Photo Epic: Chocolate Pudding - Nove Mesto XC World Cup 2021
We didn’t have long to wait for the second round of the 2021 XC World Cup season after the opener in Albstadt, Germany last weekend. The short track honours on Friday night went to Haley Batten and Mathieu van der Poel, the U23s then hit the track for their races the following day. Both races were wet and wild although it was last weekend’s winners Mona Mitterwallner and Carter Woods who proved to be the cream of the crop once again. Carter Woods opened up a gap of close to two minutes over Riley Amos who fended off Alexandre Balmer, Joel Roth and Simone Avondetto. The U23 women was a closer run competition with Ghost’s Caroline Bohe just two seconds back from Mitterwallner who then had Kata Blanka Vas, Puck Pieterse, and Harriet Harnden in behind her.
Track conditions hadn’t improved much overnight and with little to no rain falling through the day it began to dry out, albeit slowly. It would be difficult to read the conditions. That said, Loana Lecomte read them to absolute perfection and was the runaway winner once again pulling one minute and thirty-nine seconds out over Haley Batten who went one better than last week and finished second. Aussie Rebecca McConnell rode strong and composed to a comfortable third place with Pauline Ferrand Prevot recovering to fourth after her big crash in short track, Evie Richards rounded out the top five with her first Elite podium.
The writing was on the wall early in the men’s race with Thomas Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel going bar to bar once again. It was the young Brit who would come out on top this time, sauntering to his first Elite World Cup win in only his second start. The gap back to Van der Poel was exactly a minute. Mathias Flueckiger slotted into third with Ondrej Cink in fourth which must be bittersweet - a home podium for the Czech racer, albeit with no fans. World Champ Jordan Sarrou took the final step on the box.
We’ve got a few weeks to wait for the next round in Leogang, but given how this season is shaping up you certainly won’t want to miss that one!
Mud flying everywhere on course. The slick ground was basically a swamp in most places.
Hattie Harnden laid down the most power to take the holeshot.
Kata Blanka Vas took the final step on the podium.
Puck Pieterse unfortunately just missed out on the podium.
Mona Mitterwallner didn't run away with it this week and had to fight off the hard-charging Caroline Bohe.
Hattie Harnden had a big crash in her last practice lap and cut up her knee pretty bad. She gritted her teeth and came away with 5th.
The end of the U23 women's race took place in a torrential downpour. Caroline Bohe ran Mona Mitterwallner close for the win.
Your top 3 U23 women: 1st Mona Mitterwallner / 2nd Caroline Bohe / 3rd Kata Blanka Vas
A wet U23 men's start.
Joel Roth came away with fourth place, just off the podium.
Alexandre Balmer closed out the podium in what was a mess of a race for the U23s.
Good race for Riley Amos amid the deluge and into second.
Simone Avondetto fought the dilapidated track for fifth.
Carter Woods has tapped into the power band and the throttle is stuck wide open. He welcomed the conditions and ran away with the race from the get-go. He was almost a full two minutes up by the time he crossed the line.
Big Rig coming through the finish just as the clouds began rolling in to welcome the U23 women.
Your top 3 U23 men: 1st Carter Woods / 2nd Riley Amos / 3rd Alexandre Balmer
The weather behaved for the most part for a change come Sunday for the Elite races.
Haley Batten seems to have plenty of confidence and momentum at the moment. Can she go one better and take her first Elite win this season?
Evie Richards locked and loaded.
Unfortunate luck struck Kate Courtney today. An early fall had her tear off a brake lever. After it was miraculously repaired by her mechanic Brad in the feed zone (check his Instagram), she would suffer a flat on the next lap.
Jolanda Neff isn't one to shy away from slippery conditions and certainly got stuck into things today.
Loana Lecomte is coming into Nove Mesto hot from her massive performance in Albstadt looking for a repeat.
Good day out on course for Rebecca McConnell. The muddy conditions seemed to suit her very well.
Annie Last and Laura Stigger lead the pack off the line.
Linda Indergand has been in the mix at every opportunity so far this year.
Sina Frei once again well inside that top 10. Surely it won't be too long before she steps on the podium in her new Specialized colours.
Anne Terpstra kept it tidy enough for ninth today.
What a ride for Rebecca McConnell into third.
Back on the horse after her tumble, Pauline Ferrand Prevot fought for a spot on the podium and she damn well earned it.
