Photo Epic: Moments in Thinner Air - Andorra XC World Cup Great Moments

Jun 21, 2020
by Matthew DeLorme  



Right about now we would be getting into the fat of World Cup season with Andorra. Traditionally Andorra has been a race of shake-ups. Riders have to contend with the higher elevation, the rooty, rocky technical sections of the course, and the punishing long climbs. We have seen Nino bested by Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja take a win at 45 years of age, Henrique Avancini rise to the podium here. We have seen MVDP slide back in XCC after crushing wins in XCO. Andorra is a special venue, take a stroll down memory lane as we look at some golden moments from races past.



Pauline Ferrand Prevot had CX and Road championship wins to her name now she has XC as well.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot had CX, and Road championship wins to her name, now she has XC as well. 2015

Women s Podium.
Women's Podium 2015.

Yana Belomoina may have had the ride of the race. The Ukrainian finished third.
Yana Belomoina may have had the ride of the race. The Ukrainian finished third. Belomoina was on the start of a couple of seasons of top results. 2015

Pauline had the lungs and the legs today.
Pauline had the lungs and the legs today. 2015

Nino Schurter slaying the off camber roots.
Nino Schurter slaying the off-camber roots. 2015

You don t often see Nino looked gassed at the end of a race but he left it all out there today.
You don't often see Nino looking gassed at the end of a race, but he left it all out there today. 2015

World Champion once again
World Champion once again! 2015

Ondrej Cink finished third and even had Nino chasing him for a moment.
Ondrej Cink finished third and even had Nino chasing him for a moment. 2015

Abalone leading Schurter on the back side climb.
Absalon leading Schurter on the backside climb. 2015

Julien Absalon had both the lungs and the legs today.
Julien Absalon had both the lungs and the legs today. 2016

The classic battle. It seems balance won out in the end. Is there only so much gold one man can carry in a season
The classic battle. It seems balance won out in the end. Is there only so much gold one man can carry in a season? Those classic battles between Nino and Julien have been replaced by the battles between Nino and MVDP. 2016

Ondrej Cink was out like lightning took the lead for a spell and didn t fade. He took second today.
Ondrej Cink was out like lightning, took the lead for a spell and didn't fade. He took second today. 2016

The end of and era. Say what you will about spandex vs. baggies Minnaar Peaty and Cedric came out and welcomed home Jose on his last world cup with so much style and respect. It was a proper end to and emotional week. Thanks boys.
The end of an era. Say what you will about spandex vs. baggies, Minnaar, Peaty, and Cedric came out and welcomed home Jose, on his last world cup with so much style and respect. It was a proper end to an emotional week. Thanks boys. 2016

Jolanda Neff hasn t had the greatest of seasons but she was able to get her health back and pull off a win at altitude.
Jolanda Neff hasn't had the greatest of seasons, but she was able to get her health back and pull off a win at altitude. 2016

What a beautiful bit of trail.
What a beautiful bit of trail. Andorra has all the makings of an epic XC course.

Two elite World Cup wins for Belomoina.
Two elite World Cup wins for Belomoina. 2017

Belomoina glances up the climb. Her competitors remained well out of reach as she finished with a one minutes 37 second lead.
Belomoina glances up the climb. Her competitors remained well out of reach as she finished with a one-minute 37-second lead. 2017

Mathieu van der Poel r caused quite the stir as he challenged Schurter s dominance in Albstadt. Today Schurter showed the world his class.
Mathieu van der Poel caused quite the stir as he challenged Schurter's dominance in Albstadt. Today, Schurter showed the world his class. 2017

Jolanda Neff with a strong start in 2017.
Jolanda Neff with a strong start in 2017.

Big victory in the high altitude venue for Nino Schurter - 2017.
Big victory in the high altitude venue for Nino Schurter. 2017.

Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja into third after chasing Langvad - 2017.
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja into third after chasing Langvad. 2017.

Mathias Fl eckiger took the second spot after battling with Jordan Sarrou - 2017.
Mathias Flüeckiger took the second spot after battling with Jordan Sarrou. 2017.

