Martin Vidaurre Kossman (Specialized Factory Racing) took an historic win for Chile in becoming the first athlete from the country to win a UCI World Cup.
The Specialized Factory Racing rider has often watched team-mates Christopher Blevins and Victor Koretzky stand on the top step of the podium. However, on this occasion the 25-year-old took victory passing Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Divison) on the penultimate lap and riding clear, while privateer Fabio Püntener finished third.
Meanwhile, Pieterse became the first woman to win back-to-back rounds in both XCO and UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup disciplines.
The 23-year-old Women’s UCI XCO World Champion powered clear on the second lap and held on to win, despite suffering a crash halfway through the event.
She was pushed all the way for victory by Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) who was closing on the lone leader during the second half of the race and finished just 26 seconds behind.
Meanwhile, Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) took third following a close battle with Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO).
In the Women’s U23 UCI XCO World Cup Valentina Corvi (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) returned from injury to seal a home victory for the Italian fans. The home rider finished 30 seconds ahead of fast finishing Fiona Schibler, while fellow Italian Sara Cortinovis (Ghost Factory Racing) completed the podium after leading early on.
Meanwhile, Rens Teunissen Van Manen (KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team) took his first World Cup victory in the Mens’ U23 UCI XCO World Cup. The Dutch rider attacked at the midway point and grew his advantage each lap to the finish.
Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) backed up his XCC win on Friday night with a determined second placed finish after coming back from a mechanical issue.Meanwhile Benjamin Krüger finished third after fending off the challenge of a chasing group behind.
VIDAURRE BATTLES THROUGH FIELD TO TAKE HISTORIC WIN
Vidaurre timed his effort to perfection to win the Men’s Elite category with a penultimate lap attack and then grew his winning margin in the final stages. The Chilean won the 2021 Mens’ U23 UCI XCO World Champion in Val Di Sole – Trentino and celebrated his first Elite World Cup win in front of the same Italian fans.
Vidaurre had to work his way forward from the fourth row and became stronger as the race reached its conclusion. A frantic start saw Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) take the front position as overall XCO and XCC UCI World Cup leader Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) was in close attendance. Behind traffic on the short climbs into the wooded section delayed some of those riders outside the top 15 positions.
Blevins was joined by team-mate Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) in setting a scintillating early pace which caused gaps in the field further back.
After withstanding the early pace Swiss rider Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) attacked on the second lap with a powerful move up a steep climb and was joined at the front by Martin. The move put Koretzky onto the back-foot and he would fall back down the field and out of contention.
Italian Luca Braidot (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) slowly worked his way across the seven-second gap to Colombo, but the pace was too high for Blevins who started to drop away.
Cannondale Factory Racing team-mates Charlie Aldridge and Martin worked together and after half-an-hour of racing were just a handful of seconds behind the leading duo. Entering the fourth of eight laps the two pairs came together resulting in the pace easing, as chasers Mathis Azzaro and Julian Schelb (KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team) also pulled themselves back into contention.
Also back to the leading group on the fifth lap was Swiss rider Püntener and Vidaurre to make a front group of eight riders on lap five. Colombo suffered heartbreak when a flat tyre resulted in the end of his podium ambitions.
The pressure from Frenchman Azzaro saw him form a gap initially with Italian Braidot, before riding clear at the front. After riding himself back into contention earlier in the race Vidaurre reached across to second placed Braidot and the pair continued their pursuit of Azzaro, who had a lead of 17 seconds with two laps remaining. Vidaurre was not content with the pace being set and distanced Braidot on a wooded climb and could see the lone leader as the gap came down.
Vidaurre came across to the leader and then immediately took the front of the race to set the pace on the descent. The Chilean rider perfected the descent and had a four-second gap over the fading Azzaro when taking the last lap bell.
Behind Braidot narrowly avoided crashing on the descent but lost time as Püntener took third place. Vidaurre controlled his pace on the final lap and celebrated victory with his team, finishing 23 seconds ahead of Azzaro in second and Püntener in third (39 seconds back).
