Pinkbike Primer - Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the 2019 Snowshoe XC World Cup
Last weekend at the World Champs it was Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Nino Schurter who secured the rainbow jerseys at Mont-Sainte-Anne and it seemed that the champagne had barely stopped flowing and the athletes were already at the airport in Quebec, headed to the final World Cup race of the season in Snowshoe, West Virginia. It's been almost four months since the season kicked off in Albstadt and while racers are starting to feel fatigued after a long season, we know they'll put it all on the line once again to try and finish on a high at round 8 on American soil.
Let's take a look at the course, what the weather conditions look like, and who we think the favourites are to take the win on this brand new course.
The track
The Snowshoe course is definitely not the most technical course we have seen this year but with plenty of flat out grass sections, it's going to be a lung buster for the athletes with some very fast lap times.
Last round recap
With last weekend's World Championships fresh in our minds, let's look back to the previous round of the World Cup in Lenzerheide Switzerland. In the Elite Women, Jenny Rissveds laid down an incredible performance to see herself back at the top of the world stage and take her first World Cup win after a two-year absence. Anne Terpstra continued her great 2019 season with a second-place and the new World Champion Pauline Ferrand Prevot took third.
While Mathieu van der Poel has decided to sit out both Snowshoe and World Champs after committing to the Road Cycling World Championships, he did take a convincing win at the last round pushing Nino Schurter off the top spot. Coming in second and third was a Swiss domination on home soil with Schurter and Mathias Flueckiger charging at the front of the race.
Elite Men
1st. Mathieu Van Der Poel: 1:17.50
2nd. Nino Schurter: +25
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +1:13
4th. Victor Koretzky: +1:44
5th. Gerhard Kerschbaumer: +1:44
6th. Stephane Tempier: +2:10
7th. Titouan Carod: +2:29
8th. Manuel Fumic: +2:38
9th. Luca Braidot: +2:47
10th. Henrique Avancini: +3:11
Elite Women
1st. Jenny Rissveds: 1:21.09
2nd. Anne Terpstra: +25
3rd. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +1:19
4th. Sina Frei: +2:03
5th. Catharine Pendrel: +2:12
6th. Rebecca Mcconnell: +2:16
7th. Kate Courtney: +2:34
8th. Jolanda Neff: +2:48
9th. Chloe Woodruff: +2:59
10th. Rocio Del Alba Garcia Martinez: +4:00
Overall Standings
MEN
1. Nino Schurter - 1670
2. Mathieu Van Der Poel - 1649
3. Henrique Avancini - 1360
4. Mathias Flueckiger - 1348
5. Gerhard Kerschbaumer - 970
6. Jordan Sarrou - 907
7. Maxime Marotte - 791
8. Titouan Carod - 753
9. Stephane Tempier - 728
10. Victor Koretzsky - 712
1. Nino Schurter - 1670
2. Mathieu Van Der Poel - 1649
3. Henrique Avancini - 1360
4. Mathias Flueckiger - 1348
5. Gerhard Kerschbaumer - 970
6. Jordan Sarrou - 907
7. Maxime Marotte - 791
8. Titouan Carod - 753
9. Stephane Tempier - 728
10. Victor Koretzsky - 712
WOMEN
1. Jolanda Neff - 1625
2. Kate Courtney - 1552
3. Pauline Ferrand Prevot - 1225
4. Anne Terpstra - 1210
5. Rebecca McConnell - 992
6. Sina Frei - 984
7. Anne Tauber - 970
8. Elisabeth Brandau - 795
9. Jenny Rissveds - 770
10. Catharine Pendrel - 755
1. Jolanda Neff - 1625
2. Kate Courtney - 1552
3. Pauline Ferrand Prevot - 1225
4. Anne Terpstra - 1210
5. Rebecca McConnell - 992
6. Sina Frei - 984
7. Anne Tauber - 970
8. Elisabeth Brandau - 795
9. Jenny Rissveds - 770
10. Catharine Pendrel - 755
Weather forecast
The forecast for this weekend is looking perfect for the final showdown of 2019.
