Photo Epic: Battle Of The Future - U23 XC World Championships Vallnord 2015
The rainbow jersey remains a trophy to behold. Even if you've won every single race this past year, this is the moment which truly counts. To be crowned World Champion means an awful lot. The course is situated high in the mountains, adding another difficulty to an already hard task. The 4 kilometre course is unforgiving, allowing little rest. The descents in the dry are tricky, in the wet they become even more so. Today, the under 23 women and men fought for glory on a cold, wet day in Andorra. Five laps which proved to be full of excitement.
First off, the women's field. Jenny Rissveds has ruled the World Cup season, winning it all. There's no doubt about her being the candidate for the title, yet nothing is certain in sports as today proved.
View full results here.
This concludes a day of racing which brought many surprises. Egos were bruised, characters built. Tune in tomorrow for another day of action from La Massana, Andorra.
About the Photographer
Irmo Keizer • Age: 36 • Years Shooting: 10
Irmo Keizer has been mountain biking since high school. Irmo loves nature, technical trails and landscapes and dislikes too many race lines and fire roads. Irmo has a strong passion for all sorts of mountain bike disciplines ranging from cross country, to enduro and downhill. Combining his passion of mountain biking and photography ten years ago, Irmo has been working as a photographer/editor in mountain biking ever since.
First off, the women's field. Jenny Rissveds has ruled the World Cup season, winning it all. There's no doubt about her being the candidate for the title, yet nothing is certain in sports as today proved.
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 Six degrees celsius, rain and mist. The weather remained unwelcome for the women's U23 field. |
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| Kate Courtney fought hard and remained close to the lead group in the start phase of the race. |
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| Jenny Rissveds seemed to be heading for an unchallenged win in the startlap. With a furious pace, she made her way down the course. |
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| A spectator points out the line "this is the fastest I tell you, be careful not to hit the edge of the rock". Many coaches lined the course today. |
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| Ramona Forchini closing the gap on Jenny Rissveds. Rissveds led for the majority of the race, but was overtaken by Forchini and a very strong Olga Terentyeva. |
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| Today's weather was moody, dark, cold and rainy. The course, treacherous to say the least. Choose your tires wisely or suffer the consequences. |
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| All riders got covered in a slick layer of soil and mud as they progressed into the race. |
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| Homemade rain protection for the dog. That, or it might be puppy training. |
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| As said before, World Championships delivers surprises. A very strong Olga Terentyeva rode her way to second in an incredibly exciting finale. |
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| A World Championship remains one of a kind. Today Ramona Forchini surprised many by claiming the 2015 World Champion title. |
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| Third might make many happy, Jenny had other plans. Disappointed and fatigued, she mesmerises in thoughts. |
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| The Worlds showcases unique moments. Emotions like pride, pain and disappointment. Youssiana Quintero receives a warm and proud hug. |
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| Sheer happiness for Ramona. |
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| Jenny Rissveds thinks her race over. An amazing season ends. |
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| The men's U23 field shoots out into the course. Pablo Rodriguez takes the holeshot. |
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| The last World Cup ended in disappointment for Pablo Rodriguez as he saw his overall win slip at the last moment. Would the World Championships be his chance to set the record straight? |
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| Grant 'The Frog' Ferguson is on fire after winning his first World Cup in Val di Sole. The Scottish rider remained very close to Koretzky and Cooper up untill the last moment, but ultimately took bronze. |
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| The advantage of an (almost) home crowd. Bad weather did not stop fans from showing up today. Cheers all around. |
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| Victor Koretzky is right on Anton Cooper as the two fight for the win. As in the women's race, the men's race remained undeciced till the last minute. |
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| A front flat after burping air on a tricky descent. A painful race for this local rider. |
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| The slippery conditions made many victims. Mountainbikers are a tough bunch though. No giving up here. |
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| Anton Cooper, a man on a mission. |
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| Belgium's Jens Schuermans rode a strong race, finishing in fifth. He barely managed to save himself from a crash on this downhill section. |
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| Grant Ferguson got ever so close to closing that gap. Climbing incredibly strong, he had a mere ten meters to go to Koretzky and Cooper. |
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| Anton Cooper ended his season in the best possible way by taking the rainbow jersey. |
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| Dutchman Milan Vader, finishing in 13th, is exhausted after finishing. |
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| Anton Cooper gets cleaned up prior to the award ceremony. |
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| The metal, the jersey. Bring on tomorrow's elite finals. |
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| Grant Ferguson's family cheers, shouts and celebrates. |
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| It all ends here. May tomorrow bring sunshine. |
View full results here.
This concludes a day of racing which brought many surprises. Egos were bruised, characters built. Tune in tomorrow for another day of action from La Massana, Andorra.
About the Photographer
Irmo Keizer • Age: 36 • Years Shooting: 10
Irmo Keizer has been mountain biking since high school. Irmo loves nature, technical trails and landscapes and dislikes too many race lines and fire roads. Irmo has a strong passion for all sorts of mountain bike disciplines ranging from cross country, to enduro and downhill. Combining his passion of mountain biking and photography ten years ago, Irmo has been working as a photographer/editor in mountain biking ever since.
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Hells ya! DH, XC, 650b, 26", up or down, etc....
IF YOU DON'T COME HOME MUDDY OR BLOODY, THEN YOU WEREN'T REALLY MOUNTAIN BIKING!!
And..... pictures of beautiful girls covered in mud. I must to say: I love this site.
If your ride by yourself, you have all the time to think, hit the switch etc etc...
If you ever see a wc race in person, you'll see how fast and hardcore they go, they don't have time to hit the switch back and forth. That said, 100% of the men field can handle the bikes like crazy. On tv is hard to tell, but in person it is impressive. way more exciting than watching the dh runs.
I could understand if the bikes were overall heavy and bulky that saving weight would be a priority but to add 300g on a pro xc bike means nothing for such a short race. They would gain such an advantage though on the downs getting the saddle out of the way and when sprinting. But hey as long as everyone does the same what does it matter!
I guess the biggest reason why they dont use is mainly culture, XC has always had the seat high and so it shall always be.......and they probably wont gain to much if they arent use to having the saddle out of the way, meaning if they dont train riding with a dropper they will not be used to how much harder they can push with it down or operate it smoothly.
And I saw champs last year, not impressed on the going down part of XC riders. They get down the hill sure but if their saddle wasnt up in the straosphere so they could get their weight back they could fly down o so much faster with a little practice. (the part I watched was a couple of feet next to were Hill crashed)