Meanwhile, an eighth position for Blevins was enough for him to keep the XCO overall lead, ahead of Specialized Factory Racing team-mate Vidaurre.
“It’s amazing, I love Italy, I love the people here, they gave me all the strength today,” said Vidaurre following his victory. “I have such good memories from 2021 when I became U23 World Champion. The whole race I said to myself ‘you can do it’. I just pushed through the bike, the Specialized was amazing over the roots, it’s incredible how fast I can go.
“I found my flow, kept it easy at the beginning and then just took energy from the crowd. I needed this win, I’m more than happy. “It has been a long way to be here, it’s my third year as an elite, and to win a World Cup is all that I wanted. This is for my people and for my country.
“I’ve watch Christopher (Blevins) win seven World Cups and Victor (Koretzky) win a bunch. Finally it is my turn. It’s the team spirit to push and support each other.”
PIETERSE HOLDS FIRM TO ADD ANOTHER WIN TO HER COLLECTION
Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) overcame a small crash and pressure from her rivals to record a second Women’s Elite UCI XCO World Cup win of the season. The Dutch National Champion won in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland in convincing style two weeks’ ago on a muddy and gruelling course.
Despite a repeat of the race result in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland, it was a closer contest in Val Di Sole – Trentino as Maxwell was closing on the leader in the latter stages.
Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) missed the weekend of racing at Val di Sole – Trentino, while Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) was a non-starter after breaking her finger during the XCC event on Friday evening.
Maxwell started from the second row after finishing 12th in the XCC and found herself in 19th and 30 seconds behind after the first lap. After finishing runner-up in the XCC it was Rissveds who powered clear on the opening lap, but had Pieterse and Stigger in close attendance.
Pieterse responded from the early pressure and took the front with only Rissveds able to follow the Dutch woman. The persistent attacks of Pieterse eventually told on the second lap and she gapped her Swedish opponent.
The UCI XCO World Champion grew her advantage in the following laps as Rissveds fell back to the duo of Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing) and Stigger, while Maxwell was chasing with Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Racing) 54 seconds behind the leader.
Pieterse looked in control before crashing in the rock garden on the fourth of seven laps and had to regain her rhythm. The chasers came together to form a group of five riders, who following the crash of Pieterse, were 36 seconds behind the leader. Pieterse regained time before the fight for medals saw Stigger and Maxwell pull clear of the chasing pack on the fifth lap.
On the penultimate lap Maxwell used her strength in the steep climb and gapped Stigger, while Koller and Rissveds remained in the podium fight. Maxwell then went in pursuit of Pieterse and pulled the leader back to 32 seconds in a tense finish.
On the final lap Pieterse rallied and had enough of an advantage to beat Maxwell into second, while a three-rider chasing group battled for third.
Rissveds launched her attack in a bid to secure the final podium position, only for Stigger to pull her opponent back on the descent.
Pieterse had time to celebrate her win, while Maxwell finished 26 seconds back in second and Stigger powered away from Rissveds in the closing moments to secure third.
A fifth XCO podium of the season for Maxwell cemented her place as the overall leader, ahead of Koller and Pieterse.
“It’s quite cool,” said Pieterse about her new record of back-to-back XCO and XCC wins. “I already knew from the XCC that she (Jenny Rissveds) was strong, she went out hard and I decided to follow a bit and not go as long (attack so early) as in Leogang. “I noticed a few spots where I was a bit quicker and I tried to make the best of it. I got a gap and had to go for it.
“It took a lot today, especially when I heard that they were coming closer and closer. I heard that Samara (Maxwell) attacked and went all in, especially the climb on the back (of the course), it was almost undoable.”
Speaking about her crash on the rock garden section, Pieterse added: “Halfway through I lost a bit of my focus, with all the noise around from people cheering. Italy is always crazy and it is hard to focus sometimes.
