Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Premier Tech) sprinted to UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup victory on her return to the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Nové Město Na Moravě, while fellow multi-discipline superstar Tom Pidcock was denied by a late kick from Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division).
Both XCC races came down the final straight of the final lap and Pieterse and Azzaro each kept their cool to round the leader and take victory on the tactical course in Czechia.
Pidcock had gone from last to first in the men’s race but was overhauled late on by Azzaro, who managed to hold onto his brutal attack on the final lap. The Frenchman retains the Elite Men UCI XCC World Cup overall lead while fifth-placed Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) stays atop the women’s leaderboard.
RELENTLESS PIETERSE CAPS GLORIOUS RETURN
Puck Pieterse emerged victorious from an intensely brutal women’s race packed with drama, fighting through from close to the back of the pack to win the sprint. The Dutch superstar hit the front at the start of lap three and attacked up the climb every lap in the second half of the race, putting her competition in the red each time even if she couldn’t shake them off.
Instead, the key selection in the race came on the start/finish straight rather than the steep uphill section when Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon) and Frei’s handlebars tangled, sending the UCI XCC World Champion into the barriers alongside Jolanda Neff (Cannondale Factory Racing).
Neff cut a slightly ominous figure, opting for skinny gravel tyres in conditions a world apart from the apocalyptic weather last time out in MONA YongPyong. However, she ended the day with little more than a sore hand to show for it, later saying: “I wouldn’t do anything differently”.
There threatened to be even more carnage when Trek - Unbroken XC’s Evie Richards - who was brought to a standing stop by that crash - engaged Pieterse in an all-out battle to the first corner of the final lap before the Dutchwoman once again attacked on the climb.
Yet it was Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) who led over the summit, with Pieterse allowing herself to be led out. Nicole Koller (Lapierre PXR Racing) was the first to jump but was passed by Pieterse and Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing), with Richards finishing an impressive fourth after getting caught up in the crash.
“I’ve missed it,” Pieterse said. “Here it always gets quite bunchy on the road and slows down a bit, however this year Jenny [Rissveds] was setting such a high pace that it took me a bit to get to the front. When I was there, I just decided to stay there, and tried to keep in control for the final sprint.
“I saw Nicole [Koller] coming from the left and she was starting to step on the pedals. I thought ‘now I have to kick’, so I did. It’s super cool, flashbacks to last year’s Short Track here. The goal for tomorrow is just to keep the material [equipment] good and see from there how a one and a half-hour effort compares to the four-hour road sessions.”
AZZARO OUTDUELS PATIENT PIDCOCK
It was a much cagier men’s race without a presence like Pieterse or Rissveds to push the pace, and Pidcock spent the first four laps dead last to avoid the potential pitfalls of a much bigger bunch at the front.
However, first Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon XC Racing) then the returning Jordan Sarrou (BMC Factory Racing) belated kicked the race into gear and Pidcock himself finally stirred on the fifth lap, reaching the front by the sixth.
Another stalemate ensued, only broken by the bell that sparked a drag race into the bottom of the final ascent, won by Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) before Pidcock lit the touchpaper on the climb, shooting into the lead.
Yet Azzaro spotted the move early enough to cling to the Brit’s wheel and Pidcock couldn’t shake the pack on the following jump line so was forced to jump early on the final straight, setting up Azzaro to outsprint him for victory while Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road Team XC) finished third.
“Unreal, I felt the whole day I had the legs, but I was super nervous. You have to stay on the bike. That was the position I wanted in the finish,” Azzaro said.
“I knew that Tom [Pidcock] was coming from the back, I just waited, he came the last lap like a Formula 1 car, and I just jumped into the wheel. It’s a name that everyone knows and I’m super proud to beat him, it’s great to race with a champion like this.”
Meanwhile Pidcock admitted he waited too long to move up from last place in the field but added: “I knew when he was straight on my wheel. It’s hard coming back to mountain bike from some time away. I feel like I’ve no idea what I’m doing when I come back, so it’s just nice to get that first race out the way, know that I’ve still got the legs. It’s always a doubt when I come back.
“I’m here to try and win, I’ve done it every other time. I’m here so need to keep that streak going [tomorrow].”
SCHEHL AND KELLERMAN CELEBRATE U23 WINS
Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) and Makena Kellerman claimed victory in the men’s and women’s U23 UCI XCC World Cup on Friday but did so in contrasting styles.
Kellerman did it the traditional “patient” way, dropping the hammer on the final lap and winning the sprint while Schehl was the only XCC rider to drop the field, opening a seven-second lead on the penultimate lap and holding his advantage until the finish.
“Normally it’s a very tactical race where it comes down to the last lap and a crazy sprint, but I don’t have the best sprint, so I said ‘I need to make it super hard, I need to go super early and long” Schehl said.
The riders are done for the XCC, but the action is far from over. The Nové Město na Moravě weekend wraps up in style on Sunday with the elite men’s and women’s Cross-country Olympic races. Find out how to watch here.
