UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2021 at Snowshoe

The last UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event of the season took place at Snowshoe, West Virginia September 14-19. In the Downhill (DHI) event, Vali Höll and Loïc Bruni Höll claim Snowshoe wins to clinch their overall titles. In the Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) event, Evie Richards and Christopher Blevins bag Snowshoe win to end the season, though Loana Lecomte and Mathias Flueckiger finished as overall champions.

Vali Höll and Loïc Bruni held their nerve at the final UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event of the season at Snowshoe to win their races and claim thrilling 2021 overall titles.

Austrian teenager Höll triumphed in Wednesday’s first Snowshoe race to boost her chances of the title in her first elite season. In contrast, Frenchman Bruni came second to inch closer to a second overall men’s title.

Women’s highlights:

• On Saturday in West Virginia, Höll watched on as Swiss rider Emilie Siegenthaler signed off her professional career with a quick early time before Briton Tahnée Seagrave laid down her marker.
• She went fastest by a huge 16.748 seconds, which would be enough to land her in the fourth spot at the end of the day, with German Nina Hoffman also able to lay down a second race run good enough for fifth.
• Höll was up next and quick through the top jumps en route to the 3:39.679 fastest time of the day, with Switzerland’s Camille Balanche capping her best World Cup season after another solid run.
• France’s Marine Cabirou – the 2019 Snowshoe winner – was up by 0.849 seconds at the fourth split but could not carry that advantage through to the finish as compatriot and fastest qualifier Myriam Nicole looked to have done enough for the title until just after the final split where she washed out on the open pedal section to lose time and hand Höll a maiden title.
• Höll, 19, said: “What just happened? I was like, ‘I would be happy if I get a top-five result,’ and this was totally unexpected. My first World Cup season was a bit harder than expected, but I just kept going.”

Elite Women Final Results

1. Vali Höll AUT 3:39.679
2.  Marine Cabirou FRA +0.256
3. Camille Balanche SUI +5.421
4. Tahnée Seagrave GBR +6.557
5. Nina Hoffmann GER +7.269

Men’s Highlights:

• In the men’s race, Spaniard Angel Suarez laid down a scorching race run to post 3:14.010 and set what would be a longstanding benchmark time with Wednesday’s winner Reece Wilson putting him under pressure until a bent chainring caused his chain to fall off before the flat pedal section.
• Next on the track was Frenchman Amaury Pierron – the 2018 World Cup champion – who, after a crash in practice on Monday, had been fighting pain all week, but he still delivered a brilliant run which got him fourth.
• American home favorite Luca Shaw then backed up two strong qualification runs in Snowshoe to grab his first World Cup podium in three years, much to the delight of the local fans packed on course.
• With France’s Thibaut Daprela out after breaking his thumb and surgery on an open fracture to his fibula following a big crash in qualification, compatriot Loris Vergier was the most likely candidate to take the overall title; however, he lost his line and went off track to dash his hopes.
• Australian Troy Brosnan went fastest with just two riders to go, and with Canadian Finn Iles crashing in his run, it was left to Bruni to put it all together under pressure to conjure up a run for the ages to nick the win by 0.421 seconds and his second overall UCI MTB World Cup title.
• Four-time world champion Bruni, 27, said: “At the start, I was like, ‘Let’s just enjoy it.” I had nothing to lose. I didn’t crack, and I gave everything I had. I am so happy. I felt it was doable, even though it was a long shot. I am over the moon. It was not easy, but we never stopped believing.”

Elite Men Final Results

1. Loïc Bruni FRA 3:13.379
2. Troy Brosnan AUS +0.421
3. Angel Suarez Alonso SPA +0.631
4. Amaury Pierron FRA +0.775
5. Luca Shaw USA +1.328

British world champion dominates field as American thrills home Snowshoe fans.

Women’s Highlights: 

Evie Richards continued her run of scintillating form to double up in Snowshoe and add the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup XCO win to her Friday XCC one as Christopher Blevins lifted the home fans with America’s first XCO men’s victory since 1994.

• New world champion Richards came into the race looking to continue her superb form, and she battled early against Rebecca McConnell, Jenny Rissveds, Sina Frei, Jolanda Neff, and Linda Indergand.
• Australian McConnell upped the pace and pulled clear, splitting the group in the process; however, a front flat saw her enter the pits with Richards taking a lead that she never relinquished.
• Behind the Briton, the battles were fierce, with McConnell moving back up to second, riding alone but with pressure from Anne Tauber and Frei, who were locked together in third and fourth.
• Richards barely looked like she had broken a sweat as she enjoyed the final lap acclaim to win by one minute and 31 seconds with McConnell second and Netherlands’ Tauber holding off Switzerland’s Frei for third.
• France’s Loana Lecomte did not race in Snowshoe, citing fatigue, but she had done enough already to tie up the 2021 World Cup title with Richards’ win seeing her finish a brilliant second overall.
• Richards, 24, said: “I was quite stressed. It was really hard to hear the splits as the crowd was so noisy. I was just trying to do consistent laps but also save some until the end.”

Elite women’s result

1. Evie Richards GBR 1:14.53
2. Rebecca McConnell AUS +1.31
3. Anne Tauber NED +1.54
4. Sina Frei SUI +2.10
5. Anne Terpstra NED +2.31

2021 women’s XCO final standings

1. Loana Lecomte FRA 1550pts
2. Evie Richards GBR 1310
3. Jenny Rissveds SWE 1275

Men’s Highlights

• In the men’s race, there was drama on lap one as World Cup leader Mathias Flueckiger punctured, putting him right to the back of the race; however, luckily, his 2021 title had already been wrapped up.
• At the front, Frenchman Victor Koretzky – fresh off his win in the XCC – went to the front on lap two and applied the pressure, but he punctured on lap three to dash his win hopes.
• Brazilian Henrique Avancini was the man to close Swiss legend Nino Schurter down and show his strength with Blevins and Italian Luca Braidot, staying safely tucked in the wheels, not giving much away.
• Czech rider Ondrej Cink was next to hit the front with Romanian Vlad Dascalu also moving up, but late punctures for Avancini and Schurter wrecked their chances as Blevins duly sailed through the rock garden to put the USA back on top for the first time in 27 years.
• Blevins, 23, said: “This meant absolutely everything. I would be lying if I said I expected anything close to this or even really dreamed of it. There is so much magic in sport. The streak is over.”

Elite men’s result

1. Christopher Blevins USA 1:15.14
2. Vlad Dascalu ROU +0.09
3. Ondrej Cink CZE +0.20
4. Nino Schurter SUI +0.34
5. Luca Braidot ITA +0.39

2021 men’s XCO final standings

1. Mathias Flueckiger SUI 1573pts
2. Victor Koretzky FRA 1310
3. Ondrej Cink CZE 1309