4 Things We Learned from the Leogang World Cup XC 2021
Leogang once again provided a tough challenge for the fastest XC racers with plenty of climbing and some tricky technical sections to catch riders out as they tried to recover. Here are four things we learned from the sidelines.
Loana Lecomte is the First Elite Woman to Win Three World Cup XC Races in a Row in 15 Years
After a dominating performance in Leogang, Loana Lecomte has become the first Woman to take three World Cup victories in a row since Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå in 2006. It was another solo victory from the young Frenchwoman who broke clear early in the race and then settled into her customary rhythm, gradually extending her lead as the race progressed.
Since Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå's triple opening wins in 2006, there have been seven seasons where an Elite Woman has taken three wins, including Kate Courtney and Jolanda Neff in recent years. Catharine Pendrel is the only woman to score more than three victories in a season in the past 15 years with four wins in 2012. However, with three more World Cup rounds this year and no signs of slowing down, Loana could well match or beat that by the end of the year.
Since Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå's triple opening wins in 2006, there have been seven seasons where an Elite Woman has taken three wins, including Kate Courtney and Jolanda Neff in recent years. Catharine Pendrel is the only woman to score more than three victories in a season in the past 15 years with four wins in 2012. However, with three more World Cup rounds this year and no signs of slowing down, Loana could well match or beat that by the end of the year.
Another Week, Another XCO Racer Finishing with a Broken Bone
It was great to see a return to form for Jolanda Neff in Leogang with a third-place finish in the XCC and a fourth-place finish in the XCO race. Even more impressive though is that Jolanda finished Sunday's race with a broken hand. Jolanda picked up the injury on the fourth lap after she had managed to break away from the chasing group. Despite the crash and injury, she rallied to finish on the podium in a truly impressive show of fortitude
This is the second race in a row an Elite woman has crossed the line with a serious injury after Kate Courtney finished her race in Nove Mesto with a broken arm in May. We wish both Kate and Jolanda the best of luck with their recoveries and hope to see them back racing again soon. While we think it's an admirable show of resolve to battle through the pain of a broken bone, this is a trend we hope we don't have to report on in the next race.
This is the second race in a row an Elite woman has crossed the line with a serious injury after Kate Courtney finished her race in Nove Mesto with a broken arm in May. We wish both Kate and Jolanda the best of luck with their recoveries and hope to see them back racing again soon. While we think it's an admirable show of resolve to battle through the pain of a broken bone, this is a trend we hope we don't have to report on in the next race.
Both Elite Winners won the XCO and XCC Races in Leogang for the First Time
The winners of both the men's and women's short track on Friday went on to win the XCO race on Sunday for the first time in Leogang.
Looking back at past results, four riders have won the XCC and XCO racing during a single World Cup round - Annika Langvad and Henrique Avancini have one double victory to their names, Kate Courtney has two in 2019 but topping the list in MVDP who has won both races three times in the 2019 season.
Loana Lecomte and Mathias Flueckiger now join this exclusive club of racers who have managed to win the double and it is even more impressive that they both did it during the same race weekend.
Looking back at past results, four riders have won the XCC and XCO racing during a single World Cup round - Annika Langvad and Henrique Avancini have one double victory to their names, Kate Courtney has two in 2019 but topping the list in MVDP who has won both races three times in the 2019 season.
Loana Lecomte and Mathias Flueckiger now join this exclusive club of racers who have managed to win the double and it is even more impressive that they both did it during the same race weekend.
Another Tough Weekend for Nino Schurter
Despite being one of the favourites for gold in Tokyo, Nino Schurter hasn't had the start to the 2021 World Cup season he would have hoped for. In Albstadt, he lost the sprint for the line and had to settle for second and in Nove Mesto he finished three minutes back on the rampaging Pidcock in 7th.
Heading into Leogang Nino Schurter was onboard the new Scott Spark and will have been hoping to give it a strong racing debut. However, coming off the start line in the XCC Nino slipped a pedal and ended up stalled as most of the field rode away. Not wanting to waste any energy, Nino coasted round the course leading to a fourth row start for the big race on Sunday.
The XCO also didn't go Nino's way as he started the race back in the pack and spent most of the race trying to find his way through the ranks only to come across the line in 10th position. Schurter still has more than a month to build his form ahead of the Olympics but Les Gets will be crucial to see where he truly stacks up against the competition.
Heading into Leogang Nino Schurter was onboard the new Scott Spark and will have been hoping to give it a strong racing debut. However, coming off the start line in the XCC Nino slipped a pedal and ended up stalled as most of the field rode away. Not wanting to waste any energy, Nino coasted round the course leading to a fourth row start for the big race on Sunday.
The XCO also didn't go Nino's way as he started the race back in the pack and spent most of the race trying to find his way through the ranks only to come across the line in 10th position. Schurter still has more than a month to build his form ahead of the Olympics but Les Gets will be crucial to see where he truly stacks up against the competition.
Screenshot: Red Bull TV
 | Went with a great feeling into this World Cup weekend but my bad start/mistake at the short race destroyed somehow all this. A 10p is under my expectations and I need to be patient at the moment and trust my capabilities. At least my last two lap times were good, shape should be there though. But where is my mojo? |
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Mairiporã XC World Cup 2024
42289 views
42289 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
Men's XCO is weird: if Pidcock or MVDP line up, the race is theirs. If they're absent, it's anyone's to win, it seems.
Any eyebrows raising out there?
I skimmed the article and saw no mention of Jenny being fvcking rad. Hopefully we will Learn some more about her as the season progresses.....
Absolutely crushing the top women, looking like she is out for a leisurely ride.
Reminds me of the 90s on the road where guys were climbing cols breathing through their noses.
"Painkillers of any kind may be taken provided they are from another racers water bottle."
How could someone win both in a single round but not during the same "race weekend" ?
She found out today that she broke two bones in her hand.
www.instagram.com/p/CQG6nhBgHX7
Unless you have more line options on the descent, it will be difficult to over take pointing down. I will have to look at the race again, but most riders who took the B line on one of the descent got overtaken by the A line rider. Maybe every descent should have a B, A, A+ and triple black death skull line option
I’d imagine right now, with 38 days to go, there would be a lot of the riders thinking on preps and conditioning to be at peak performance for one race. So maybe the climbs at Leogan were not contested by riders at their peak shape but the descents had a big impact.
Also the live streaming was not well set up for the descent sections. It was hard to get a real appreciation for those sections