Pinkbike Primer: Everything You Need to Know Before the 2021 Les Gets XC World Cup
Les Gets in 2019 was a dusty affair. What will we see this time around? Probably way less dust.
The cross country racers will have one last opportunity to test themselves on the world stage in Les Gets before heading to the Olympics. While the other World Cups leading up to this month have certainly been serious, the athletes have been keeping their focus farther ahead on the even bigger event: Tokyo 2021, which will open July 23. Now that the Games are mere weeks away, riders will start coming into peak form, showing us what we might expect on the Olympic track.
In Leogang, Moana Mittenwallner predictably dominated the U23 women, with Riley Amos leading the U23 men. We saw a similar story play out in the Elites, with Loana Lecomte once again riding a very lonely race and Mathias Flueckiger swapping leads with Ondrej Cink throughout most of the race until Flueckiger eventually opened up a gap in the final lap.
There are so many strong riders right now that it's hard to know who will succeed. The racing has never been more exciting. With Mathieu van der Poel wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France and Tom Pidcock recovering from a broken collarbone, just about any of the top-10 ranked men right now could realistically make the podium. Similarly, on the women's side, although Lecomte has pretty much claimed the top spot has her own, it's open season on second and third place. XC racing is just so, so strong right now, and with ever-increasing viewership and fanfare, it will be exciting to watch the racers take on another round of the World Cup.
The track
The Les Gets track was new for 2019 and was a fast-paced, minimally technical course. The track has remained mostly the same, but has a new rock garden and several other new sections that aim to add technical difficulty. While many riders chose to ride hardtails in 2019, they will likely choose bikes with rear suspension this time around.
The 3.45km course has 120m of elevation gain and a maximum grade of 17.4%, according to the organizers. Riders will have two major climbs and two major descents per lap, plus a bit of twisting and rolling along the way. Take a look below at the 2019 course to understand the general flow of the race.
What Happened Last Round?
We know by now that Loana Lecomte is the rider to watch this year in the women's field, and she once again dominated by a huge 1:48 margin over her closest competitors, Jenny Rissveds and Laura Stigger, in Leogang. Racing in the men's field was much tighter, with Mathias Flueckiger battling it out with Ondrej Cink until Flueckiger eventually took the win by 14 seconds. Anton Cooper followed, 45 seconds back from Flueckiger.
Previous Winners
2019:
Elite Men: Nino Schurter
Elite Women: Kate Courtney
2020:
CANCELED
Current World Cup Standings
MEN
1. Mathias FLUECKIGER // SUI // 794
2. Ondrej CINK // CZE // 654
3. Victor KORETZKY // FRA // 623
4. Mathieu VAN DER POEL // NED // 570
5. Anton COOPER // NZL // 570
6. Nino SCHURTER // SUI // 544
7. Jordan SARROU // FRA // 530
8. Tom PIDCOCK // GBR // 490
9. Alan HATHERLY // RSA // 448
10. Thomas GRIOT // FRA // 415
1. Mathias FLUECKIGER // SUI // 794
2. Ondrej CINK // CZE // 654
3. Victor KORETZKY // FRA // 623
4. Mathieu VAN DER POEL // NED // 570
5. Anton COOPER // NZL // 570
6. Nino SCHURTER // SUI // 544
7. Jordan SARROU // FRA // 530
8. Tom PIDCOCK // GBR // 490
9. Alan HATHERLY // RSA // 448
10. Thomas GRIOT // FRA // 415
WOMEN
1. Loana LECOMTE // FRA // 1045
2. Pauline FERRAND PREVOT // FRA // 680
3. Haley BATTEN // USA // 669
4. Rebecca MCCONNELL // AUS // 544
5. Linda INDERGAND // SUI // 533
6. Jenny RISSVEDS // SWE // 500
7. Sina FREI // SUI // 475
8. Anne TERPSTRA // NED // 463
9. Jolanda NEFF // SUI // 458
10. Evie RICHARDS // GBR // 425
1. Loana LECOMTE // FRA // 1045
2. Pauline FERRAND PREVOT // FRA // 680
3. Haley BATTEN // USA // 669
4. Rebecca MCCONNELL // AUS // 544
5. Linda INDERGAND // SUI // 533
6. Jenny RISSVEDS // SWE // 500
7. Sina FREI // SUI // 475
8. Anne TERPSTRA // NED // 463
9. Jolanda NEFF // SUI // 458
10. Evie RICHARDS // GBR // 425
Cink is not one to overlook right now.
Weather forecast
The trails were dry and dusty for the 2019 Les Gets World Cup, but things look quite different this time around, with the ground already saturated and more rain in the forecast.
![Henrique Avancini lead the pack for the first little while of the race. He got caught then fought right back on the last lap for third.]()
Thursday, July 1 - Training
Variable cloudiness with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm // 18°C // 60% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Friday, July 2 - Training and Short Track
Times of clouds and sun with a thunderstorm in the area // 20°C // 51% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Saturday, July 3 - Training
Variable cloudiness with spotty showers // 20°C // 60% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Sunday, July 4 - U23 and Elite Races
Cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm, mainly early in the day // 19°C // 62% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Weather forecast as of Monday, June 28 from Accuweather.