It was great to see Pauline Ferrand Prevot racing today after her crash on Friday night. 4th place is one hell of a ride given the circumstances.
Lecomte fighting grip up the climb with absolutely nobody else in sight. In fact, she put well over a minute into the rest of the start list.
Jolanda Neff starting to look like her old self. She rode her own pace and fought her way back into the top 10.
Yet another big day for Batten, adding another podium to her 2021 calendar. Second place for her as we head into the break before Leogang.
Haley Batten wrestles to keep her bike pointing in a straight line through the slop. What a start to the season she is having.
Evie Richards loves this kind of conditions so it's no surprise to see her take her first Elite podium.
Closing out the top 10 today was Anne Tauber who had a few battles of her own to get there.
Smashing the rocks and pulling even further away, Loana Lecomte pushed hard until the finish line.
Loana Lecomte takes a commanding victory just a week after she did the very same in Albstadt, Germany.
Your top 5 Elite women: 1st Loana Lecomte / 2nd Haley Batten / 3rd Rebecca McConnell / 4th Pauline Ferrand Prevot / 5th Evie Richards
Huge win for Lecomte. Let's see if anyone can challenge her in Austria.
A very tired McConnell happy to be done playing in the mud.
Battle scars and all for Pauline. There wasn't much that would have held her back from starting today. Much respect goes out to her.
Despite the slippery conditions, most opted for faster rolling tires. Tire swaps were all the rage leading up to both Elite races.
World Cup top tech tip: Get the heavy grease out when it's greasy out.
The goodest boy accepting pats all day long.
Ondrej Cink lining up in front of the home crowd - of volunteers, of course.
Alan Hatherly would come out on top in the Cannondale teammate battle once again this week.
World Champ Jordan Sarrou seems to have settled into life at Specialized just fine.
Mathieu Van der Poel may be unbeatable in sprints, but this track is impossibly slick today and there's a young man lined up just next to him who has something to say about it.
Thomas Pidcock ready to go and looking for that top spot he just missed out on during XCC.
A roaring men's start.
Thomas Griot fighting his way through the field and into the top 10.
Titouan Carod with a great ride into 9th.
No mechanical misfortune for Mathias Flueckiger today.
Anton Cooper back where he belongs. It's been a strong start to the year for the Kiwi. What does the rest of the season have in store for him?
Pidcock immediately began making the few passes needed to start nipping away at Van der Poel's heels.
From the first lap after the start loop, Mathieu Van der Poel and Thomas Pidcock played a very tiring game of cat and mouse.
Ondrej Cink kept busy most of the afternoon and played his cards right for a podium spot here at home.
Jordan Sarrou chased hard today yet he couldn't match the pace that was being laid out in front of him. Still, he'd close out the podium in fifth.
Nove Mesto has been a happy hunting ground for Nino Schurter in the past but didn't treat him too kindly today.
Alan Hatherly just missed out on a podium spot but a very good show nonetheless behind the World Champ.
Mathias Flueckiger stayed with the leaders all race long, finding enough strength to claim third place.
Second place for Mathieu van der Poel but a minute from first placed Tom Pidcock.
Coming into the final lap, Pidcock was now well ahead after eventually winning his battle with Van der Poel and extending his gap.
Redemption. Tom Pidcock might have been beaten by Van der Poel in a sprint finish in the short track but he avenged that today.
Van der Poel is going to have to turn it up a couple of notches if he races in Leogang.
It looks like another good season looming for Mathias Flueckiger, he's featured strongly at the front in both races so far.
It was only fitting that this wet weekend in Nove Mesto would finish in a rain shower. Tom Pidcock takes his first Elite World Cup win.
Your top 5 Elite men: 1st Thomas Pidcock / 2nd Mathieu Van der Poel / 3rd Mathias Flueckiger / 4th Ondrej Cink / 5th Jordan Sarrou
Sarrou earned his striped in Leogang last year in much the same conditions we saw here in Nove Mesto. A repeat performance for the Frenchman would be incredible to watch.
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I also wonder if the short track race format gives an advantage to the younger riders who are likely to recover faster before the main XC race.
Loana looks like the real deal -she has the technical skills and fitness to compete at the highest level -will be interesting to see how everyone responds which can only mean entertaining racing.
Did any of the Vittoria-riders use Barso (almost same thread as CrossKing) or did they all go with Mezcal?