UCI Mountain Bike Cross-Country Short Track World Cup women’s race live – Pauline Ferrand-Prevot reigns supreme

REPORT – FERRAND-PREVOT SUCCESSFUL

16:51 – FERRAND-PREVOT WINS!

And she’s done it! The world champion gets a much needed win under her belt after being close over the past few weeks. Pieterse second, Richards third. Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) fourth, Rissveds fifth, Rebecca Henderson (Primaflor Mondraker Genuins Racing Team) sixth, Austrian rider Mitterwallner seventh, Americans Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek Factory Racing XC) and Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) eighth and nitnth. It’s sadly not the weekend for Lecomte to secure the triple double, she finishes tenth.

16:50 – WORLD CHAMPION CLEAR

Ferrand-Prévot could be on to her first UCI Mountain Bike World Series win of the season here…

16:49 – FERRAND-PREVOT ATTACKS

The rainbow jersey attacks! She’s working hard out of the saddle. Slight gap to Pieterse.

16:47 – INTO THE FINAL LAP

Pieterse takes it as they go into the final lap, Richards in third with a two second gap. Lecomte in 11th, 30 seconds behind.

16:46 – RICHARDS DROPS BACK

She hasn’t quite managed to stay with the front two and has been slightly dropped.

16:45 – PIETERSE TO THE FRONT

It’s all change again at the front! Pieterse leading, Ferrand-Prévot second, Richards just behind.

16:44 – THIRD LAP DONE

It’s Richards who’s still at the front with Pieterse and Ferrand-Prévot. Rissveds in fourth, 15 seconds behind Richards and she leads the chasing group.

16:42 – RICHARDS POWERS ON

She’s moved to the front now after an impressive uphill section. The front group of three are clear and looking incredibly calm.

16:40 – ANOTHER LAP COMPLETE

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) has moved into third place! Rissveds fourth, a great recovery from her crash earlier. Lecomte down to sixth.

16:38 – PIETERSE TO THE FRONT

She takes over from Richards and tries to move away on the climb, she’s out of the saddle.

16:37 – NEXT LAP DONE

Richards and Pieterse still the top two, Lecomte has moved to third. Berta down to seventh.

16:36 – RISSVEDS DOWN

The winner from last weekend is down momentarily, but she’s back on her bike swiftly.

16:35 – RICHARDS TO THE FRONT

She’s the one to lead up the climb for a second time, Pieterse behind her.

16:33 – FIRST LAP DONE

It’s Berta, Richards, and Pieterse in the top three.

16:33 – RICHARDS UP TO SECOND

Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing XC) moves into second after overtaking Pieterse.

16:31 – UP THE HILL AND DOWN AGAIN

The young Dutch rider is overtaken by Martina Berta (Santa Cruz – RockShox Pro Team) as the descent begins.

16:30 – THEY’RE OFF!

Here we go! Puck Pieterse (Alpecin–Deceuninck) off to an early lead, Stigger starts strongly as well.

ONE TO WATCH – LECOMTE

Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) she has won both the short track and cross-country Olympic races in Leogang on the past two occasions so she certainly knows how to win here! After her cross-country Olympic win last weekend she’ll be looking to replicate the result again this weekend, and secure a win in the short track today as she has done for the past two years. Can she do the triple double in Leogang? We’ll find out in a few minutes!

ONES TO WATCH – AUSTRIA

Austrian national champion Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) won the first short track race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series this season in Nové Město na Moravě so be sure to watch out for her. Mona Mitterwallner (Cannondale Factory Racing) will also be racing on home soil today and will likely be keen to secure a good starting position for Sunday, she finished in the top ten in the cross-country Olympic race last weekend in Lenzerheide.

CROSS-COUNTRY SHORT TRACK – EXPLAINER

Today’s race is made up of laps around a loop just under 1km in length on a condensed version of the Cross-country Olympic track. The riders will be on the course for around 20 minutes and with a 40-rider field taking the start, it will be hectic all the way to the line.

The results this evening will determine the starting grid for the longer event, the Olympic cross-country race on Sunday, so expect a frantic fight to ensue with those grid positions holding huge value.

The last round in round in Nové Město ended in a bunch sprint, but with the more technical course here that has a tough climb in the middle and a rocky descent towards the end, alongside constant sections with roots to sap the legs, look for someone to go solo or a small group of leaders to emerge.

REMEMBERING GINO MADER

WELCOME

Hello and welcome to Eurosport’s LIVE text commentary of the third round of the UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Short Track World Cup. We’re set for non-stop racing action in Leogang, Austria, with tonight’s XCC race kicking off a huge weekend of MTB racing.

ATHERTON AND WILLIAMS SUCCESS REALLY COOL TO SEE – SCHURTER

Nino Schurter said it was “really cool” to see British riders Rachel Atherton and Jordan Williams claim stunning UCI Mountain Bike World Cup wins.

Schurter created history last weekend with his 34th UCI MTB Cross-country Olympic World Cup victory, going past Julien Absalon’s record that he had equalled last year.

At the same event, Atherton, 35, won in only her second race since 2019, having given birth to her daughter Arna in 2021.

And 18-year-old Williams claimed victory on his debut in the men’s elite competition.

“It’s really cool to see who can win a World Cup,” said Schurter. “You can be a kid coming up from juniors, or a mum, or a 37-year-old old guy like me.

“Or [Greg] Minnaar, he is four years older than me and he is doing a sport that is all about explosivity. To see him still at the sharp end gives me a lot of motivation.

“That’s mountain biking, you can bring in a young kid with explosivity, going all in, and the older ones can also play their cards in different ways and that’s pretty cool to see.”