Jenny Rissveds (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) and Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) put in assured performances in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Mairiporã, Brazil on Sunday, taking wins in the elite UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup events.
Rissveds played the long game, allowing the American duo of Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) and Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) to battle for supremacy while she saved her watts for the final lap.
In the men’s race, fans were treated to one of the closest and most unpredictable battles in recent memory, as thirteen riders headed into the final lap with nothing to separate them. Specialized delivered a supreme team performance with three on the podium, as Blevins rode his way through the field to claim just the second UCI World Cup victory of his career.
RISSVEDS EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF IN THREE-UP BATTLE
After a win in the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup on Saturday, it was Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) who was able to use her front row gridding to full effect at the beginning of the women’s elite cross-country Olympic World Cup. The Brit applied pressure from the start, and her brisk early pacesetting had an impact on the start loop, with just a small selection of riders able to stay with her, including Batten, Rissveds, and Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team), as many more were caught up on the early climb and forced to dismount.
Moving into the first full lap though, a selection of riders closed the gap to the leaders and a sizeable bunch led the race until Chiara Teocchi, riding her first season for the Orbea Factory Team, took matters into her own hands. The multiple former Italian national champion moved through decisively and under her sustained pressure, Richards, Courtney and more were distanced, as Teocchi drew out a lead group of five. It didn’t last long though, as the American duo of Batten and Blunk attacked Teocchi on lap two, and moved clear of the rest to form a leading duo.
It was the Swedish rider Rissveds – gold medallist at the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro – who was eventually able to bridge the gap to the leading pair on lap three, with Teocchi and Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon), chasing in fourth and fifth place respectively.
The front trio remained locked together into the fourth lap, as further back, reigning Olympic champion Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) picked riders off one by one as she worked her way through the pack towards the front of the race.
Batten attacked on the climb towards the end of the fourth lap, and though Rissveds was able to make her way back to the American, her compatriot Blunk dropped back. She finally clawed her way back on the final lap only to see her countrywoman Batten accelerate again as she tried to drop Rissveds.
But Rissveds counter-attacked and surged clear of the chasers. Behind her, Batten suffered a late crash on a berm, allowing Blunk to move back into second. Rissveds raised her arms over the line 27 seconds ahead of Blunk who sealed second place. Batten rolled over the line in third. Teocchi was overjoyed as she finished fourth and Neff capped a fantastic comeback to finish in fifth and round out the podium.
After the race, Rissveds said:
It felt really good, I raced last weekend on the exact same course, and I was a little bit too excited. My goal was to feel the flow on the trails and to stay patient, so I had that in mind the whole race. Then Haley tried to attack me a few times on the last lap, but I still felt really strong and knew I still had some power left in my legs.
What I’m most happy about is that Kelsey [Urban], my teammate and best friend, did really well. She’s been struggling a lot with her health, she skipped half a season last year, and she’s been working so hard to come back. She’s killing it and I’m so happy for her.
Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team)
It was an incredible race, super hard, but I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a busy spring, I’ve been trying to race with high competition to get ready for these early UCI World Cups and qualify myself for the Olympics, so it’s been a huge amount of work over the last three months. I feel like I’ve never been so committed to the process, and to have it pay off today, I can’t really explain it.
Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing):
Honestly, I think I was one of the strongest today, and I didn’t race like I should have. I think I got a little too eager and excited. You can’t just ride away from the best riders in the world. I learned a lot today, it’s good to know I’m strong and it’s just making sure I actually execute the way I need to.
SPECIALIZED DELIVER MASTERCLASS IN THRILLING ENCOUNTER
Dry, dusty conditions and moody skies did not diminish the heat and humidity for the men’s elite race, which nonetheless began at a frenetic pace. Heavy traffic and a few errors on the early climbs caused major issues on the start loop, with knock-on effects reverberating throughout the pack as many riders were forced to dismount. The impact was a huge spread of riders across the course.
Teammates Martín Vidaurre and Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) took advantage of the chaos to forge clear, and heading into the first full lap, seven riders had a small gap on the rest of the field. More riders tried to close in on the leaders but the Frenchman Koretzky, winner of both the UCI Cross-country Olympic and Short Track World Cups in Les Gets in 2023, maintained a strong pace and, as the second lap began, the lead group had been whittled down to six. Swiss Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) took control with Koretzky and Vidaurre close behind, and France’s Joshua Dubau (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) worked his way steadily up to join them.
The quartet had almost 20 seconds on the rest of the field moving into lap three, and they worked together well into lap four, with a chasing group of three striving to make contact, including New Zealand’s Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck), winner of yesterday’s UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup event; Frenchman Jordan Sarrou (Team BMC) and Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing). Blevins stormed past Gaze and Sarrou to close the gap to the leaders, to make three Specialized riders at the front, and Gaze and Sarrou were able to make the bridge to swell the leading group to seven heading into lap five.