“I made a little mistake and it took me half-a-lap to get into it, and then it was good again. I knew the seconds back because every time in the tech zone they told me. Maybe it looks a lot, but in my mind 30 seconds is nothing.”
CORVI DELIGHTS HOME FANS WITH COMMANDING WIN
Corvi delighted the home Italian fans as she clinched a solo victory in the Women’s UCI U23 XCO World Cup. The 20-year-old Italian fractured her collarbone in a crash earlier this season and had a winning return to the UCI XCO World Cup.
After finishing eighth in the XCC event on Friday night, Corvi took control in front of her home fans in the XCO on Sunday morning. She was joined at the head of proceedings by fellow Italian Cortinovis and the home riders had a healthy lead after the opening lap. The pair worked together to grow their lead until the third of five laps when Corvi took the lead alone.
Cortinovis suffered from her early efforts and fell back to the chasing riders competing for the medals. After finishing 25th in Friday night’s XCC event, Schibler had to battle through the field and lost 30 seconds on the leaders on the opening lap.
However, the Swiss rider worked her way into the leading group before passing Cortinovis into second position and went in pursuit of the lone leader. Corvi limited her loses on the last lap and held on to take victory by 30 seconds ahead of Schibler.
Meanwhile, Cortinovis was rewarded for her early efforts with a second position finish. A sixth placed finish for Ella Macphee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) was enough to maintain her position as overall XCO series leader.
“I tried to push super-strong from the beginning,” said Corvi. “I had super-good feelings, it’s amazing here with my crowd and my people. Winning my first UCI World Cup is amazing “Sara (Cortinovis) pushed super-strong from the first lap and I tried to keep the speed high. I’m super-happy that we finished all together on the podium in Italy, it’s a big day for us.”
TEUNISSEN VAN MANEN TAKES MAIDEN WORLD CUP WIN
Teunissen Van Manen sensed his opportunity and powered away to win his first UCI World Cup. The 20-year-old has finished on the podium twice this year and capitalised on a mechanical for rival Treudler to form a winning gap.
Swiss riders Nicholas Halter and Treudler were at the front from the outset and pulled out a small five-second gap on chasers Paul Schehl (Lexware MountainBike Team) and Teunissen Van Manen.
The fast pace of the opening lap took its toll on the Under 23 riders as the field started to spread out on the Val di Sole – Trentino course. Dutch rider Tom Schellekens (KMC Ridley MTC Racing Team) was also amongst the riders within 10 seconds of the early Swiss leaders.
Treudler won the XCC World Cup on Friday night but suffered some mechanical issues and lost time, dropping down to seventh position.
German pairing Krüger and Schehl were joined at the front by Heby Gustav Pedersen (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Racing) and Teunissen Van Manen. On the fourth lap Teunissen Van Manen made his bid for glory and distanced his rivals by 14 seconds. The Dutch rider continued to grow his leading advantage, while Treudler pulled back the chasers to battle out the medal positions.
On the penultimate lap Treudler showed his power and distanced his podium opponents but sat 40 seconds behind lone leader Teunissen Van Manen.
A last lap crash for Teunissen Van Manen saw his winning margin reduced to 34 seconds on the final lap ahead of Treudler.
Meanwhile Krüger gapped his podium opponents for third but had to fend off a late charge from Swiss rider Khalid Sidahmed.
“It is everything that I’ve ever dreamed of,” said Teunissen Van Manen. “To win here on this course couldn’t have been any better. “In the last lap on the first downhill I got stuck in between some roots, in the dust, and went down. “Luckily it wasn’t anything bad and I could continue.”
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues next weekend when the UCI Enduro World Cup hits the slopes of Val di Fassa – Trentino. Meanwhile, the endurance riders are next in the XCO and XCC UCI World Cups in Pal Arinsal - Andorra on 9-13 July.
