2021 Pinkbike Awards: Performance Of The Year Winner

Dec 27, 2021
by Sarah Moore  
photo


Performance of the Year Winner


2021's Performance of the Year nominees include Greg Minnaar for winning a fourth DH World Championships title in Val di Sole, Evie Richards for winning XC World Championships before winning an Elite XC World Cup, Reece Wilson for taking the Snowshoe World Cup DH win almost a year after his World Championships win, Brandon Semenuk for winning Rampage for a record-breaking fourth time, and Christopher Blevins for taking his first ever World Cup win on American soil in his first year Elite. But there can only be one winner and this year's winner is...



He was patient and it paid off big time. Chris Blevins pushed the front into making mistakes. His late attack was perfectly timed.
Christopher Blevins


Christopher Blevins took the win in the Short Track at the Val di Sole World Championships, but a win in quick and tactical Short Track doesn't make you a favourite in the longer distance Olympic cross-country even by any means.

Blevins' best race result of the season before Snowshoe in the longer-distance event was a 13th place at the season opener in Albstadt, and the last time he'd competed in a world-level XCO race three weeks prior, he finished in 18th place. The previous time he'd taken the start at a World Cup race, he'd finished 30th. If you were a betting person, chances are you wouldn't be putting money on the young American from Durango, Colorado.


Nino Schurter lurking in behind Luca Braidot.
Blevins stayed right on the wheel of the top couple of riders, without wasting energy taking the lead.

Lining up on the front line after a fourth place in the Friday night Short Track race, Blevins was ranked 23rd overall in the World Cup XC series, a respectable ranking for a first-year Elite rider. But Blevins soon found himself battling in the top five throughout the seven-lap course alongside Nino Schurter, Henrique Avancini, Vlad Dascalu, Ondrej Cink, and Luca Braidot. With six riders in the lead, it was certain that someone wouldn't be making the final World Cup podium of the year, but who was going to be the one to drop off the high pace first?

Schurter started testing the pack with attack after attack as the final lap began, looking strong enough to finally take that record-breaking 33rd World Cup win to beat Julien Absalon's record before Braidot took the lead towards the end of the last lap, no doubt looking for his first World Cup win. Blevins stayed right on the wheel of the top couple of riders, without wasting energy taking the lead. It was Schurter who took the lead and helped Dascalu and Blevins distance the larger pack, neither of whom had ever won a World Cup race in the Elite category.

Then, on the last climb of the course, Blevins made his attack, taking the lead for the first time and riding away to take a 9-second win. Christopher Blevins in only in his first year in the Elite category took his first ever World Cup on home soil.


bigquotesI'd be lying of if I said I expected anything close to this, or even really dreamed of it. It just shows there's so much magic in sport, regardless of what it is. This is everything to me. To do it with my family, all the USA fans, and obviously in the USA. I'm over the moon."—Christopher Blevins


How big of a deal is this win? Well, to put it in perspective, the US held the first ever World Champs in Durango, Colorado in 1990, but American cross-country riders haven't seen much success on the world stage in recent years. In fact, with this win Blevins becomes the first male US rider to win a World Cup XCO race since Tinker Juarez in 1994. If you want to feel old, this means an American man had never won a World Cup XC race in Christopher Blevins' lifetime.

bigquotesWe'll make it a winning streak from now on. It's so much bigger than me. There's so much work that's gone into mountain biking in the US, the women are well on the way and us men are finally catching up.—Christopher Blevins


An unexpected win such as this is why we love racing so much. The race exceeded everyone's expectations, including Blevins' own and set a new benchmark for American riders.


You couldn t write this... Christopher Blevins takes the win in Snowshoe much to the delight of the home crowd.
A first XC World Cup win for Christopher Blevins on American soil.
Christopher Blevins does the business on home soil. Vlad Dascalu Ondrej Cink Nino Schurter and Luca Braidot rounded out the podium.
A podium no one would have placed odds on before the race.




You can watch the replay of the event here.




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83 Comments
  • 213 12
 He won because he was the first American to win in 30 odd years - and get a win in America?

