2018 XC Season Analysis: Who to Pick for Your Fantasy XC Team

With the downhill and enduro seasons well underway it is now the turn of cross country to have their opening round where we can see riders battle it out for the first time in 2019. Last season saw some great action with Nino Schurter and Jolanda Neff looking dominant all year, but at World Champs American Kate Courtney would take the rainbow jersey and mark herself as one to watch this year. For the first time, Pinkbike will be running a Fantasy XC League so before racing begins let's take a look back at last year and see who could be a good pick for your team.

2018 Results
Let's start off with the results from last year, 2018 offered some of the most exciting racing in years with competitive racing. Nino Schurter, Jolanda Neff, Annika Langvad and Emily Batty were the riders to watch all year with strong performances and consistent results.







Wins in 2018
Nino Schurter would take the most wins in the Elite Mens racing last year but he would have plenty of riders close behind. Sam Gaze managed to take one win away from him in Stellenbosch but won't be contending the first round this year after a head injury sustained during the Absa Cape Epic. Both Gerhard Kerschbaumer and Mathias Flueckiger took more wins from the World Champion later in the season. On more than one occasion Schurter's victories would come in the last seconds of a race in a sprint finish.

For the Elite Women, Jolanda Neff and Annika Langvad would battle at the top with Neff just edging ahead with three wins to her name. Maja Wloszczowska, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja and Kate Courtney would each get a win throughout the season. Although close at nearly every race Canadian Emily Batty could not manage to reach the top step of the podium in 2018, can she achieve this in 2019?

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Elite Men

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Nino Schurter: 5
Sam Gaze: 1
Gerhard Kerschbaumer: 1
Mathias Flueckiger: 1

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Elite Women

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Jolanda Neff: 3
Annika Langvad: 2
Maja Wloszczowska: 1
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flessjaa: 1
Kate Courtney: 1

Podium finishes in 2018
Podium finishes are where things become a bit more interesting. Nino Schurter would cross the line inside the top five in nearly every race, with Mont-Sainte-Anne being the only round he wasn't able to achieve this due to a mechanical. Right behind him with six podium appearances is Mathieu Van Der Poel who will be looking to build on the success of 2018 and become a real threat to the dominance of Schurter. Gerhard Kerschbaumer and Maxime Marotte would both manage five podium finishes across the 2018 season, just leaving the top five for three races each.

Jolanda Neff would match Schurter's seven podiums in what would be a pretty similar season for the two Swiss riders. Right behind was Neff's now teammate Emily Batty with six podium finishes. Annika Langvad and Maja Wloszczowska would tie with five podium finishes each. After just missing out on the series title and rainbow jersey, Langvad will be out with a vengeance in 2019.

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Elite Men

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Nino Schurter: 7
Mathieu Van Der Poel: 6
Gerhard Kerschbaumer: 5
Maxime Marotte: 5
Henrique Avancini: 3
Titouan Carod: 2
Jordan Sarrou: 2
Florian Vogel: 2
Sam Gaze: 1
Mathias Flueckiger: 1
Stephane Tempier: 1
Anton Cooper: 1
Lars Forster: 1
Luca Braidot: 1
Victor Koretzky: 1

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Elite Women

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Jolanda Neff: 7
Emily Batty: 6
Annika Langvad: 5
Maja Wloszczowska: 5
Pauline Ferrand Prevot: 4
Anne Tauber: 4
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flessjaa: 2
Yana Belomoina: 2
Alessandra Keller: 2
Kate Courtney: 1
Helen Grobert: 1
Elisabeth Brandau: 1


Top 10 finishes in 2018
To finish inside the top 10 at a World Cup cross country event is no easy accomplishment but for Nino Schurter it looks like it is since he achieved this in every single race of 2018. Although having a high price in the Fantasy League, he is a definite high points scorer for your team. The other Elite male riders could not come close to Schurter with Mathieu Van Der Poel, Henrique Avancini and Florian Vogel making it inside the top 10 just six times each.

In the Elite Women, it would be Jolanda Neff, Maja Wloszczowska and Anne Tauber who would all place inside the top 10 in every single race. Interestingly current World Champion Kate Courtney could only manage one podium position (her win in Lenzerheide) but she placed inside the top 10 for seven of the eight races showing her consistent form throughout the year. Behind her would be Annika Langvad, Alessandra Keller and Emily Batty with six races inside the top 10.

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Elite Men

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Nino Schurter: 8
Mathieu Van Der Poel: 6
Henrique Avancini: 6
Florian Vogel: 6
Gerhard Kerschbaumer: 5
Mathias Flueckiger: 5
Maxime Marotte: 4
Titouan Carod: 4
Anton Cooper: 4
David Valero Serrano: 4
Jordan Sarrou: 3
Stephane Tempier: 2
Manuel Fumic: 2
Luca Braidot: 2
Andri Frischknecht: 2
Carlos Coloma Nicolas: 2
Thomas Litscher: 2
Daniele Braidot: 2
Sam Gaze: 1
Maxime Marotte: 1
Lars Forster: 1
Victor Koretzky: 1
Lucas Flueckiger: 1
Nicola Rohrbach: 1
Arnis Petersons :1
Jaroslav Kulhavy: 1
Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez: 1
Gioele Bertolini: 1
Ondrej Cink: 1

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Elite Women

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Jolanda Neff: 8
Maja Wloszczowska: 8
Anne Tauber: 8
Kate Courtney: 7
Annika Langvad: 6
Alessandra Keller: 6
Emily Batty: 6
Pauline Ferrand Prevot: 5
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flessjaa: 4
Yana Belomoina: 4
Elisabeth Brandau: 4
Linda Indergand: 3
Githa Michiels: 3
Haley Smith: 2
Helen Grobert: 1
Catherine Pendrel: 1
Sabine Spitz: 1
Annie Last: 1
Tanja Zakelj: 1
Irina Kalentyeva: 1

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Best low value riders

You have picked your favorite riders but you still have a couple of spots left. You now don't have much of your designated $1.5 million left, who should you pick? We have broken down three of the best value male and female riders to round out your fantasy teams for the XC season.

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MENTIONS: @trek / @SramMedia

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