UCI Mountain Bike World Series: Puck Pieterse denies Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to take Cross-country Olympic World Cup win

Puck Pieterse (Alpecin–Deceuninck) stormed to victory in the Cross-country Olympic World Cup women’s elite race on Sunday, as part of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series.

Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Ineos Grenadiers) took second and Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) took third.

The top eight earned their places in the front row following Friday’s UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup women’s elite race, won by Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing).

The top eight lined up as follows: 1. Stigger, 2. Alessandra Keller (Thomus Maxon), 3. Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing), 4. Ferrand-Prevot, 5. Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing XC), 6. Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing), 7. Pieterse, and 8. Anne Tauber (Orbea Factory Team).

Batten – starting sixth – made the early pace, but by lap 4 Richards, Ferrand-Prevot and Pieterse were at the head of the race as Batten dropped back.

Richards held a 15-second lead over Ferrand-Prevot, with Pieterse just two seconds back with just over three laps to go.

However, Trek Factory Racing XC rider Richards would then suffer a back tyre puncture and, while she would get assistance in the tech zone, she would lose substantial time and drop to ninth place.

That would leave it to Ferrand-Prevot and Pieterse to fight it out for the win. Ferrand-Prevot opened up a seven-second lead as the riders tackled the penultimate lap, and held that advantage as they began the final lap.

But Pieterse brought it back to a bike length as they went through the rock section for the final time, and while Ferrand-Prevot attempted to attack on the Whoop section, Pieterse stuck to her back wheel and then pushed on to open up a small gap.

She managed to maintain her lead thereafter to win by five seconds.

– – –