While the attention of the road cycling world turned to the Giro Rosa in Italy and the Tour de France in … France, the XCO UCI Mountain Bike World Cup returned for its next engagement at Val di Sole, Italy. Located in the Italian Alps, Val di Sole was the fourth stop of the seven-race series for 2018.
Racing kicked off on Friday with the top 40 ranked women and men competing in a short track race to vie for the top call-up spots on Sunday. Annika Langvad (Specialized) and Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) took top honors in their races to earn the prime call-ups for Sunday’s XCO races.
Women’s Elite Race
Langvad entered Sunday’s race with two World Cup wins to her name this season, but on Sunday, she took a DNF and did not factor in the result. Two other cyclocrossers in Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory Racing XC) and Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing Team) were at the front in a lead group that fluctuated between four and six members during the mid part of the race.
As the race entered the last lap, the group eventually dwindled to Ferrand-Prevot, Neff, Canadian Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing), Maja Wloszczowska (Kross Racing Team) of Poland and 45-year-old Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Team Merida Gunn-Rita).
Wloszczowska put pressure on the group up the climb early in the last lap. When Neff took a spill in a technical section, it gave Wloszczowska a few extra seconds of breathing room. Batty took over second and gave fans an exciting last lap chase, but the Canadian was unable to close the gap, and Wloszczowska took home her first World Cup win of the season. Batty finished second, Neff third, Ferrand-Prevot fourth and the mountain bike legend Dahle Flesjaa fifth.
Maja Wloszczowska celebrates her Val di Sole World Cup win. photo: redbull.tv screen capture
The American contingent in Val di Sole had an excellent afternoon. Kate Courtney (Specialized) finished 7th, Lea Davison (Clif Pro Team) 13th and Chloe Woodruff (Stan’s Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis) 14th.
Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing) had her best World Cup finish to date with a 16th-place finish.
First lap: 30th. Ok. This is good. May've over started a bit. Just don't blow up. Top 30 is great.
Mid-race: Oh my. Top 20? Radddddd. Just don't blow up. Please.
Last lap: holy s–t I'm in 16th. Stay calm EVERYBODY STAY CALM. NO BODY PANIC EVERYONE STAY CA–— Ellen Noble (@ellenlikesbikes) July 8, 2018
Germany’s Elisabeth Brandau landed in the top 10 again with an 8th-place finish.
Full results are below. See redbull.tv for a full replay.
Men’s Elite Race
In the Men’s World Cups this year, defending World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Team) has had to work for his wins. Schurter got nipped by Sam Gaze (Specialized) in the opening race in South Africa and barely won a sprint at the Nove Mesto race against another New Zealander.
Early in Sunday’s race, Schurter looked like he might coast to his third World Cup win of the 2018 season. Halfway through the race, Schurter had a lead that stretched to 30 seconds on a group of riders that included Matthieu van der Poel.
Italian Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Torpado Gabogas) racing in his home country, however, had other plans. Kerschbaumer slowly started chipping away at Schurter’s lead, and with just over a lap left in the race, he caught the World Champion and turned the race into a two-man battle.
The two battled wheel-to-wheel in the last lap before Schurter took the lead heading into the last set of downhill switchbacks. He opened up a several bike-length lead on the descent and then floored it on the flats to keep his winning gap. Kerschbaumer finished second and Van der Poel broke from the rest of the chase group to finish a solo third.
Nino Schurter and Gerhard Kerschbaumer had a frenzied last-lap battle at Val di Sole. photo: redbull.tv screen capture
Cyclocrosser Gioele Bertolini (Team Focus Selle Italia) finished 9th, and American XCO National Champion Howard Grotts (Specialized) took 12th.
See redbull.tv for a full replay of the race.
Christopher Blevins (Specialized) had a memorable Italian trip with a fifth-place finish in the Men’s U23 race.
Full results for the Elite races in Val di Sole are below. The next XCO UCI World Cup is this coming weekend in Vallnord, Andorra.
