The first UCI MTB World Cup is history. Yesterday, Sunday, the elite women as well as the U23 riders and elite men went to the 5,8-kilometer route in Pietermaritzburg to choose the best among themselves. Under the setting sun of South Africa, the expected picture emerged: Nino Schurter is in impressive form again this year. The fast Swiss rider led the elite men's field from the start. His main rival, Julien Absalon, got off to a lesser start, but managed to catch up with Schurter within the first two laps. Together with Manuel Fumic, who was in great form, and Mathias Flückiger, they formed the leading group in the second of six laps, followed by Maxime Marotte.
As the race progressed, Schurter, Absalon, and Fumic maintained their position as the leading trio, building a small advantage. Schurter, riding on slightly smaller 27.5-inch wheels compared to his rivals, would have put him at a disadvantage on the descents. However, he navigated the technical rock gardens much faster, perfectly utilizing his bike's agility to occasionally create small gaps that Fumic and Absalon had to close on the climbs. At the start of the fourth lap, Fumic lost contact. Schurter and Absalon increased their pace and built a lead of almost ten seconds. Schurter managed to create another gap on a descent but suffered a flat tire and had to let Absalon go. "Sometimes luck is on your side, sometimes on someone else's. That's racing ," Schurter said at the finish. Absalon rode the final lap solo and secured his first World Cup victory of the season unchallenged. Manuel Fumic also benefited from Schurter's mechanical and finished in a very strong second place, which he was visibly pleased with at the finish. Maxime Marotte followed in third. Schurter had a long way to go to the tech zone but managed to salvage a respectable sixth place. Ondrej Cink and Jose Hermida completed the podium in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
The replay of the elite men's race is available here. [Link]
Jolanda Neff seems to be in the form of her life this year. She led the race in Pietermaritzburg from the start and did not give up the lead, even if she had to get out of the saddle briefly to set it up. In the end they had a solid 25 second lead over second placed Guun-Rita Dahle Flesjaa. Maja Wloszczowska also had a good start to the World Cup season. In the meantime running in second place, she gave up her position to Dahle-Flesjaa and finished in third place. Sabine Spitz returned with an impressive sixth place.
“ For me, this is a fantastic comeback and almost a dream result. After the first few days of training here, I wouldn't have thought it possible. The memories of 2013 were suddenly very vivid. That was mentally difficult for me, also because it was my first World Cup. Almost a double trauma, since the start of 2013 was also still fresh in my mind,” said the German champion at the finish line.
The replay of the elite men's race is available here. [Link]
The U23 women's race was won by the Swede and Schurter's teammate Jenny Rissveds. With a lot of pressure on the pedals and a good line in the stone fields, she drove a safe start-finish victory. Jordan Sarrou triumphed in the U23 men.
result men
1. Julien Absalon (BMC Racing Team) 1:38:05
2. Manuel Fumic (Cannondale Factory Racing) +0:34
3. Maxime Marotte (BH SR Suntour KMC) +0:54
4. Ondrej Cink (Multivan Merida) +1:32
5. José Hermida (Multivan-Merida) +1:39
result women
1. Jolanda Neff (Liv XC Team) 1:38:00
2. Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (Multivan-Merida) +0:25
3. Maja Wloszczowska (Lic XC Team) +1:00
4. Annika Langvad (Specialized Racing Team) +1:37
5 Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory Racing) +1:55