Friday, September 6 -
Mainly sunny // 26°C // 10% precipitation // wind 15km/h
Saturday, September 7 -
Mainly Sunny // 22°C // 10% precipitation // wind 15km/h
Sunday, September 8 -
Mainly Sunny // 25°C // 20% precipitation // wind 15km/h
Weather forecast as of Friday, September 6. Live updates from Weather Network.
Schedule
All times EST
Friday, September 6
• 09:30 - 11:00 Official XCO Training >>> Reserved for Women
• 11:00 - 12:30 Official XCO Training >>> Reserved for Men
• 12:30 - 14:30 Official XCO Training >>> All Riders
• 15:45 - 16:30 Official XCC Training >>> Reserved for Women
• 16:30 - 17:15 Official XCC Training >>> Reserved for Men
• 17:30 XCC Short Track Elite Women
• 18:15 XCC Short Track Elite Men
Saturday, September 7
• 09:30 - 11:30 Official XCO Training >>> Reserved for Women
• 11:30 - 13:30 Official XCO Training >>> Reserved for Men
• 13:30 - 14:30 Official XCO Training >>> All Riders
Sunday, September 8
• 08:30 XCO Under 23 Women
• 10:15 XCO Under 23 Men
• 12:20 XCO Elite Women
• 14:50 XCO Elite Men
Note: All times are local and subject to change by the UCI/event organiser.
How to watch
Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in Snowshoe this week. Tune in to Pinkbike to catch photo epics, videos and results from practice, XCC short track and final as well as tech bits and news.
You can also watch the eighth round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup free of charge, live or on demand, on redbull.tv.
Schedule: Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Lenzerheide LIVE on Red Bull TV:
Snowshoe XCC: September 6 Live on Red Bull TV 17:20 EST
Snowshoe XC Women: September 8 Live on Red Bull TV 12:00pm EST
Snowshoe XC Men: September 9 Live on Red Bull TV 14:30 pm EST
Note: These times are subject to change. Please check with your local provider.
Pinkbike Predictions
"With MVDP not competing and Nino Schurter coming off a blistering win last weekend in Mont-Sainte-Anne you have to think that the Swiss rider will take another victory here in Snowshoe. The race for second and third will be very interesting with plenty of fast riders that can fill the spots. Henrique Avancini struggled last weekend to keep up with the leading pace, but with MVDP sitting in front of him in the overall he will be fighting hard to close the points gap and pass the Dutch rider. Gerhard Kershbaumer had a nightmare last lap at World Champs as he punctured going into the finish area and with his mechanics already packed up he had to run to the line results in a drop from 2nd to 5th. Coming into the final round he will be more fired up than ever and looking for a top result.
For the women, the current World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot is in the form of her career and will be the rider to beat on Sunday. Jolanda Neff couldn't quite find the speed to take the win last weekend and with the overall title battle still not over she will be hungry for points, expect a top result in Friday's XCC Short Track and a great result on Sunday. We think that with the home crowd advantage and disappointing results at the last few races Kate Courtney will want to end 2019 with a strong race and come back to her early season form. Expect her to try and stay with Neff as they fight for the overall title."
ELITE MEN
1 // Nino SCHURTER
2 // Henrique AVANCINI
3 // Gerhard KERSCHBAUMER
1 // Nino SCHURTER
2 // Henrique AVANCINI
3 // Gerhard KERSCHBAUMER
ELITE WOMEN
1 // Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT
2 // Jolanda NEFF
3 // Kate COURTNEY
1 // Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT
2 // Jolanda NEFF
3 // Kate COURTNEY
Fantasy League
Don't forget to complete your XC Fantasy team before racing kicks off. If you don't know who to pick, our mid-season analysis for some idea as to who's going fast.
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or maybe he was intimidated by MSA ????