Women's Results: 2018 Val di Sole XCO UCI World Cup
| Rank | BIB | Last Name | First Name | Country | Age | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | WLOSZCZOWSKA | Maja | POL | 35 | 1:30:51 |
| 2 | 10 | BATTY | Emily | CAN | 30 | 1:31:00 |
| 3 | 2 | NEFF | Jolanda | SUI | 25 | 1:31:21 |
| 4 | 3 | FERRAND PREVOT | Pauline | FRA | 26 | 1:31:29 |
| 5 | 8 | DAHLE FLESJAA | Gunn-Rita | NOR | 45 | 1:31:32 |
| 6 | 5 | KELLER | Alessandra | SUI | 22 | 1:32:30 |
| 7 | 11 | COURTNEY | Kate | USA | 23 | 1:32:32 |
| 8 | 9 | BRANDAU | Elisabeth | GER | 33 | 1:32:32 |
| 9 | 14 | BELOMOINA | Yana | UKR | 26 | 1:32:49 |
| 10 | 4 | TAUBER | Anne | NED | 23 | 1:33:11 |
| 11 | 20 | TERPSTRA | Anne | NED | 27 | 1:33:43 |
| 12 | 16 | ŽAKELJ | Tanja | SLO | 30 | 1:34:21 |
| 13 | 21 | DAVISON | Lea | USA | 35 | 1:34:25 |
| 14 | 12 | WOODRUFF | Chloe | USA | 31 | 1:34:28 |
| 15 | 22 | BENKÓ | Barbara | HUN | 28 | 1:34:47 |
| 16 | 76 | NOBLE | Ellen | USA | 23 | 1:35:11 |
| 17 | 13 | LAST | Annie | GBR | 28 | 1:35:36 |
| 18 | 40 | WALTER | Sandra | CAN | 38 | 1:35:46 |
| 19 | 81 | SMITH | Haley | CAN | 25 | 1:36:07 |
| 20 | 50 | BRESSET | Julie | FRA | 29 | 1:36:23 |
| 21 | 26 | STIRNEMANN | Kathrin | SUI | 29 | 1:36:34 |
| 22 | 34 | LECHNER | Eva | ITA | 33 | 1:36:46 |
| 23 | 28 | SOLUS-MISKOWICZ | Katarzyna | POL | 30 | 1:36:59 |
| 24 | 42 | REDECKER | Cherie | RSA | 29 | 1:37:06 |
| 25 | 57 | TERENTYEVA | Olga | RUS | 23 | 1:37:21 |
| 26 | 25 | MICHIELS | Githa | BEL | 35 | 1:37:25 |
| 27 | 63 | RIEDER | Nadine | GER | 29 | 1:38:10 |
| 28 | 27 | ENAUX | Sabrina | FRA | 40 | 1:38:24 |
| 29 | 53 | GERAULT | Lena | FRA | 23 | 1:38:42 |
| 30 | 67 | VAN DER BREGGEN | Anna | NED | 28 | 1:39:11 |
| 31 | 24 | ŠKARNITZLOVÁ | Jitka | CZE | 28 | 1:39:30 |
| 32 | 43 | SCHAUS | Fabienne | LUX | 34 | 1:39:37 |
| 33 | 32 | STRAUSS | Mariske | RSA | 27 | 1:40:19 |
| 34 | 19 | KALENTYEVA | Irina | RUS | 41 | 1:40:37 |
| 35 | 37 | CALVETTI | Serena | ITA | 28 | 1:41:08 |
| 36 | 64 | GROCCIA | Marine | SUI | 27 | 1:41:29 |
| 37 | 66 | JEŽKOVÁ | Hana | CZE | 28 | 1:41:42 |
| 38 | 33 | OSL | Elisabeth | AUT | 33 | 1:42:18 |
| 39 | 70 | WORST | Annemarie | NED | 23 | 1:42:29 |
| 40 | 56 | GORYCKA | Paula | POL | 28 | 1:42:50 |
| 41 | 48 | ROCHETTE | Maghalie | CAN | 25 | 1:43:00 |
| 42 | 54 | KOOPMANS | Lotte | NED | 25 | 1:43:21 |
| 43 | 58 | BAUMANN | Chrystelle | SUI | 23 | 1:43:25 |
| 44 | 38 | APAZA | Agustina Maria | ARG | 39 | 1:43:40 |
| 45 | 60 | PODGORSKA | Aleksandra | POL | 24 | 1:44:02 |
