Embacher broke away from the pack early on lap two and was never seen again, even having time to soak up the crowd’s adoration. Behind, reigning champion Valentina Corvi (Canyon XC Racing) was edged out in the sprint for second by Anina Hutter, though the Italian continues to lead the UCI U23 Women’s XCO World Cup standings.
François Baudry went clear with three laps to go but never built up the monster buffer that Embacher managed, so endured a nervier finish as the gap yo-yoed to Alix Andre-Gallis (Decathlon Ford Racing Team), with the Spaniard eventually prevailing and taking the overall lead.
EMBACHER ANNOUNCES ARRIVAL IN STYLE
Embacher’s fourth-place finish in the UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup at Nové Město Na Moravě already looked like a breakthrough result as the Austrian’s first top-five finish in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, but she proved she was far from ready to settle for that in Czechia.
Corvi was the only rider within a minute of Embacher at the start of lap three, but even the UCI World Cup leader and reigning champion had slipped to nearly 90 seconds back by the next time they crossed the start-finish line.
Embacher led chasers Corvi, Hutter, Maruša Tereza Šerkezi (Cube Factory Racing) and Ella MacPhee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) by two whole minutes as she took the bell, but the Austrian would begin to fade, and that pack fractured chasing a podium place.
Šerkezi and MacPhee were shaken by Hutter and Corvi, and the Swiss clinched second in the sprint to the line, having cut 34 seconds from Embacher’s lead in an effort that was just too little, much too late.
“I don’t know what to say, the whole race was crazy for me,” Embacher said. “I just stuck to my pace, got a little gap and tried to ride my rhythm. I’m just really thankful and proud.
“Every lap [the gap] got more and more, I was hearing it from the side because there were so many spectators, I was just trying to ride and it ended really well for me.
“It’s just a lot of self confidence and I look forward to the rest of the season to see what comes.”
FRANÇOIS BAUDRY LANDS DREAM NOVÉ MĚSTO TRIUMPH
François Baudry never enjoyed the same cushion to second place in Czechia, but his attack on the fifth lap was enough to keep Andre-Gallis behind him despite the Frenchman’s late charge.
Marius Aune was the only rider to build any sliver of a gap in the first half of the race, but François Baudry quickly wiped out his four-second advantage when he kicked clear with only Andre-Gallis and Naël Rouffiac (Origine Racing Division) able to stay in touch at 18 seconds back.
However, François Baudry backed it up with another fastest lap to nearly double his lead, continuing to pull away from Rouffiac, while Andre-Gallis dropped his compatriot but could only claw back six seconds on the leader.
After winning his first WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series race last time out in South Korea, François Baudry now has a maiden UCI XCO World Cup triumph under his belt, and was on cloud nine in his victory interview.
“I’m living a dream right now, winning here in Nové Město is crazy, it’s the most mythical one, so happy,” François Baudry said.
“I was feeling good before coming here. Yesterday I was a bit too confident, was not a real good short track, but today I was feeling super good from the start and finally I won.
“I have no words, I was in another zone, another world. I was enjoying it a lot, that’s why you’re working every day, training and sometimes you cry on the bike because you’re going through the pain, that’s why I do it. I have my parents here almost crying, all the team is super happy, it’s so nice.”
Embacher, François Baudry and their U23 brethren are next in action at Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland in June, but the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series thrills and spills in Czechia are still far from over.
Sunday brings the elite men’s and women’s UCI XCO World Cup races, as Puck Pieterse (Alpecin - Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock headline the grand finale in Nové Město Na Moravě. Find out how to watch here.
