into the top three as Pieterse led the race. Before long Rissveds joined Pieterse at the front, before Lecomte made the group three riders strong. The three got off to run at multiple points as the thick mud caused chaos on the Canadian course.

Lecomte used the descents to her advantage and moved into the lead before she was taken down as her front wheel slipped away. Rissveds was caught up in the crash too but both got back up as Pieterse chased in third.

At the end of the third lap, Lecomte and Rissveds had formed a front group as Pieterse crossed the line 17 seconds behind. Pieterse looked to be struggling but carried on regardless and joined up with Rissveds before she dropped back again.

Neff moved to within sight of Pieterse as Lecomte stayed solo into the final lap. Rissveds continued to push to try and close the gap, but Lecomte’s dominance was too much to compete with.

She continued solo to take the win by 15 seconds as Rissveds crossed in second. Pieterse crossed the line in third to take the overall XCO title. Lecomte’s win moved her into second in the overall rankings as Mitterwallner took third.