| 46 | 69 | FLEURY | Catherine | CAN | 24 | LAP |
| 47 | 39 | GALICIA CORTINA | Claudia | ESP | 32 | LAP |
| 48 | 17 | GOULAO HENRIQUE | Raiza | BRA | 27 | LAP |
| 49 | 52 | JACOBSEN | Ingrid Sofie Bøe | NOR | 26 | LAP |
| 50 | 55 | LÕIV | Janika | EST | 29 | LAP |
| 51 | 79 | MOURAO | Jaqueline | BRA | 42 | LAP |
| 52 | 62 | MONTAMBAULT | Cindy | CAN | 35 | LAP |
| 53 | 68 | NIEUWOLD | Elyse | CAN | 26 | LAP |
| 54 | 51 | SVEUM | Elisabeth | NOR | 29 | LAP |
| 55 | 46 | MACPHEE | Kerry | GBR | 32 | LAP |
| 56 | 71 | BEAUMONT | Rebecca | CAN | 28 | LAP |
| 57 | 59 | GUSTAFZZON | Linn | SWE | 24 | LAP |
| 58 | 72 | RAVAIOLI | Gaia | ITA | 30 | LAP |
| 59 | 30 | CRNOGORAC | Jovana | SRB | 26 | LAP |
| 60 | 82 | PARTOAZAR | Faranak | IRI | 30 | LAP |
| 61 | 44 | MONTEIRO | Joana | POR | 24 | LAP |
| 62 | 74 | VESELÁ | Lucie | CZE | 33 | LAP |
| 63 | 80 | PATIES | Alizée | FRA | 23 | LAP |
| 64 | 61 | KANERVA | Noora | FIN | 31 | LAP |
| 65 | 47 | ROLAND | Luciana | ARG | 23 | LAP |
| 66 | 73 | DEVI | Camille | FRA | 28 | LAP |
| 67 | 77 | SCHWENK | Theresia | GER | 23 | LAP |
| 68 | 78 | GOULD | Heidi | GBR | 33 | LAP |
| DNF | 45 | KESEG STEVKOVA | Janka | SVK | 42 | |
| DNF | 75 | TERRADAS ILL | Laura | ESP | 28 | |
| DNF | 35 | FORCHINI | Ramona | SUI | 24 | |
| DNF | 18 | SPITZ | Sabine | GER | 47 | |
| DNF | 23 | MCCONNELL | Rebecca | AUS | 27 | |
| DNF | 1 | LANGVAD | Annika | DEN | 34 | |
| DNF | 7 | INDERGAND | Linda | SUI | 25 | |
| DNF | 29 | ŠTĚPÁNOVÁ | Karla | CZE | 27 | |
| DNF | 83 | CASIOPPO | Alaina | USA | 27 |
Men's Results: 2018 Val di Sole XCO UCI World Cup
| Rank | BIB | Last Name | First Name | Country | Age | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | SCHURTER | Nino | SUI | 32 | 1:26:32 |
| 2 | 19 | KERSCHBAUMER | Gerhard | ITA | 27 | 1:26:38 |
| 3 | 3 | VAN DER POEL | Mathieu | NED | 23 | 1:27:41 |
| 4 | 9 | AVANCINI | Henrique | BRA | 29 | 1:27:46 |
| 5 | 7 | VOGEL | Florian | SUI | 36 | 1:28:04 |
| 6 | 21 | VALERO SERRANO | David | ESP | 30 | 1:28:34 |
| 7 | 13 | TEMPIER | Stephane | FRA | 32 | 1:28:48 |
| 8 | 30 | MANTECON GUTIERREZ | Sergio | ESP | 34 | 1:29:05 |
| 9 | 38 | BERTOLINI | Gioele | ITA | 23 | 1:29:10 |
| 10 | 22 | LITSCHER | Thomas | SUI | 29 | 1:29:12 |
| 11 | 41 | BRAIDOT | Daniele | ITA | 27 | 1:29:16 |
| 12 | 36 | GROTTS | Howard | USA | 25 | 1:29:26 |
| 13 | 43 | KORETZKY | Victor | FRA | 24 | 1:29:32 |
| 14 | 47 | FRISCHKNECHT | Andri | SUI | 24 | 1:29:34 |
| 15 | 16 | ROHRBACH | Nicola | SUI | 32 | 1:29:40 |
| 16 | 31 | COLLEDANI | Nadir | ITA | 23 | 1:29:43 |
