XCC Photo Epic: Petrópolis XC World Cup 2022
The 2022 Cross Country World Cup season sprung into life in front of a bountiful and boisterous Brazilian crowd here in Petrópolis. The women kicked things off with Pauline Ferrand Prevot riding a tactical masterclass, only showing her hand when it mattered most, beating Laura Stigger and Evie Richards on the dash to the line with Rebecca McConnell and reigning overall winner Loana Lecomte rounding out the top 5. All eyes were on local legend Henrique Avancini but it was his teammate Alan Hatherly who stole his thunder on his way to his first XCC victory. Avancini ended up 4th in the sprint with Thomas Litscher and Maxime Marotte ahead and Nino Schurter behind him.
The U23s take centre stage tomorrow with the elites following on Sunday. A fantastic course with a capacity crowd and some wide-open racing... All the ingredients are there for a classic. Stay tuned!
Welcome to the jungle.
The reigning world Cup overall winner eyeing up the start line.
Focused and ready. Pauline's calm demeanor was a sign of things to come.
Loana Lecomte leads them off the line.
Rebecca McConnell leads the pack early on in the race.
Evie Richards opened her 2022 season with third place in short track.
The women's field heading out for another lap against the stunning backdrop. What a place.
Alessandra Keller takes her turn at the front of the field.
Reigning XCC World Champ Sina Frei speeding along one of the flat sections.
The moment where it all unfolded - After leading the for a couple laps, Loana was beat to the first of the rollers by PFP and the pack began to put the hammer down.
Mona Mitterwallner dominated the U23 last year and has moved up to elites already. 6th place tonight.
Laura Stigger in the mix. She'd finish a strong second place by the end of it.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot even had time to celebrate as Laura Stigger and Evie Richards go bar to bar.
Laura Stigger happy with her evening's work.
Good first showing from Mona Mitterwallner. Sunday will be very interesting.
Your top 3 women in tonight's short track: 1st Pauline Ferrand Prevot 2nd Laura Stigger 3rd Evie Richards.
Will the home crowd support help propel Henrique Avancini to victory?
Hatherly's form is about to be tested to its limits.
The men charge around the first corner.
The men at the front kept getting swapped out with every passing lap. Here Thomas Litscher tries to inch away without success.
Ondrej Cink leads the pack through the noisy Brazilian crowd.
Alan Hatherly rode cleverly to take his first XCC win.
Mathias Flückiger led out one of the early laps and would finish in sixth.
Max Marotte would end up third, a couple seconds off Hatherly's wheel on the sprint to the line.
Henrique Avancini with teammate and eventual winner Alan Hatherly in tow.
Thomas Litscher over the jump and into the final laps.
First XCC win for Alan Hatherly. What a show of power he put on today.
Thomas Litscher catches his breath after a fast and ferocious short track.
Your top 3 men in tonight's short track: 1st Alan Hatherly, 2nd Thomas Litscher, and 3rd Maxime Marotte
Henrique Avancini even did an extra lap to thank the crowd for their support.
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1) Camera placement on course (RedBull TV) seemed to be terrible angles. The drone shots during the men's race helped, but not by much. I know its jungle is always a meter from the track edge, but I'm surprised some forethought in cutting our camera platforms didn't happen during track construction.
2) The track itself actually looks interesting. It feels more like a "real" mountain bike trail than some tracks at ski resorts. That being said, There where a few areas of the track that had that "dude with a Bobcat was here" look to them. Maybe the jungle needs some time to grow back, maybe there were sections that were just finished with a Bobcat a few weeks ago, who knows. But after seeing the track, I want to call up my local town and build a XCO course. It can't be that hard...