U23 XCC Results from the Leogang XC World Cup 2023

 125 points towards their overall XCC, and 40 points towards their overall XCO (since each of XCC and XCO has its own overall now). XCC points get partial credit toward their XCO overall, but not the other way around.

 @Ginsu2000: Ah, thanks for clearing that up. So you can actually take the XCC title as a discipline. That's cool actually. Are there actually competitors who specialize and choose this as their goal? So that they go all-out on their XCC race and skip or chill the XCO race?

 @vinay: Yes, as of 2022 XCC has its own overall as a discipline. Following along with results, I don't think there is anyone specializing in XCC to the extent that they are skipping the XCO. However, I have seen some trends where certain riders appear to be more willing to extend themselves in the XCC at what might potentially be the cost of some freshness in the XCO held 2 days later on a world cup weekend. Luca Schwarzbauer comes to mind.

That's in contrast to other riders who seem happy enough getting a sufficiently high placing in the XCC that it awards them a first row, or even second row start position for the XCO. Nino is an example of this. They look like they are conserving a little in the XCC instead of digging really deep. I get the impression they are willing to let the XCO overall, for which the XCC points now only count on a reduced partial basis, sort itself out. If their top XCO overall competitors are doing the same, then it's a similar outcome for all.

Mathieu van der Poel was a bit of an exception, in that he was quite dominant in the XCC, to the extent that he was getting a big boost in the XCO overall from the points contributed by XCC. He's not a regular on the circuit anymore though, and even if someone else stepped up to be dominant on XCC it's on a reduced points basis toward the XCO so we might not see that situation again anyhow.

 @Ginsu2000: We'll see how it evolves. A bit more matured maybe has been the Tour de France. From what I understand, you've got the yellow jersey which is only based on the total race time. You've got riders who aim for that. But you've also got people who go for the sprint jersey which is based on points gained for sprints throughout the course. And others compete for points for climbs along the course. Of course being the first at several intermediate points during the course will also help you be near the front during the overall race as so whoever competes for a sprint or climb jersey probably also does well in the overall. But I don't follow that race closely enough to see whether this is actually true. But yeah, not everyone is the same and I can imagine some discover that they're more suited to these shorter races. So maybe we'll eventually see some specialists in XC who will try to come out on top in the XCC competition and care less about the XCO overall.

 @vinay: You've generally got it, but I wouldn't think of it so much as a TdF thing as it is the setup for any multi-day road stage race. There is a lot of money surrounding the pro road tour. Riders who specialize only in sprints and points jerseys can make huge bucks. There is enough to go around for many different types of riders succeeding in different ways, in different types of events. For purists, being good at the one-day "classics" and "monuments" holds as much cache as a TdF contender, and these riders are paid accordingly up to millions annually.

XC is very different. The rider compensation isn't even in the same universe. It's a tough go for most riders to even make a career in XCO, much less it's little sibling XCC. Unless that ever changes, I think it's somewhat unlikely to see a dedicated XCC specialist.

 @Ginsu2000: Yeah, but to make a living in this sport you'll probably have to be near the top or give your sponsors good exposure. If you love mountainbiking but the gravity side doesn't suit but you're still more explosive than good at endurance, you're podium finish at the XCC might still get you more than a top twenty finish at the XCO. As long as your sponsor can publish your picture on the podium, I'd say. I appreciate all kinds of cycling though my heart is with mountainbiking and BMX. I'm fine with these riders making this kind of money but the way they're being treated is a horrible disgrace. Even though I don't watch these races I read in the news there died a rider in a race because they put the finish after a descend and even though luckily no one got injured, the ladies had to race their bikes against oncoming traffic. No amount of money justifies the way they're being treated.

I noticed that once again Puck placed much higher at the XCC than Loana so that will be an interesting one as over the past two XCC races, Loana placed slightly better. We'll see how it works out. Anyway, thanks a lot for all the explanations!