| 17 | 48 | SCHUERMANS | Jens | BEL | 25 | 1:30:00 |
| 18 | 15 | SARROU | Jordan | FRA | 26 | 1:30:03 |
| 19 | 29 | LOO | Martin | EST | 30 | 1:30:04 |
| 20 | 6 | FORSTER | Lars | SUI | 25 | 1:30:19 |
| 21 | 5 | COOPER | Anton | NZL | 24 | 1:30:23 |
| 22 | 26 | FLUECKIGER | Lukas | SUI | 34 | 1:30:28 |
| 23 | 32 | COLOMA NICOLAS | Carlos | ESP | 37 | 1:30:32 |
| 24 | 2 | MAROTTE | Maxime | FRA | 32 | 1:30:39 |
| 25 | 61 | STIRNEMANN | Matthias | SUI | 27 | 1:30:46 |
| 26 | 39 | DRECHOU | Hugo | FRA | 27 | 1:30:59 |
| 27 | 88 | PETTINA' | Nicholas | ITA | 27 | 1:31:01 |
| 28 | 63 | GIGER | Fabian | SUI | 31 | 1:31:01 |
| 29 | 23 | MCCONNELL | Daniel | AUS | 33 | 1:31:04 |
| 30 | 27 | RAGGL | Gregor | AUT | 26 | 1:31:26 |
| 31 | 42 | RODRIGUEZ GUEDE | Pablo | ESP | 25 | 1:31:30 |
| 32 | 17 | KULHAVÝ | Jaroslav | CZE | 33 | 1:31:31 |
| 33 | 77 | FANGER | Martin | SUI | 30 | 1:31:33 |
| 34 | 18 | MARKT | Karl | AUT | 38 | 1:31:37 |
| 35 | 80 | TABACCHI | Mirko | ITA | 29 | 1:31:37 |
| 36 | 8 | FUMIC | Manuel | GER | 36 | 1:31:37 |
| 37 | 55 | CINK | Ondrej | CZE | 28 | 1:32:12 |
| 38 | 24 | SOTO | Catriel | ARG | 31 | 1:32:24 |
| 39 | 72 | GRIOT | Thomas | FRA | 24 | 1:32:26 |
| 40 | 46 | WAWAK | Bartlomiej | POL | 25 | 1:32:29 |
| 41 | 28 | BRAIDOT | Luca | ITA | 27 | 1:32:37 |
| 42 | 64 | PANHUYZEN | Kevin | BEL | 24 | 1:32:44 |
| 43 | 14 | FONTANA | Marco Aurelio | ITA | 34 | 1:32:54 |
| 44 | 57 | HAIMY | Shlomi | ISR | 29 | 1:33:21 |
| 45 | 51 | EGGER | Georg | GER | 23 | 1:33:26 |
| 46 | 12 | INDERGAND | Reto | SUI | 27 | 1:33:30 |
| 47 | 52 | YAMAMOTO | Kohei | JPN | 33 | 1:33:32 |
| 48 | 62 | BOTERO VILLEGAS | Jhonatan | COL | 26 | 1:33:39 |
| 49 | 73 | GLUTH | Martin | GER | 27 | 1:33:40 |
| 50 | 10 | CAROD | Titouan | FRA | 24 | 1:33:47 |
| 51 | 25 | ŠKARNITZL | Jan | CZE | 32 | 1:34:02 |
| 52 | 56 | VAN DER HEIJDEN | Michiel | NED | 26 | 1:34:11 |
| 53 | 44 | FERGUSON | Grant | GBR | 25 | 1:34:23 |
| 54 | 109 | NIKOLAEV | Sergey | RUS | 30 | 1:34:29 |
| 55 | 49 | BOUCHARD | Leandre | CAN | 26 | 1:34:32 |
| 56 | 40 | GUERRINI | Marcel | SUI | 24 | 1:34:38 |
| 57 | 66 | PFÄFFLE | Christian | GER | 25 | 1:34:41 |
| 58 | 82 | MARINHEIRO | Ricardo | POR | 27 | 1:34:48 |
| 59 | 11 | FLUECKIGER | Mathias | SUI | 30 | 1:34:48 |
| 60 | 106 | PELLEGRINI | Lorenzo | ITA | 27 | 1:34:55 |
| 61 | 92 | STRÄHLE | Sven | GER | 23 | 1:34:58 |
| 62 | 68 | GAGNE | Raphael | CAN | 31 | 1:35:06 |
| 63 | 60 | SCHULTE-LÜNZUM | Markus | GER | 27 | 1:35:06 |
| 64 | 79 | SCHEIRE | Ruben | BEL | 27 | 1:35:45 |