Jordan Sarrou wasn t able to hold onto Flueckiger s wheel and would settle for third in 2017.
Jordan Sarrou wasn't able to hold onto Flüeckiger's wheel and would settle for third in 2017.

Two big results for Henrique Anacini in two weeks. This time it was the win.
Two big results for Henrique Avancini in two weeks. This time it was the win. 2018

Alessandra Keller takes the win
Alessandra Keller takes the win! 2018

Sina Frei once again takes the win in the u23 women.
Sina Frei once again takes the win in the U23 women. 2018

Evie Richards checks in with Haley Batten after a rough U23 women s race.
Evie Richards checks in with Haley Batten after a rough U23 women's race. 2018

Evie Richards digging deep for second place here in Andorra.
Evie Richards digging deep for second place here in Andorra. 2018

Nino pushed and Kerschbaumer answered.
Nino pushed and Kerschbaumer answered. 2018

Confidence after that second place finish in Val di Sole carried through to Andorra for Gerhard Kerschbaumer.
Confidence after that second-place finish in Val di Sole carried through to Andorra for Gerhard Kerschbaumer. 2018

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photo

Hear her roar. With age comes cunning.
Hear her roar. With age comes cunning.

open grass turn down to the tech zone.
Open grass turn down to the tech zone.

Gerhard Kerschbaumer on his way to victory.
Gerhard Kerschbaumer on his way to victory. 2018

Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa 45 years of age. 71 podiums in World Cups including today. 30 World Cup wins.
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja, 45 years of age. 71 podiums in World Cups, including today. 30 World Cup wins. 2018

Plenty of rocks and roots to go around.
Plenty of rocks and roots to go around.

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Women's podium 2018

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Jolanda Neff takes the short track win in 2019

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Avancini was the short track master of Andorra in 2019

Anne Terpstra pulls of a stunning win in Andorra.
Anne Terpstra pulls off a stunning win in Andorra. 2019

Terpstra and Neff battle it out on the final lap.
Terpstra and Neff battle it out on the final lap. 2019

Jenny Rissveds made it known that she is back today. despite a couple hairy moments she had an incredible ride to fifth place.
Jenny Rissveds made it known that she is back today. Despite a couple of hairy moments, she had an incredible ride to fifth place. 2019

An emotional day for Jenny Rissveds and a much deserved podium.
An emotional day for Jenny Rissveds, and a much-deserved podium. 2019

Anne Terpstra rode with patience and played her cards perfectly.
Anne Terpstra rode with patience and played her cards perfectly.2019

Dascalu Claiming victory.
Dascalu Claiming victory. 2019

Mathias Flueckiger thought he had it in the bag when Nino had a slip up going into the final woods. He gave it his all but was eventual caught and passed before this final straight. He crossed the line in second after a grueling race.
Mathias Flüeckiger thought he had it in the bag when Nino had a slip up going into the final woods. He gave it his all but was eventually caught and passed before this final straight. He crossed the line in second after a grueling race. 2019

One last look back from Nino.
One last look back from Nino. 2019

What giving it your all looks like.
What giving it your all looks like. 2019

Mathieu van der Poel second in the overall did not come close to challenging Schurter or Kerschbaumer today. Riding his own pace the Dutchman finished third.
Mathieu van der Poel, second in the overall, did not come close to challenging Schurter or Kerschbaumer today. Riding his own pace the Dutchman finished third. 2019


Author Info:
mdelorme avatar

Member since May 11, 2011
186 articles

10 Comments
  • 7 4
 Amazing article shamed by users posting comments using racial slurs. Will you do something Pinkbike or just turn a blind eye?
  • 1 0
 Thank you Pinkbike, I appreciate your responsible attitude...now lets get back to bikes Smile
  • 1 0
 Nice one pinkbike ????????
  • 2 0
 Reported mtb1101 earlier today. I think @mtb1101 account may have been hijacked by a 8 year old, since they had some reasonable comments earlier this year, then the last four or five comments are just trolling.
  • 3 0
 Well done PB! Thanks for getting rid of the waste.
  • 4 3
 They have my never ending respect but that is not my ride.
  • 1 0
 great moments :-)
  • 1 2
 Great memories.







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