Results: Hail to the Champs, U23 Rider Returns to Form at Les Gets XCO World Cup

While there was that other bike race going on in France, the world’s best cross-country mountain bikers were in Les Gets for the 4th XCO World Cup of 2019. Notable for ’cross fans was that after sitting out last weekend’s race in Vallnord, Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon – Circus) was back on the scene to race.

Racing started with Friday’s short track race and then culminated with Sunday’s XCO race. We take a look at podium finishers and notable results.

Les Gets Short Track

When you win the rainbow stripes, you know everyone will be gunning for you the next season. For California’s Kate Courtney (Scott – SRAM MTB Racing), racing with that pressure has been no problem this season. Coming into the weekend, Courtney had won two of the three XCO races, and she also won the Albstadt short track race.

On Friday, Courtney picked up her second short-track win, edging out Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Factory Downhill Team) and Elisabeth Brandau (EBE Racing).

Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing XC) finished 4th, Lea Davison (Sho-Air Twenty20) 7th, Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) 10th and Eva Lechner 15th.

If Van der Poel was feeling a bit rusty on Friday, it certainly did not show in the short track race. Van der Poel took his third win in three tries in the World Cup short track series. Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) took second and Viktor Koretzky (KMC – EKOI – Orbea) third.

Canada’s Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) finished 9th and American Keegan Swenson (Stan’s Pivot Pro Team) took 19th.

Les Gets Elite XCO

Courtney made it a perfect weekend with a win in the XCO race. Neff finished second for the third time this year, and Brandau made her second podium of the weekend in third.

Ferrand-Prevot finished 5th, Canada’s Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) 6th, Lechner 10th, Annemarie Worst (Steylaerts – 777) 31st and Jenn Jackson (AWI Racing) 45th.

In the Men’s race, Nino Schurter (Scott – SRAM MTB Racing) made it a perfect World Cup block with his second win in as many weeks and perhaps showed that rumors of the seven-time world champion’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Italian Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Torpade Ursus) finished second and Avancini third.

Disera had another strong finish in 6th, Van der Poel finished 16th, Swenson 30th, Gioele Bertolini (Santa Cruz FSA MTB Pro Team) 42nd, Grant Ferguson 50th, Marc Andre Fortier (Pivot Cycles – OTE) 77th and Raphael Gagne 91st.

Full XCO Results are below.

Les Gets U23 XCO

Another rider dealing with injury issues has been Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing XC). Richards missed the end of the 2018/19 cyclocross season, including defending her Valkenburg Worlds title, after having knee surgery in January.

Richards quietly returned to racing earlier this year at Albstadt, where she finished 12th in the U23 Women’s race. However, with another month of training, she is back to her old form. Richards finished second in the XCO race last weekend in Vallnord, and she repeated that feat in Les Gets, taking second in the U23 race again.

Featured image: Bart Hazen

Elite Women Results: 2019 Les Gets UCI XCO World Cup

Elite Men Results: 2019 Les Gets UCI XCO World Cup