It seemed no amount of water would calm this course down here at the Smithfield Mountain Bike Park. After three races and two days of practice, it was a jagged tooth beast just as deadly as the fauna of Australia. It had taken a few racers out of the game before the start gun went off. While the heat of the day got to full burn, the women lined up under umbrellas, wet towels around their necks or ice vests keeping their cores cool.
Yana Belamoina was clearly the one to watch, but after Val di Sole it was clear that Jolanda Neff had come into form. Annie Last had a win in similar conditions in Lenzerheide and was primed to do some damage. The there was Maja, Pendrel, Langvad, Irina, and Pauline who could get the job done on any given day.
After a slow start to the season, Jolanda Neff showed Val di Sole was no fluke, and she was back to her winning ways, and now she has the gold to prove it. Annie last has made a long recovery from back injury and took an impressive second place. Pauline Prevot took third in what seemed a late season peak. Lea Davison had an impressive ride to sixth, and Emily Batty took a sprint finish to seventh after a crash left her with a gaping wound on her knee that went clear to bone. This one was certainly one for the books.
Annie Last rode a smart race - was leading in the beginning but nearly blew up trying to keep up with the leaders. She dropped a few places, settled in and then gradually hunted every rider down, except for Neff (who was the strongest I've ever seen her).
All season, the womens XC has been more entertaining than the mens.
So glad to see Neff take the title like that, she deserved it.
Such a shame that Belomoina wasn't herself and Rissveds wasn't racing (and in form) but you can't have it all.
Definitely agree about PFP - I don't think she'd have got Neff in this one but in my humble opinion she's an absolute phenom and along with Batty, might just be the toughest woman in the sport.
Re Batty, I think people might be right when they say she had no business being out there with a concussion, but you've got to take into account elite competitors aren't like the majority of us. She's utterly driven - probably to a fault. If she didn't have that mindset though we wouldn't even know who she is. It's a tough one.
I find the women's XC more entertaining in the last couple of years. They are fast, tough, beautiful and unpredictable.
Another friend suffered a serious brain injury resulting in multiple surgeries, a prolonged hospital stay and a couple of years of rehab and to this day can't remember ever feeling like there was anything particularly wrong with her. She has to trust that her friends, family and doctors are telling the truth when talking about just how badly she was affected, because her own memory is telling a fake story.
What Belomoina and Batty needed was for their coaches, team managers or race organisers to step in and insist upon an independent medical examination for permission to race, with the default outcome if an injury is suspected being "No you can't" unless the medical examination is completely fine.
Concussed and brain injured athletes must be protected by their teams and the race organisation, because the very nature of the injury often means they can't protect themselves.
Thank you for taking the time to present in layman's terms what is an entirely accurate assessment of concussion protocol, or what it should be, regardless of the sport.
Did I miss something?
Good on ya @stikmanglaspell for speaking up.
shame times 2 then ......
@Mwmg15 The UCI licenses worlds differently than the rest of the season from my understanding, and redbull doesn't have the same rights they usually do. I think CRTC is to blame for us having to skirt around this.
It's okay, I am totally fine with the sight of bloo...........................................................................................................
But as you guys point out, they wouldn't wear them without the rules requiring them.