On a course that rewards tactical acumen over technical ability, Schehl took a solo victory while Kellerman edged out Norway’s Lisa Kristine Jorde in a sprint to the line, one rider taking his first XCC victory and the other continuing her 100% record in the discipline this season.
The nailbiting races kicked off a highly anticipated weekend at the iconic Czech venue as elite multi-discipline superstars Tom Pidcock and Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Premier Tech) make their long-awaited returns to the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. But it was the U23 starlets who took centre stage on Friday.
Kellerman extends her lead in the XCC overall standings while Schehl takes over from Thibaut Francois Baudry (Canyon XC Racing) at the top of the men’s leaderboard as the Spaniard could only finish seventh.
SCHEHL FINALLY REIGNS SUPREME IN FULL-CIRCLE MOMENT
Second and third at the 2026 curtain-raiser in MONA YongPyong (South Korea), Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) unequivocally stamped his authority on the Men’s U23 UCI Cross-country World Cup in Czechia.
In his weaker discipline, on a course that wouldn’t usually suit him, given the lack of opportunities to distance the pack, Schehl went hard from the off, driving an average laptime of 2:30 for the first seven laps and crossing the line as leader in all but one of them.
And when it was time to drop the hammer at the venue where he took his maiden UCI XCO World Cup win 12 months ago, no one could even attempt to go with the German who blasted Ian Ackert off his wheel and opened up a seven-second lead.
The pack did close on the final lap as five riders went quicker than Schehl, led by Naël Rouffiac (Origine Racing Division) who won the sprint for second while Alix Andre-Gallis took third for Decathlon Ford Racing Team, but it was too little, too late.
“I feel amazing, pretty tired right now but super stoked,” Schehl said. “It was super hard. Normally it’s a very tactical race where it comes down to the last lap and a crazy sprint, but I don’t have the best sprint, so I said 'I need to make it super hard, I need to go super early and long'.
“Luckily it worked out and I came home with the win. There are lots of guys, Finn Treudler was so strong last year and he’s missing now so we have five guys who could potentially win the World Cup, it just depends on the day.”
KELLERMAN INEVITABLE DESPITE JORDE CHALLENGE
A pack of 24 riders rode within 30 seconds of Kellerman who bided her time in the bunch during the first half of the race, as her compatriot Bailey Cioppa set the early pace alongside Fiona Schibler.
Indeed Kellerman only led the pack once across the line - on the only time that matters - but was an ever-present around the front of the race for the last four laps, alongside Canyon XC Racing’s Valentina Corvi.
Corvi pushed Kellerman closest at the opening round of the season in MONA YongPyong and it looked like the pair would battle it out for victory again until Jorde came to the fore on the final lap.
The Norwegian was the only rider able to stick with Kellerman on the final lap as she opened up a two-second gap to the rest of the pack, but Jorde couldn’t quite round the leader as Kellerman unleashed a brutal sprint to the line for victory while Corvi was forced to settle for third.
“I’m honestly feeling so pumped. We’ve never really waited, usually we girls go first and waiting all day was a first for me, I just practiced being patient with my teammate Bailey [Cioppa],” Kelleman said.
“We were just joking, we’re going to be patient this morning and patient in the race...and that honestly worked out in my favour! I didn’t know if I was going to get it in the end, but I’m so proud that I never gave up, this is unbelievable.
“I just realised ‘you won one, you can win another’. I’m so stoked to wear this jersey, it has my name on the back, number one, I’m so happy I get to wear it another weekend.”
Kellerman also said she’s “pretty confident” as she attempts to win her first UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup round tomorrow (Saturday, May 23).
The U23 XCO races come after the elite riders take centre stage as Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) and Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) look to continue their winning start to the XCC season, with Pieterse and Pidcock among those trying to stop them.
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series action gets underway at 11:20 local time with the second round of the Elite Women’s UCI XCC World Cup, find out how to watch here.