I mean it's a hugely impressive achievement, they all are -but Greg winning world championships almost 20 years apart at 39...
  • 95 4
 I agree. Minnaar should have won it.
  • 33 1
 With their logic you could also argue that Richards' win as the first British rider ever to win an XC World Championship and the first woman to win a World Cup she'd have been a more worthy winner...
  • 9 1
 @korev: don’t forget Annie Last here. She won a WC in Lenzerheide a few years ago.
  • 3 1
 @prevail: Good point, thanks for the correction. For some reason I had it in my head that a British man had won one before
  • 14 1
 @korev: Yep, Evie Richards' race winning streak was incredible. Also Tom Pidcock. Again if you use their logic and even if you ignore the Olympics he's surely got the best case. A guy who decided to dabble in U23 mountainbiking last year, and this year demolishes MvdP in their first ever straight fight to win Nove Mesto by the biggest margin ever, also for his country's first male WC win since 1994. Blevins win was very impressive, Pidcock's win made the entire XC world sit up and say 'holy f*ck!'
  • 12 1
 If they had called this the "Breakout Performance" of the year, then I think Blevins deserves that.
  • 5 3
 You have obviously forgotten that WWW World Wide Web means America, and nobody else... Greg was robbed
  • 4 1
 Don't forget Schurter and and Avancini punctured in the leading group on the last lap too. Still, can't deny Blevins has huge talent, a future World Champ if Pidcock focuses more on the road and CX
  • 2 3
 @HankHank:
Pidcock wants to win all 3; his best discipline is XCO; the climbs, the technical stuff all suit him. CX is about who has the most power, very little technical courses.....and the Road Worlds can be a lottery.
  • 2 2
 @Starch-Anton: don't forget Rampage Wink
  • 2 0
 @kcy4130: I'd still give that to Pidcock tbh. They were the top 2 U23 riders last year, so they both broke through as elites this year... and Pidcock's breakthrough win was better.
  • 2 0
 @korev: not sure here but my guess is they looked at it as Blevins wasn't really expected to win and then he won the WC round and short track world champs. Evie was much more likely to win a round based on her being up there consistently. At least that's my guess.
  • 2 0
 @korev: whereas pidcock, Evie, minaar etc. Were all generally expected to win or were in the discussion as favorites.
  • 85 3
 #minaargotrobbed
  • 52 6
 Is this a joke?
  • 11 5
 America doesnt do sense of humour...
  • 11 1
 @number-6: Airplane was good lol
  • 12 1
 It’s just a few PB editors that decided this, which is nothing more than an opinion piece.

Look at the comments; the people have spoken.
  • 2 2
 @g123: PB editors' pick got vetoed by Outside+ overlords.
  • 7 2
 @number-6: What are you talking about? Most of America is one big joke.
  • 1 0
 @wpplayer18: steady....That was almost.
  • 36 1
 Congrats Greg.
  • 5 0
 Yeah, seriously - congrats to the GOAT
  • 31 0
 Neff and Pidock not even mentioned, exceptional winners on the biggest stage of all.
  • 9 0
 I already wrote it under the nomination article. You could’ve nominated the whole Swiss team for a clean sweep at the Olympics. They forgot about quite a few performances here…
  • 3 0
 Jolanda Neff's pass at the Olympics by itself represents a highlight for the sport this year. I've shown it to people who have no connection to or interest in mountainbiking, and they all instantly recognized what a badass move that was.
  • 2 0
 She's just won comeback of the year though...
  • 17 1
 Minnaar and Neff got robbed
  • 15 3
 Mericaaa
  • 5 1
 F*** Yeah!
  • 15 6
 this was the only race I watched this year that made me jump off the couch and cheer at the tv, so by that logic, Blevins is the clear winner in my book
  • 2 0
 I assiduously avoided social media and mtb media the day after so as to avoid spoilers till I could watch the replay. Only to have a regular news website spoil it for me. Dammit! Still a great race to watch.
  • 3 0
 Same. Inspiration efforts by Blevins. Stoked on his wins and being recognized here.
  • 24 16
 Haters, shush. This was an outstanding, inspiring performance. I understand how this result could seem inconsequential without context, but ask any XCWC follower - this was sporting magic. Blevins truly put on a show.
  • 3 5
 Hear hear! It was an incredible win, to tactically outsmart the likes of Schurter, it was an amazing performance.
  • 7 0
 @Ktron: Schurter punctured
  • 1 2
 @HankHank: not till after he passed him
  • 2 0
 I'm an avid XC racer and I like that Blevins won in front of his home crowd. In his victory interview he was so humble and sincere, you could really tell how much that win meant to him. Yet I still think that Minnaar's win in the Men's Elite DH World Championships was a bigger achievement than Blevins winning one XC World Cup where most of the dominant competition was effectively out of the race. No offense, but it certainly wasn't "sporting magic".
  • 2 0
 @Muscovir: exactly, Blevins is a great talent and a real role model for the sport, but it has to be Minnaar for this one.

