On Thursday, June 29th, the official competitions of the Mountain Bike World Cup stage in Val di Sole got off with the U23 XCC races. Canadian Woods claimed victory in the men's race, Swiss Blöchlinger kept her streak alive among women. Tomorrow’s highlights will be the Junior Downhill Finals and the Elite XCC races
A day earlier than usual, thanks to the introduction of the U23 Short Track (XCC) races in the program of the new UCI Mountain Bike World managed by ESO Sport - Warner Bros Discovery, the competition came alive in the classic venue of Daolasa di Commezzadura, Val di Sole.
On the afternoon of Thursday, June 29th, the Men’s and Women’s U23 Short Track races saw, respectively, Canadian Carter Woods and Swiss Ronja Blöchlinger smiling on the podium. It was Woods' first victory of the season in the Mountain Bike World Cup, while Blöchlinger has been unbeatable so far in this format in 2023, having taken her fourth win out of as many chances.
Thursday was also the day of the Junior Downhill qualifiers on the iconic Black Snake slope, with local favorite Christian Hauser, the rider from Trentino supported by Val di Sole Bikeland, nurturing the fans’ hopes with third place, despite a few mistakes in the final part of the track. Tomorrow’s finals are sure to be lived with full intensity in Daolasa.
XCC U23 MEN: WOODS EMERGES IN A TIGHT RACE
An intensely contested race was expected for the U23 Men’s Short Track race, and the predictions were met. Canadian Carter Woods (Team Giant Factory) claimed a beautiful success in Daolasa di Commezzadura after a hard-fought race, from the first to the last lap.
Frenchmen Luca Martin (Orbea Factory) and Adrien Boichis (Trinity Racing) crossed the finish line in second and third place, respectively, whilst American Riley Amos (Trek Factory) and Swiss Dario Lillo (Scott Davos) rounded out the day’s top-5.
Italian Andreas Vittone (KTM Protek-Elettrosystem) closed the first lap in first place thanks to a fast start, but France’s Boichis and Martin, Switzerland’s Lillo and Canada’s Woods took control of the situation in the following passages. In an exciting finale, Woods preceded the French duo, whilst Boichis held on his overall lead with 430 points ahead of Woods (335) and Lillo (330).
U23 WOMEN XCC: BLÖCHLINGER SEES OFF PEDERSEN
Nove Mesto, Lenzerheide, Leogang, and now Val di Sole: Ronja Blöchlinger has kept her streak alive in the Under 23 XCC, grabbing the fourth win as many World Cup events.
In Val di Sole, the Swiss rider had to dig deep to break the resistance of Sofie Pedersen (Wilier Pirelli), runner-up at 0.06. However, the Danish rider will be the favorite for Sunday’s XCO race. French Noemie Garnier (SCOTT Creuse) was third at 0.36.
Blöchlinger and Pedersen clearly outperformed the competition already in lap 1, thanks to a fast start of the Danish rider. In lap 3, Blöchlinger bridged over to Pedersen: from that point, the two rivals continued together until the last lap, when the Swiss prospect unleashed the decisive attack, eventually soloing to the finish line.
In the World Cup overall standings, Blöchlinger leads with full score (500) ahead of Pedersen (360) and Noelle Buri (310).
JUNIOR DOWNHILL QUALIFYING ROUNDS: BEST TIMES FOR PINKERTON AND EARNEST
In the afternoon, the Downhill rising stars faced the Qualifying Rounds for the Junior categories. American Ryan Pinkerton was the fastest among Junior Men, clocking a 3:45.731 time, ahead of German Henri Kiefer (+0.482) and Italian Christian Hauser (+0.498), the athlete from Trentino supported by Val di Sole Bikeland.
In the women’s race, New Zealand smashed the competition thanks to Sacha Earnest, first placed in 4:35.843, ahead of Erice Van Leuven (+4.592), whilst World Cup leader Lisa Bouladou completed the day’s top 3 (+4.905).
The Junior Downhill Finals are scheduled tomorrow, Friday June 30th (women at 12.45 PM, men at 1.15 PM). Friday’s program also features the Qualifying Rounds for the Elite Downhill categories (women at 2.00 PM, men at 2.40 PM), in view of Saturday morning’s semifinals.
British youngster Jordan Williams and Austrian Andreas Kolb showed to be in great condition in previous World Cup stages, but 2022 Val di Sole winner Loris Vergier and World Champion Loic Bruni certainly have the chance to shine on technical terrain. Austria’s Valentina Holl and Swiss Camille Balanche are expected to contend in the Women’s category.
TOMORROW THE ELITE XCC WITH SCHURTER AND FERRAND-PREVOT
XCC races will be back in the spotlight tomorrow, Friday, June 30th, with the Elite Women at 5:45 pm, followed by the Elite Men competition at 6.30 pm, both live on Eurosport/GCN/Discovery.
The overall XCC World Cup leader, German Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon), and Frenchman Jordan Sarrou (BMC) are the two main favorites of the men’s race, but the surprise of the 2023 season, Joshua Dubau (Rockrider Team), Swiss legend Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and home rider Luca Braidot (Santa Cruz-Rockshox) can’t be easily overlooked.
In the women’s race, French Pauline Ferrand-Prèvot (INEOS Grenadiers), winner in Leogang’s Short Track, and Dutch Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deuceninck) are top odds for Friday, as is Austrian Laura Stigger, winner of the first 2023 World Cup Short Track in Nove Mesto. Martina Berta (Santa Cruz-Rockshox) carries Italy’s hopes to break into the top-5.
THE FOUR CROSS’ PROGRAM STARTS IN THE EVENING
Today’s schedule continues with the Four Cross and the main international series, 4X Pro Tour. At 9.00 PM, the riders will take part in the Qualifying Round in view of tomorrow’s Finals. Pole Gustav Dadela and Czech Tomas Slavik are the favorites of the men’s race, whilst Brit Josie McFall leads the predictions of the women’s race.
THE PROGRAM
Thursday, June 29th
• 17.30: Short Track - U23 Men
• 18.15: Short Track - U23 Women
Friday, June 30th
• 12.45: Downhill - JR Women
• 13.15: Downhill - JR Men
• 17.45: Short Track - Elite Women
• 18.30: Short Track - Elite Men
• 21.00: 4X Pro Tour Event
Saturday, June 1st
• 13.00: Downhill - Elite Women
• 14.00: Downhill - Elite Men
• 17.00: GIANT Mini World Cup
Sunday, July 2nd
• 08.30: Cross Country - U23 Women
• 10.30: Cross Country - U23 Men
• 13.00: Cross Country - Elite Women
• 15.00: Cross Country - Elite Men
Daolasa di Commezzadura (Italy), June 29th, 2023