The group only grew as the race reached the business end though, with seven more chasers briefly making contact, but the original four still maintained their presence at the front of the race with a narrow gap over Gaze, Blevins and Sarrou heading into lap six.
After a long period of relative stalemate, Colombo put in an acceleration but it was not enough to move clear of the chasers who closed the gap once more and with even more riders joining the pursuit, the leading group numbered thirteen riders heading into the final lap. 
The decisive attacks had to come, and it was a two-pronged drive from teammates Vidaurre and Koretzky that kicked off the action, but it wasn’t enough to drop the challengers. Specialized had a third option though, and as soon as he had the space, Blevins sprung away and quickly opened a gap, with Colombo in pursuit.
The chase was not enough however, and in exactly one hour and thirty minutes, Blevins wrapped up an incredible victory, his second in the UCI World Cup circuit, with Koretzky sprinting to second ahead of Colombo in third. The Specialized riders celebrated as Vidaurre made it three on the podium for them, coming in fifth, with Jordan Sarrou pipping him into fourth position.
It was a bad day for Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team), however. The Swiss rider, who won last year’s overall title and leads the all-time standings for most UCI Cross-country World Cup victories, crashed early in the race and was only able to finish in 35th position, 2:47 off the pace of Blevins.
Blevins said:
It’s so surreal, I’m just kind of in a daze right now. This sport’s just so beautiful and when you’re on days like this, there’s no place I’d rather be in the world. I had a really bad day yesterday, and I think it’s a lesson. In this sport you’ve just got to listen to your body, you can always get more out of it than you think.
We’ve dreamt about a day like this as we are all on the same team. I don’t know if this has happened in mountain bike history, three in the same team on the podium? I love these boys; I love this team around me. I didn’t think today could be my day but you’ve just got to always believe in yourself and anything is possible. Brazil, you’re awesome, hope we come back every year.
Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing):
It was super tactical race today, we managed it really well. We won the team overall, it’s amazing, and we can wait now for the next weekend. I’m so proud of Chris as he’s had two super tough years and now he’s back on the front and on the podium.
Third-placed Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) said:
I really worked super hard this winter throughout my injury, and I’m super stoked to be back on the podium fighting for the victory until the last lap. It’s a shame, but Blevins was super strong. I tried everything that I could.
AMOS AND BÖHM DOUBLE DELIGHT IN U23 UCI CROSS-COUNTRY OLYMPIC WORLD CUP
Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) and Kira Böhm (Cube Factory Racing) both scored a double victory in the U23 UCI Cross-country World Cup events. After Amos’ commanding victory in the men’s event on Saturday, the women’s event began with a strong start for the Swiss Ginia Caluori (Wilier-Victoria Factory Team XCO), pursued by Böhm and the Emily Johnston (Trek Future Racing). They formed a leading group of three, on the start lap, with the field already scattered along the track in small groups.
The trio stayed together for the first two laps, taking turns on the front and adding distance between themselves and the chasers, Valentina Corvi (Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team) and Madigan Munro (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli), the latter recovering from an early crash.
On the third lap, Johnston lost touch with the other two leaders and shortly after, Böhm used the short climb to her advantage to open a gap to Caluori in second. From there she continued to inject pace and put the hurt on her pursuer, but Caluori was unfazed and came back for a final lap head-to-head. In the end though it was Böhm who proved her strength, moving clear of Caluori and taking victory by 11 seconds, with Johnston finishing in third.
Böhm said:
Thank you so much. I'm so, so happy. I never thought I would be so strong today. I know that I have a good shape right now. In the short track race it wasn’t a surprise to me but today I’ve surprised myself a little bit.
OPENING WEEKEND IN MAIRIPORÃ DEEMED A ROARING SUCCESS
Global promoter of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, WBD Sports, would like to thank the race organisation at Mairiporã for a hugely successful event, and for kicking off the series in style.
Chris Ball, Vice President of Cycling Events at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said:
The event was extremely well attended, with an incredible 25,000 spectators throughout the weekend. The locals proudly represented the passion that the Brazilian fans have for the sport of mountain biking. The course was challenging and varied and produced some spectacular, unpredictable, and thrilling racing throughout the weekend, showcasing the beauty of the Brazilian racing scene
Fabio Caldeo, CEO of the Arena iMTB & iMTB Festival, said:
We’re proud of the outcome. We’re happy to be opening our home to the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. This is the result of months of hard work and commitment from a dedicated team and I just want to thank them all.
The second round of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series takes place next weekend, 19-21 April, in Araxá, in Western Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
