Saalfelden Leogang hosts the first triple-header WHOOP UCI World Cup event of the year with the Cross-country Short Track kicking off racing

Puck Pieterse crosses the line first in a sharp and hectic Elite Women’s race
While Evie Richards (TREK FACTORY RACING – PIRELLI) might have proven that she is the rider to beat so far this year in the Cross-country Short Track, she hasn’t had it easy. The British rider was pipped in a four-way sprint to the finish by Dutch Puck Pieterse (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) in Nove Mesto and was just seconds ahead of the chasers at both rounds in Brazil. In the geographical centre of Salzburger Land, Leogang sits at the foot of the Asitz Mountains and beneath the now iconic backdrop of Leogang Mountains. Under the attention of a high sun, Leogang would prove that the womens’ short track race is going to be hard-fought all year, with another thrilling finish here in Austria. Puck Pieterse would be triumphant on the 1.2 km course that was bone dry, with a stiff 53m of ascent. 16 seconds separated her from second place Samara Maxwell (DECATHLON FORD RACING TEAM), with Nicole Koller (GHOST FACTORY RACING) taking the bronze medal position.

Results XCC Elite Women Top 5:
1.    Puck Pieterse (NED | ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) 21:13
2.    Samara Maxwell (NZL | DECATHLON FORD RACING TEAM) 21:29
3.    Nicole Koller (SUI | GHOST FACTORY RACING) 21: 34
4.    Mona Mitterwallner (AUT | MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING XC) 21:39
5.    Candice Lill (RSA) 21:43

After the race Puck Pieterse said: „Yeah, it's been good. It was a completely different short track compared to two weeks ago. Last week was cagey with a finish sprint, but today felt like a mini XCO, so I went for it early. Normally after ten minutes riders start to get tired, so I tried to make use of that. I have good memories here, I won my first U23 World Cup here, so it carries good memories. I forgot my Wahoo at the hotel so I was riding without data. I am normally really focused on the numbers...“
Local rider Mona Mittenwallner (MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING) summed up her race: „I was so close to the podium. It would have been amazing but I had some issues with the bike at the start of the race. I found my rhythm again... Pacman is back! It feels good because I know the race on Sunday is longer so I hoped that I would be ale to come through the pack. It was a lot of fun. It's my best ever short track and puts me on the front row for Sunday.“

Overall Standings XCC Elite Women Top 5:
1.    Evie Richards (GBR | TREK FACTORY RACING – PIRELLI) 830 Pts.
2.    Nicole Koller (SUI | GHOST FACTORY RACING) 640 Pts.
3.    Alessandra Keller (SUI | THÖMUS MAXON) 550 Pts.
4.    Samara Maxwell (NZL | DECATHLON FORD RACING TEAM) 544 Pts.
5.    Puck Pieterse (NED | ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) 500 Pts.

It’s the perfect start to the weekend in Leogang for Christopher Blevins
Cross country short track this year has been dominated by Christopher Blevins (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING), with the American also taking wins in the main race. Clearly, he is the man to beat here this weekend. The Elite Men’s race would be a very different battle to that characterised the Elite Women’s race. Christopher Blevins would make history by taking four cross country short track on the bounce in a final lap surge. His teammate Martin Vidaurre would finish a whisker behind him in a sprint finish. Charlie Aldridge (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING would come away from the short track with the bronze medal.

Results XCC Elite Men Top 5:
1.    Christopher Blevins (USA | SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) 23:00
2.    Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (CHL | SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) 23:00
3.    Charlie Aldridge (GBR | CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) 23:01
4.    Lars Forster (SUI | THÖMUS MAXON) 23:11
5.    Fabio Püntener (SUI) 23:12

Christopher Blevins had this to say about his win:
"I am just taking it race by race and focussing on my process. Now the process is working. You go through a lot of ups and downs in this sport, so you have to appreciate it when you're on a good run. Everyone was at max effort today. You have to spend your time on the wheel, surf it and find pockets to shoot through. Sometimes the guys at the back are working harder than the guys at the front. On a course like this it's just max effort for 20 minutes and everyone is just so strong. I had to attack on the last lap. Tactics here are more about listening to your body and find that edge. Last lap is all out. I saved that final match and burnt it for the win. I think the pressure is external, so it's other people's projections. I have been winning on focussing on my process, the mental and emotional. I am going to use tomorrow to recover, get a massage and lean on the team so we can go again on Sunday."

Overall Standings XCC Elite Men Top 5:
1.    Christopher Blevins (USA | SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) 1000 Pts.
2.    Victor Koretzky (FRA | SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) 672 Pts.
3.    Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (CHL | SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING) 483 Pts.
4.    Charlie Aldridge (GBR | CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) 466 Pts.
5.    Lars Forster (SUI | THÖMUS MAXON) 435 Pts.

