Final Results: Nove Mesto XC World Cup 2021
The results are in from an incredible weekend of racing at the second round of the 2021 XC World Cup in Nove Mesto. In the U23 racing, Carter Woods took a second win in 2021 with an almost two minute lead on Riley Amos. Mona Mitterwallner also took her second World Cup win of the season as she just beat out Caroline Bohe to the finish line.
Loana Lecomte once again dominated the Elite Women's racing as she proved she is the rider to beat this year. After taking the lead on the start loop and building a 29-second gap by the end on lap one, she was unstoppable today. Haley Batten also had a great ride as taking 2nd place in her first year racing as an Elite. Rebecca McConnell rounded out the top three as she was the only other rider to come within two minutes of Loana Lecomte.
For the Elite Men, it was a battle between Thomas Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel from the first lap. A big attack by Pidcock on the third lap saw him take a 30-second lead that he would extend to a minute by the time the race ended. Mathias Flueckiger and Ondrej Cink rode strong races to third and fourth place respectively, current Elite World Champion Jordan Sarrou just snuck into the top five. Round one winner Victor Koretzky didn't have the best of days as he crossed the line in 24th position. Nino Schurter also struggled today with a mid-race crash, placing him outside the top five for the first time in Nove Mesto.
Check out the full results and updates from the race as it happened below.
Results:
Elite Women (1 Start Loop + 5 Laps)
1st. Loana Lecomte: 1:25:13
2nd. Haley Batten: +1:39
3rd. Rebecca McConnell: +1:51
4th. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +2:10
5th. Evie Richards: +2:27
Elite Men (1 Start Loop + 6 Laps)
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 1:20:55
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +1:00
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +1:15
4th. Ondrej Cink: +2:00
5th. Jordan Sarrou: +2:21
U23 Women (2 Start Loops + 4 Laps)
1st. Mona Mitterwallner: 1:25:21
2nd. Caroline Bohe: +2
3rd. Kata Blanka Vas: +1:17
4th. Puck Pieterse: +1:53
5th. Harriet Harnden: +2:00
U23 Men (2 Start Loops + 5 Laps)
1st. Carter Woods: 1:23:44
2nd. Riley Amos: +1:55
3rd. Alexandre Balmer: +2:21
4th. Joel Roth: +2:30
5th. Simone Avondetto: +2:51
Full Results:
Elite Women:
Elite Men:
Live Race Updates:
1:30 am PDT:
The 2021 World Cup XC racing continues with the second round in Nove Mesto.
The Women's racing kicks off on Red Bull TV at: PST 02:00 / EST 05:00 / BST 10:00 / CEST 11:00
The Men will start on Red Bull TV at: PST 06:00 / EST 09:00 / BST 14:00 / CEST 15:00
2:20 am PDT:
The race is now underway with Laura Stigger leading as they head into the start lap.
2:30 am PDT:
After the short start lap, it is Loana Lecomte leading the race.
2:30 am PDT:
Top five Elite Women after the start lap:
1st. Loana Lecomte: 9:58
2nd. Haley Batten: +5
3rd. Kate Courtney: +5
4th. Evie Richards: +10
5th. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +10
2:33 am PDT:
The top riders to hit the first tech climb of the full lap are off their bikes as it looks very muddy and slippery.
2:36 am PDT:
After her big crash in the Short Track on Friday Pauline Ferrand Prevot is looking back on form as she closes in on Kate Courtney in third place.
2:39 am PDT:
Loana Lecomte has already created a huge gap of 27 seconds back to Haley Batten as they make their way around the first full lap.
2:43 am PDT:
It looks like Kate Courtney may have had a crash on the second half of the first lap.
2:45 am PDT:
Top five Elite Women after the first lap:
1st. Loana Lecomte: 24:37
2nd. Haley Batten: +29
3rd. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +39
4th. Rebecca McConnell: +44
5th. Evie Richards: +51
2:49 am PDT:
Kate Courtney is in the tech zone having a bent brake lever fixed. This doesn't look like a quick fix so she will have to do a lot of work to get a good result today.
2:56 am PDT:
Jenny Rissveds has pulled out of today's race.
2:58 am PDT:
Pauline Ferrand Prevot has apparently stopped in the tech zone. Looking at the timing she has dropped to over a minute back from Lecomte in fourth place.
3:00 am PDT:
Top five Elite Women after the second lap:
1st. Loana Lecomte: 39:48
2nd. Rebecca McConnell: +47
3rd. Haley Batten: +53
4th. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +1:09
5th. Evie Richards: +1:16
3:06 am PDT:
A disaster for Kate Courtney as she now has a flat rear tire.
3:16 am PDT:
Top five Elite Women after the third lap:
1st. Loana Lecomte: 54:10
2nd. Rebecca McConnell: +1:13
3rd. Haley Batten: +1:29
4th. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +1:45
5th. Evie Richards: +1:50
3:32 am PDT:
Top five Elite Women going into the final lap:
1st. Loana Lecomte: 1:09:41
2nd. Rebecca McConnell: +1:30
3rd. Haley Batten: +1:49
4th. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +2:03
5th. Evie Richards: +2:15
3:36 am PDT:
Rebecca McConnell, Haley Batten and Pauline Ferrand Prevot seem to be coming back together. We could be in for a close battle for second place.