| 65 | 83 | VITZTHUM | Simon | SUI | 23 | 1:35:52 |
| 66 | 37 | BLUMS | Martins | LAT | 23 | 1:36:12 |
| 67 | 75 | VASTL | Jan | CZE | 23 | 1:36:32 |
| 68 | 90 | RIGHETTINI | Andrea | ITA | 26 | 1:36:35 |
| 69 | 98 | BEELI | Andrin | SUI | 23 | 1:36:48 |
| 70 | 105 | TRIGO | Florian | FRA | 24 | 1:37:21 |
| 71 | 103 | MEEUSEN | Tom | BEL | 30 | 1:38:08 |
| 72 | 97 | BAUM | Lukas | GER | 23 | 1:39:42 |
| 73 | 95 | FUMAROLA | Denis | ITA | 24 | LAP |
| 74 | 78 | CHENAUX | Florian | SUI | 25 | LAP |
| 75 | 86 | TITARENKO | Dmytro | UKR | 28 | LAP |
| 76 | 70 | SWENSON | Keegan | USA | 24 | LAP |
| 77 | 104 | KURSCHAT | Wolfram | GER | 43 | LAP |
| 78 | 119 | DISERA | Peter | CAN | 23 | LAP |
| 79 | 35 | TIBERI | Andrea | ITA | 33 | LAP |
| 80 | 89 | LORET | Maxime | FRA | 23 | LAP |
| 81 | 76 | STÜNZI | Michael | SUI | 26 | LAP |
| 82 | 53 | SHOKRI | Faraz | IRI | 33 | LAP |
| 83 | 4 | GAZE | Samuel | NZL | 23 | LAP |
| 84 | 67 | PETERSONS | Arnis | LAT | 24 | LAP |
| 85 | 54 | COSTA | Mário | POR | 27 | LAP |
| 86 | 74 | SESSLER | Guy | ISR | 23 | LAP |
| 87 | 85 | HOLZ | Maximilian | GER | 28 | LAP |
| 88 | 114 | BONETTO | Edoardo | ITA | 25 | LAP |
| 89 | 59 | PARTI | András | HUN | 36 | LAP |
| 90 | 58 | L'ESPERANCE | Andrew | CAN | 27 | LAP |
| 91 | 108 | SETTI | Mattia | ITA | 24 | LAP |
| 92 | 50 | KONWA | Marek | POL | 28 | LAP |
| 93 | 81 | GAY | Raphael | FRA | 23 | LAP |
| 94 | 65 | IVANOV | Timofei | RUS | 28 | LAP |
| 95 | 112 | VALERIO | Domenico | ITA | 27 | LAP |
| 96 | 71 | KHODAYARI | Farzad | IRI | 26 | LAP |
| 97 | 111 | TROPARDY | Arthur | FRA | 27 | LAP |
| 98 | 116 | FLANDRE | Harold | FRA | 31 | LAP |
| 99 | 113 | SAMPARISI | Lorenzo | ITA | 25 | LAP |
| 100 | 101 | LEHTINEN | Sakari | FIN | 25 | LAP |
| 101 | 96 | HERNANDEZ DE JESUS | José Aurelio | MEX | 25 | LAP |
| 102 | 107 | VOBECKÝ | Zdenek | CZE | 29 | LAP |
| 103 | 102 | KERSUZAN | Pierrick | FRA | 23 | LAP |
| 104 | 100 | VIALLE | Alexandre | CAN | 24 | LAP |
| 105 | 84 | KRAJNC | Gregor | SLO | 23 | LAP |
| 106 | 87 | POURSHARIF | Mohammad | IRI | 29 | LAP |
| 107 | 118 | ADAOS ALVAREZ | Franco Nicolas | CHI | 23 | LAP |
| 108 | 117 | SCHWENK | Robert | GER | 24 | LAP |
| DNF | 33 | COCUZZI | Luiz Henrique | BRA | 25 | |
| DNF | 94 | MCCRAE | Erno Jacob | BEL | 23 | |
| DNF | 34 | SINTSOV | Anton | RUS | 33 | |
| DNF | 20 | CARSTENSEN | Sebastian Fini | DEN | 23 | |
| DNF | 69 | ZWIEHOFF | Ben | GER | 24 | |
| DNF | 115 | SHAW | Samuel | NZL | 26 | |
| DNF | 45 | FOIDL | Maximilian | AUT | 23 |
