Courtney and Avancini will also line up alongside other contenders The world's top cross-country mountain bikers are converging in Albstadt Germany this week for the first round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup It will be the first weekend of racing this year for the world's best to test their legs and lungs against world-class competition.  the World Cup calendar was severely shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic which meant there were only two weekends of World Cup cross-country racing which were both held in Nové Město na Moravě in the Czech Republic The only other top-level race was the World Championships in Leogang plus the World Championships and Tokyo Olympic games.  The Olympic mountain bike race will add another element to the racing drama Racers need to be selected for their countries' Olympic teams so the opening World Cups will be hot with action as riders hope to make the cut.  Gallery: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's custom BMC Fourstroke Lecomte won the opening World Cup XCO round in Nove Mesto where she raced in the U23 field instead of elite It will be exciting to see what the young Frenchwoman can do on the heels of more established riders like Ferrand-Prévot.  As a former World Champion and World Cup overall winner her 2020 season was not as successful as years past Courtney will almost certainly be selected to represent the United States at the Olympics but the pressure will still be on her to perform she placed second at the Swiss Bike Cup.  Richards had a breakout performance last year the young Briton was not as successful but still showed promise We'll be watching to see if Richards can keep her consistency from last year.  she suffered serious injuries in a training crash which makes her sixth-place finish at World Champs even more impressive She will be a constant threat to the podium this year.  It's only logical to begin with the current men's XCO World Champion Sarrou missed the podium during the shortened World Cup season but was the best on the day during World Champs in Leogang The Frenchman mastered the tough course in muddy conditions so he'll be one to watch if things get wet.  Gallery: Jordan Sarrou's golden World Championship BMC Fourstroke Avancini is currently the top-ranking male cross-country racer the Brazilian won both the short track race and XCO race during the same World Cup weekend in Nove Mesto but he's a perennial favorite in any race he enters.  Andreassen stormed into the elite field and took the win at last year's opening World Cup XCO round in Nove Mesto The Dane has limited elite World Cup experience but is a junior World Champion in both cross-country and cyclo-cross.  the Swiss racer is one of the oldest in the bunch That experience will serve him well during this Olympic year.  big names like Schurter and Avancini weren't there so we'll see how he does in a fully packed field.  With so much firepower in the World Cup fields it's almost offensive to call these honorable mentions But unless you want to read a book-length article we'll be watching Eva Lechner and Rebecca McConnell two riders who finished second and third at last year's World Championships Anne Terpstra also had a great season with second-place finishes at both World Cup XCO races.  The Dutchman has seen success on the mountain bike before but as he has been focusing on the road the past few years we'll have to see if he finds his way to the front of the MTB pack.  Another young rider we'll be watching is Alan Hatherly who had two top-10 results last year and is riding for Cannondale Factory Racing alongside Andreassen Kiwi Anton Cooper has never made an elite World Cup podium but is a U23 World Champion Will this be his year where he breaks into the top five?  The racing action kicks off on May 7 at 15:20 GMT for the short track races Coverage of the women's XCO race starts at 9:00 GMT on May 9 with the men's race starting three hours later The races can be streamed for free through Red Bull TV in most countries.  Stay tuned to BikePerfect for continued coverage of the mountain bike World Cup season.  He got his start as a cross-country mountain bike racer in California where he cultivated his love for riding all types of bikes Ryan eventually gravitated toward enduro and downhill racing but has also been found in the occasional road and cyclo-cross events and is aiming to make a career out of chronicling the sport of cycling.  The second XC World Cup race of 2022 should feel refreshingly normal compared to the opener The team should be in much better shape for Round 2 in Albstadt Jolanda Neff is ready to make her 2022 World Cup debut TFR will be rolling into Albstadt with a full crew, led by the current World and Olympic champions — Richards and Neff, respectively. Cooper will be champing at the bit, too, after a strong result in Albstadt last year Maddie Munro and Hattie Harnden are all primed for big results Albstadt is a fast and familiar course for many of the riders who’ll be lining up Expect a tooth-and-nail fight to turn the heat up on the World Cup season Anton Cooper had an excellent showing in Albstadt last year The lingering feeling from Brazil is a sense of what-could-have-been. Richards and Dascalu managed to secure podiums despite feeling ill. Neff was one of the heavy favorites for the technical course, having won a C1 race on a similar track by six-plus minutes (!) the week before Only Amos rode out the weekend without much physical issue but only because he was sick earlier in the week Throw in Munro and Harnden making their World Cup season debuts and this week feels like TFR’s chance to properly get the year going Riley Amos showed he has the legs to contend in Brazil but Richards and Neff started their historic 2021 seasons inauspiciously Richards finished 25th in Albstadt last year after entering the race confident in her form Neff battled hay fever and took 13th in both short track and XCO Both of their seasons greatly improved from there and the