Photo Epic: Snowshoe XC World Cup 2022
Where do we begin? What started off as a fairly mellow Sunday morning with dry but albeit overcast conditions quickly turned into one of the most chaotic days of racing we've seen for quite some time. Earlier in the day Noëlle Buri took her debut win in the U23 women after a battle with Luisa Daubermann, home hero Maddie Munro was third. In the men, Martin Vidaurre Kossmann got back to winning ways but had to work hard for it, Bjorn Riley running him close with Mathis Azzaro.
There were some heavy hitters absent from the start list in the elites - names like Schurter, Lecomte, Prevot, Fluckiger, Stigger, Frei, and Sarrou all opting not to race for various reasons. The weather had also wreaked havoc on the track this week in Snowshoe, as a result the longest climb and descent had to be shortened with the lap count increasing to compensate for the trimmed course length. The women's race started off fairly straight forward but towards the middle of the race things really began to heat up as the weather rolled in. Jenny Rissveds and Alessandra Keller managed to break free from Anne Terpstra and went bar to bar as the laps counted down. Going onto the final lap Rissveds fell foul of the conditions, slipping out on a grass corner which allowed Keller to pounce and power onto her first World Cup win. Rissveds would salvage second, Terpstra was third, Mitterwallner fourth and Neff in fifth.
For the men's race things went from bad to worse as the rain continued to fall and the track continued to get muddier and muddier. It would all be about survival. There were many potential winners and it was extremely hard to call even going onto the last lap. The eventual and somewhat surprising winner was David Valero Serrano, he'd steadily climbed his way towards the front of the pack and when push came to shove he was the man with the most left in the tank to break free from Titouan Carod, Luca Braidot, Christopher Blevins and Filippo Colombo.
Those left hungry for more XC action don't have long to wait as we pack up and head north and over the border into Canada, returning to the classic venue of Mont Sainte Anne.
Noelle Buri lining up for what would be her first U23 World Cup win.
The U23 Women kick off the racing action in Snowshoe, West Virginia.
A strong ride from Trek's Maddie Munro for third place on home soil.
Luisa Daubermann leads Noelle Buri into the descent.
Noelle Buri does her best to break free from Luisa Daubermann.
A first World Cup win for Noelle Buri.
Noelle Buri wins the U23 women in front of Luisa Daubermann and Maddie Munro.
Back to business for Martin Vidaurre.
The U23 men are off while the ground is still dry.
Mathis Azzaro settled into third after a few goes at the front.
Big day for Bjorn Riley making the stars and stripes proud with a second-place finish.
The lead group up the far climb. Vidaurre was always in good company throughout the race.
Challenged to the end, Martin Vidaurre takes the win here in Snowshoe.
Your U23 Men's podium - 1st Martin Vidaurre, 2nd Bjorn Riley, and 3rd Mathis Azzaro
The American fans never disappoint.
Kate Courtney warming up for her home World Cup.
Anne Terpstra and her kit won't be so tidy and white after the first couple laps this afternoon.
Alessandra Keller took the XCC win in Andorra but has yet to claim XCO victory. Today's conditions might just be in her favour.
Jenny Rissveds has been a consistent threat at the front of the field but hasn't managed to pull off that win in 2022 just yet.
The elite women start the long sprint through Snowshoe village.
A strong start for Jolanda Neff saw her at the front, she'd end up fifth.
Jenny Rissveds chasing down Terpstra mid-race just as the rain really began to fall.
Huge ride for Savilia Blunk fighting her way up to sixth.
The white ceiling lingered all day bringing with it periods of torrential rain.
Gwendalyn Gibson chases her fellow countrywomen down the long slippery descent. She'd finish a strong eighth.
Haley Batten put on a show on home soil good enough for seventh.
Terpstra going across the wet roots. She remained in the mix and claimed third.
No track conditions or temperatures seem to phase Mona Mitterwallner. Fourth for her in the deluge.
Alessandra Keller getting a bit wild on one of the main descents.
Kate Courtney digging deep through the worsening conditions.
The weather closed in towards the end of the race and turned up the drama, Jenny Rissveds would have a costly slide out.
Alessandra Keller finally takes that maiden World Cup win...
...and what a way to do it.
No love lost between these two after an epic race.
Another podium effort for Anne Terpstra. The hunt for the top step this season continues in MSA.
That late mistake presumably cost Rissveds the win today.
Mona Mitterwallner fought back onto the podium after finding herself in the pack at the start.
Alessandra Keller gets her debut World Cup in infront of Jenny Rissveds, Anne Terpstra, Mona Mitterwallner and Jolanda Neff.
It would prove to be a tough day for Vlad Dascalu after a last-lap crash took him out of the running.
Chris Blevins took the win in Friday night's short track and would have the final call-up.
Titouan Carod has posted good results recently and is ready to go.
Riders primed and ready for some Snowshoe slip and sliding.
The Men take off under the worst possible conditions.
Luca Schwarzbauer with another strong ride into 6th.
Alan Hatherly would end up 8th.
Luca Braidot digs deep up the brutal if slightly shortened climb.
David Valero Serrano was quiet for most of the race. He opened up the taps in the final laps, challenging the lead and eventually took the win.
Vlad Dascalu was fighting in the lead pack before he went down hard. Fair play to him still finishing 13th.
Titouan Carod had it all but in the bag. It would be a second-place finish for him.
Filippo Colombo would have a few misfortunes including a crash and a puncture but would still finish 5th.
Pierre De Froidmont closes out the top ten under the open skies.
Top ten finish for Antoine Philipp.
Lars Forster kept his head down and picked his way through the field, eventually finishing 7th.
Chris Blevins right in the mix at the sharp end, he didn't quite have the legs for the win but still took a fantastic podium on home soil.
David Valero Serrano's timely moves paid off and had him up front for the final sprint.
Exctatic to win and well deserved at that.
Carod was just that close with meters to go.
Avancini attempting to see again. It was beyond miserable out there.
Pierre De Froidmont was rewarded with a 10th place for his hard efforts.
Vlad Dascalu would have a last lap crash which not only took him out the running but required stitches as a result.
Your Elite Men's podium - 1st David Valero Serrano, 2nd Titouan Carod, 3rd Luca Braidot, 4th Christopher Blevins, and 5th Filippo Colombo
These brake pads were a fresh set before the men's race.
Next stop MSA.
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Do you always take the descents at max heart rate, padless in lycra too?
1) If you watched the broadcast, especially the aftershow, kudos to Jenny Rissveds for being more excited for another riders first win than her own placement. I'm sure, as an athlete, especially one that made a tiny mistake that cost her the win, its hard to not feel disappointed, but she was a trooper and put that aside.
2) Doing trail design, I'm continuously struck how slap-dash these race course layout are. Its just mind boggling to see some of the routing and design choices.
3) How these athletes stayed (mostly) upright in these conditions on those tires is just amazing.
Hardcore conditions. I know where I'd rather be.
I predict: will be a similar development as with dropper seat posts.
Maybe, one day, we will have a Meirhaeghe again
But the same apply currently with the Enduro and Martin Maes - also very underrated
We had Kenny Beiley (World Champion in Trial) - But just a few knew about his existence
It's like Football, CX and RR cannibalize people's attention
For costs optimization, we would need to hosts DH too, and Belgium is definitely too flat for this. You need at least 3.5 km downhills . Not sure we have this somewhere ?