A powerful Swiss display from Elina Benoit and Finn Treudler to take the U23 short track victories 
The opening competition of the weekend saw the U23 women do battle in the short track. A four-way title battle at the sharp end would continue this weekend with Elina Benoit (LEXWARE MOUNTAINBIKE TEAM) getting the better of her competitors this weekend. Vida Lopez de San Roman (TRINITY RACING) ended the race in second, some 12 seconds back, with Ella Macphee (WILLIER-VITTORIO FACTORY TEAM) in third. Second out of the gate were the U23 men saw yet another multi-rider tussle between the next generation of cross country stars. As the dust/mud settled it would be the turn of Finn Treudler (CUBE FACTORY RACING) to take the first points of the weekend. Oleksander Hudyma (KMC RIDLEY MTB RACING TEAM) would be hot on his heels in second, with Paul Schehl (LEXWARE MOUNTAINBIKE TEAM) in third.

Vali Höll and Loris Vergier come out on top in the Elite downhill qualifying
All eyes would turn to local heroes Vali Höll and Andreas Kolb, both of the YT MOB to repeat their double victory at Leogang. This process would begin with Q1 and Q2 on the now iconic Speedster Trail, totalling 2.6km in length with 468m of descent. The new qualifying format had certainly thrown the cat amongst the pigeons with some big names missing out on Q1 and Q2 in previous rounds.

 
Loic Bruni (SPECIALIZED GRAVITY) and Jackson Goldstone (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) would look to repeat their wins this year, whilst Tahnee Seagrave (ORBEA FMD RACING – THE GRAVITY COOPERATIVE) and Gracey Hemstreet (NORCO FACTORY RACING) looked to do the same. Elite Men’s Q1 was as tight as it comes. 3.5 seconds separated the fastest 20 riders, with Stafno Introzzi in 21st missing out on Q1 by 0.103 seconds. Several previous World Cup winners would race again in Q2, including Andreas Kolb. Taking the top spots in Q1 in Elite Men was Loris Vergier (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION) taking an 0.687 second lead over Jordan Williams (SPECIALIZED GRAVITY) who was just over a hundredth of a second up on Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION).  The fastest time in Q2 would go to Andreas Kolb (YT MOB) with a time faster than Vergier’s, rescuing the chance to make history again by winning alongside Höll for the second time on home soil. Two other riders would go faster than Vergier in Q2. Luke Meier-Smith (GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM-DH) and the legend that is Aaron Gwin (GWIN RACING).

Vali Höll (YT MOB) would be fastest in Elite Women’s Q1, leading Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing / 5Dev) by 1.096 seconds. Tahnee Seagrave would round out the top three. Marine Cabirou would win Q2, whilst Myriam Nicole would not start. All the other big names made it straight through to finals. 

The kids are alright. The speed these Junior riders are going to impress. Junior Women’s qualifying would see Austrian Rosa Zierl (CUBE FACTORY RACING) go fastest, with Eliana Hulsebosch (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) trailing some 1.557 seconds behind. Third place would go to Aletha Ostgaard (CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM). Winner in Loudenvielle, Lina Frener (NORCO RACE DIVISION), did not start her qualifying run. Oli Clark (MS-RACING) took the Junior Men’s win, breaking the timing beam to current UCI World Cup leader beat Max Alran (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION) by 1.395 seconds. Kasper Hickman (CUBE FACTORY RACING) finished some 3.398 seconds back in third.
 
Further race program:
Saturday, 7 June:
UCI Downhill World Cup Finals (Junior and Elite)
Sunday, 8 June:
UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) (U23 and Elite)
UCI Enduro World Cup

There will also be a party atmosphere on Saturday: A spectacular highlight is the Red Bull helicopter show, promising adrenaline off the race tracks as well. Another major highlight is scheduled for Saturday evening (from 6:30 PM): the big movie night, featuring exciting interviews with the stars and a spectacular skydiving session by Saalfelden local Peter Salzmann. The films being shown include Grit & Glory (23 min) – a preview of the new enduro documentary series – as well as the Jackson Goldstone Film (50 min), presented by Red Bull and Shimano.

All further details about the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Saalfelden Leogang can be found at www.mtb-weltcup.at and within the official event app.
Can’t make it to Saalfelden Leogang in person? No problem – the entire event weekend will be broadcast live around the world. Catch all the action on Eurosport, discovery+, Servus TV, Max, Flobikes (Canada), Stan (Australia), Zhibo (China), L’Équipe (France), and Mountain Bike World Series TV.