Variable cloudiness with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm // 18°C // 60% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Friday, July 2 - Training and Short Track
Times of clouds and sun with a thunderstorm in the area // 20°C // 51% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Saturday, July 3 - Training
Variable cloudiness with spotty showers // 20°C // 60% precipitation // wind 7km/h
Sunday, July 4 - U23 and Elite Races
Cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm, mainly early in the day // 19°C // 62% precipitation // wind 6km/h
Weather forecast as of Monday, June 28 from Accuweather.
Schedule
All times CEST
Thursday, July 1
• 12:00 // Official XCO Training - Women
• 14:00 // Official XCO Training - Men
Friday, July 2
• 09:30 // Official XCO Training - Women
• 11:00 // Official XCO Training - Men
• 12:30 // Official XCO Training - All
• 15:45 // Official XCC Training - Women
• 16:30 // Official XCC Training - Men
• 17:30 // World Cup Cross Country Short Track - Women
• 18:15 // World Cup Cross Country Short Track - Men
Saturday, July 3
• 09:30 // Official XCO Training - Women
• 11:30 // Official XCO Training - Men
• 13:30 // Official XCO Training - All
Sunday, July 4
• 08:30 // World Cup Cross Country Olympic - Women U23
• 10:15 // World Cup Cross Country Olympic - Men U23
• 12:20 // World Cup Cross Country Olympic - Women Elite
• 14:50 // World Cup Cross Country Olympic - Men Elite
Note: All times are local (CEST) and subject to change by event organizers.
How to watch
Tune in to Pinkbike to catch all the Les Gets coverage throughout the week.
All the elite races can be streamed live on redbull.tv.
- Nove Mesto XCC Women and Men: Friday, July 2 - 5:20pm (8:20am PDT, 11:20am EDT, 3:20pm GMT, 3:20am +day NZST)
- Nove Mesto XCO Women: Sunday, May 16 - 12:00pm (3:00am PDT, 6:00am EDT, 10:00am GMT, 10:00pm NZST)
- Nove Mesto XCO Men: Sunday, May 16 - 2:30pm (5:30 PDT, 8:30am EDT, 12:30pm GMT, 12:30am +day NZST)
All times in CEST, replay available immediately following the races. Note: These times are subject to change.
Pinkbike Predictions
I'm picking Loana Lecomte for obvious reasons.
After Mathias Flueckiger's performance in Leogang at the last round, I think he has it in him to do it again. He's shown himself to be the most consistent racer of his caliber right now. MVDP is racing the Tour de France and Pidcock recently broke his collarbone, so his main competitors will probably be riders like Cink, Koretzky, Schurter, and Sarrou. As Nino Schurter has not appeared to be at 100% this season, I think the podium will be some configuration of Flueckiger, Koretzky, and Cink. Koretzky took his first-ever World Cup win in Albstadt this season, and after dropping off the podium to 24th in Nove Mesto and ninth in Leogang, he may turn on the jets this weekend. Ondrej Cink, too, is not to be underestimated. He has been consistently fast this season and could very well win any of these races.
On the women's side, Loana Lecomte has appeared unbeatable this season. She showed she's not letting up, either, with another win this weekend at the French Cup, beating World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot by nearly two minutes. Next, this course calls for sustained power, and Haley Batten has showed us she has that with a quick rise to the podium this season. She placed second in Nove Mesto after winning the short track, and placed and took home third in Albstadt. She's just getting stronger, and after a subpar race in Leogang, she'll want to be back at the sharp end. For third, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot has been a close competitor of Batten's this season, and with the Olympics approaching, she'll likely be in good form.
ELITE MEN
1 // Mathias FLUECKIGER
2 // Victor KORETZKY
3 // Ondrej CINK
1 // Mathias FLUECKIGER
2 // Victor KORETZKY
3 // Ondrej CINK
ELITE WOMEN
1 // Loana LECOMTE
2 // Haley BATTEN
3 // Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT
1 // Loana LECOMTE
2 // Haley BATTEN
3 // Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT
Fantasy League
And since participating is way more fun than sitting on the sidelines, Fantasy XC is back for 2021. Don't forget to pick your teams!
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This sentence pretty much sums up the absurdity of their respective talents...
This year Lerobocompte has made the race for first a foregone conclusion and all of the good action is from 2nd back. IINM, She's led every single lap (XCO) so far this year.
On a slightly different note, Ric summed up a key attraction for me about XC, Enduro & DH. The fact that these guys go into the red, then have the composure to keep it together. Easy to say, frick'in impossible to actually do.
You heard it here first, Evie Richards for the win. The power to smash it on the "gentle" climbs up, not so technical coming down. Allez Evie