3:38 am PDT:
Haley Batten has passed Rebecca McConnell to take second place.
3:45 am PDT:
Loana Lecomte wins the second World Cup of 2021 by a huge margin!
3:48 am PDT:
Top five Elite Women:
1st. Loana Lecomte: 1:25:13
2nd. Haley Batten: +1:39
3rd. Rebecca McConnell: +1:51
4th. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: +2:10
5th. Evie Richards: +2:27
6:20 am PDT:
The Elite Men are off with Mathieu van der Poel and Victor Koretzky leading as they head into the start lap.
6:29 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men after the start lap:
1st. Mathieu van der Poel: 7:26
2nd. Nino Schurter: +1
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +1
4th. Thomas Pidcock: +8
5th. Ondrej Cink: +15
6:31 am PDT:
Ondrej Cink is the first rider to clear the 'Shimano Expert Climb' section without having to get off the bike.
6:33 am PDT:
Mathieu van der Poel has built a six-second lead with a chasing group of Nino Schurter, Thomas Pidcock, Ondrej Cink and Mathias Flueckiger.
6:35 am PDT:
Thomas Pidcock takes the lead ahead of Mathieu van der Poel.
6:40 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men after the first lap:
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 19:30
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +0
3rd. Ondrej Cink: +23
4th. Mathias Flueckiger: +24
5th. Nino Schurter: +31
6:43 am PDT:
Mathieu van der Poel tries to ride the 'Expert Climb' section but doesn't manage to clear it without getting off his bike.
6:49 am PDT:
Mathias Flueckiger seems to be closing the gap to Mathieu van der Poel and Thomas Pidcock, he has managed to pull in just over ten seconds so far this lap.
6:53 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men after the second lap:
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 31:52
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +1
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +16
4th. Ondrej Cink: +37
5th. Nino Schurter: +53
6:55 am PDT:
Jordan Sarrou and Alan Hatherly have caught Nino Schurter, they are still over 50 seconds back from the leaders.
6:59 am PDT:
Thomas Pidcock has launched an attack at the front creating a 15-second gap to Mathieu van der Poel.
7:05 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men after the third lap:
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 43:48
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +31
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +55
4th. Ondrej Cink: +1:20
5th. Nino Schurter: +1:39
7:13 am PDT:
Mathias Flueckiger is in sight of Mathieu van der Poel with just four seconds between 2nd and 3rd place.
7:14 am PDT:
Last week's winner Victor Koretzky is not having a great day today as he sits back in 39th position, over three minutes back.
7:16 am PDT:
Nino Schurter goes down hard as his front wheel slips on a root, he quickly got back up and started making his way up a climb.
7:18 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men after the fourth lap:
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 55:56
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +1:18
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +1:18
4th. Ondrej Cink: +1:49
5th. Jordan Sarrou: +2:06
7:30 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men going into the final lap:
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 1:08:17
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +1:14
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +1:23
4th. Ondrej Cink: +2:01
5th. Alan Hatherly: +2:19
7:41 am PDT:
Thomas Pidcock wins his first Elite World Cup!
7:43 am PDT:
Top five Elite Men:
1st. Thomas Pidcock: 1:20:55
2nd. Mathieu van der Poel: +1:00
3rd. Mathias Flueckiger: +1:15
4th. Ondrej Cink: +2:00
5th. Jordan Sarrou: +2:21
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If Tom had competed in the 2019 U23 MTB Worlds, he surely would have finished fourth or better, which at this point secures an automatic place for the Olympics. But instead, he chose to compete in the 2019 U23 Road Worlds, which ultimately helped him land a contract with INEOS (I skipped a few other races here).
cutt.ly/NbCJyA3
It's bloody complicated but the commentators were right, thanks to Dascalu's place Romania is in top21, and their "free" ticket which Dascalu got in u23 2019 World Champs goes to GB thanks to their 14th place there
(and my home country, Slovakia, is now out
(it's refreshing to hear that she recognizes the importance of Julie Bresset in mtb, she knows her sport)
PRO: Shimano Brakes
Nino is a incredible rider, probably the about best that has ever been in XC, but he is 35 now. I even have a pair of his shoes at home.
I think that Nino's dominance of winning multiple XCO's a year is over as he's just gotten too old, but I would be shocked if he doesn't win a handful more. Especially just 1 to get that record, and he clearly still has a ton left in the tank considering last week's race was a sprint finish for second.
I don't know if Nino's got that level of longevity but there are people out there that do.
I wouldn't be surprised if he does.
DCA has no idea what he's talking about. We can just hope it's not too long before he crosses enough lines to earn another suspension. Just a battery-powered troll.
Unfortunetaly I had to quit because of dizziness difficult to accept that defeat especially on a track which would have suited me well♀️ but that makes me even stronger"
It's starting to sound like another round of bad food.
Saving grace for the day is Haley & Sina did well, as did Jordan.
17. Emily Batty (+6:20)
23. Catharine Pendrel (+6:47)
IIRC last fall at NM is where a bunch of riders came down with that nasty stomach bug.
Bad Food or Water?
Is this the only technical feature on these trails?