If you reduce it to XC it's still surprising, Pidcock is younger than Blevins and here's their 2021 head-to-head:

Albstadt
P: 5th (started 100th)
B: 13th (started 16th)

Nove Mesto
P: 1st
B: 20th

Olympics
P: 1st
B: 14th
  • 14 8
 PInkbike commenters frothing at the mouth because a Downhiller/Freestyle rider didn't win.........

XC is a MTB discipline......Blevins deserved the award.
  • 7 2
 cheaper to send the award to USA than to south Africa, it has sense. it is just a reminder of what is gonna happen with the Advent Calendar
  • 5 0
 Can trinity and Santa Cruz please have a little meeting and agree on different jerseys for next year? I got confused a few times this season.
  • 6 0
 Ummmm...Loana Lecomte? Won 5 Worldcup XC races in her first Elite season...as a U23!!! She's not even short-listed?
  • 4 1
 As an American I'd like to congratulate Greg on his win. There was a nasty rumor on Facebook that Blevins was going to get the award for beating someone who got a flat tire- something about a new CEO, flat tire stories being the future of racing, lefty forks for everyone, $50 orange tubes for $50 Santa Cruz presta valves, IMBA-robot-built gravel trails everywhere, etc etc.... but it was just a nasty rumor. Congrats to the GOAT.
  • 6 0
 #Minnargotrobbed
  • 3 0
 Surprised Tom Pidcock didn’t even get nominated considering he won a World Cup and looked like he was going to dominate XC and Olympic gold in his first year elite.
  • 5 0
 Nonsense
  • 4 0
 BMX background.

Sorry, couldn't help myself!

#allwheelsmatter
  • 1 0
 Factory GT as a kid if I remember right.
  • 3 3
 So, not Greg Minnaar? Wow. Absolutely zero credibility Pinkbike, Greg's win is almost inconceivable even now. Disappointed in Pinkbike and pretty sure everyone else feels the same. What was this fix all about?!?!

Edit: just realised, this is an Outside guess, but could this be some sort of manufactured click generating controversy. I suppose there is literally nothing else that can explain it.
  • 3 0
 Because of his bmx background?
  • 2 0
 Bet people think your joking... Blevins was (is?) fast on a 20".
  • 4 0
 Ja, so gaan dit...
  • 7 3
 #ToriGotRobbed
  • 4 0
 Outside+ !!!
  • 5 1
 Who....?
  • 4 1
 Robin made you do this, didn’t he?

Here’s to Minaar!!!!!!!
  • 4 0
 Greg got robbed
  • 2 0
 Why is this not a vote...?
  • 1 0
 Yeah Blevins! Anyone know if he's planning on racing all the world cups this season? I sure hope he is!
  • 2 0
 I was there baby!! It so freakin' cool I can't put it into words.
  • 1 1
 That was the best short track race I’ve ever seen. No one knew who was going to win until Blevins crossed the line. Definitely performance of the year! Congrats Chris!
  • 1 0
 XCO. But yes, incredible racing.
  • 1 0
 @Ktron: oops, sorry my mistake.
  • 2 1
 Man Pinkbike sure has changed over the years. I feel Greg should have won or Jack Moir, or Brandon.
  • 2 0
 Greg has rainbows all year. I'm sure he's not losing any sleep over it.
  • 1 0
 Mona: perfect season including european and world championship AND then winning elite marathon wc.
  • 1 1
 I was at the race, Blevins raced so well. Patient, composed, it was awesome!
  • 1 0
 What? Neff and Shurter way over!
  • 1 0
 Blevins also won the XC short track world championship
  • 2 0
 minnaar got rob
  • 1 1
 Do they do drug testing at these events?
  • 1 0
 Ya right???
  • 3 3
 Wait why did Jack Moir not win? I mean he even beat a drug cheat!
  • 1 0
 Emil?
  • 1 1
 Get that man a cheeseburger!
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