cherry on top of their monumental accomplishments could be conquering Albstadt with big performances she’s more than capable of making noise at the front of a World Cup All three riders relish the opportunity to upend any race they’re in You’re going to love watching them race Maddie Munro is finally crossing the pond after impressing domestically this year The Trek Supercaliber can truly do anything, and you’ll likely see it in action this weekend, as well as at every other XC World Cup race this year. But in Albstadt, we may see a few riders opt for the Procaliber, a purebred hardtail that will be well-suited for a track that is relatively smooth and a lot climbier compared to the rest of the racing slate That extra pedaling efficiency will come in handy on a course that features roughly 900 feet of climbing on each 2.5-mile lap The race will be defined by two major climbs that hit gradients as high as 22 percent The corresponding downhills are fast and windy potentially rewarding supreme bike handlers like Neff expect a fast race that favors the snappiest climbers If the course becomes muddy — and Albstadt is no stranger to rain — riders with pure power and downhill proficiency will benefit The forecast currently shows moist conditions for Sunday Hattie Harnden is determined to make an impression in XC before turning her full attention to enduro Red Bull TV has you covered! As long as you have an internet connection and device that can stream video, you can watch the races for free. Just click right here Note that only elite racing is available for streaming Check out the full weekend racing schedule below Follow Trek Factory Racing XC on Instagram and Twitter for photos and reactions throughout the weekend Watch how Skye Moench followed her passion all the way to Ironman World Championships This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Germany as Rebecca McConnell completes a perfect weekend for back-to-back wins Picture by Michael SteeleOlympic mountain bike gold medallist Tom Pidcock won the World Cup cross-country (XCO) race in Albstadt, Germany on Sunday (8 May). The British rider, who also competes in road cycling and cyclo-cross, claimed victory in the men's race in the Swabian Alps of Germany. Rebecca McConnell took the women’s race to complete a perfect weekend after she also won the Short Track race (XCC) on Friday The Australian is only the fifth woman ever to achieve the feat on the World Cup circuit and also won the opening XCO race of the season 17:30: World Cup Cross-country Short Track - Women - Won by Rebecca McConnell 18:15: World Cup Cross-country Short Track - Men - Won by Sam Gaze 11:20: World Cup Cross-country Olympic - Women Elite - Won by Rebecca McConnell Anton Cooper came into Albstadt as a wild card rider While most of the primarily European field had faced each other at smaller races this season Cooper did his warmups in his native New Zealand With a sixth place finish in the first World Cup race of the year — 43 seconds ahead of seventh place Mathieu van der Poel and one second behind Tom Pidcock — Cooper will be a marked man going forward He was just seven seconds out of a podium place “I’m very happy with how I felt and my pacing throughout the race,” Cooper said afterwards “It was my first XCO race since National Champs back in February and also since arriving in Europe so to come out of the blocks so strongly gives me a lot of confidence for the races to come and the season ahead.” Anton Cooper dueled with Ineos' Tom Pidcock throughout the back half of the race The Albstadt course was a stiff test of fitness with two long climbs Cooper started Sunday’s race in the second row after finishing 11th in the short track competition He proved particularly adept at the longer format riding at a steady pace as the pack of 151 starters gradually winnowed away he found himself just behind a selection of four riders — Ondřej Cink Nino Schurter and eventual winner Victor Koretzky — chasing with Pidcock for a chance at a medal Cooper and Pidcock would spend the last three laps taking swings at one another Cooper threatened to drop the young Brit for good gaining a gap of roughly 15 seconds after the hills and heading into the last lap seven seconds ahead of Pidcock (and 17 seconds behind the race leader) Anton Cooper a strong result in his first major test will be a springboard for the rest of the season and had a wheel up on Cooper heading into the paved finale He passed his first major test of the season and enters next weekend’s World Cup race in Nové Město hungry for more “A shame to come so close to the podium and just fall back with half a lap to go,” Cooper wrote on Instagram “but I’m already looking forward to next weekend and the chance to race again!” Hattie Harnden was hoping for a top 20 finish Saturday was dedicated to XC’s young guns and 20-year-old Hattie Harnden and 19-year-old Riley Amos held their own in the Under-23 events finishing eighth and fifth in the women’s and men’s races Harnden is one of Trek Factory Racing’s most versatile riders She caught a glimpse of the podium after entering the fourth of five laps just 24 seconds out of a medal especially on a difficult course for her skillset I had no idea how I would fair against everyone else as I know that Albstadt’s savage climbs are not one of my strengths,” Harnden said “You can imagine I was surprised when the podium was in sight the first half of the race but I’m still more than happy to finish eighth in the end I’m all fired up for the next round in Nové Město next weekend.” Mona Mitterwallner celebrating her U23 victory with the winning ride (Trek Vaude’s Mona Mitterwallner would go on to dominate the race, winning by 2:38. Click here to learn more about her and her team.)  Amos races for Bear Devo, a development team in California that partners with Trek and has been one of the most successful programs in the country The 2020 junior world champion wore a combination Bear/TFR kit to acknowledge his growth as a rider Riley Amos in the midst of a hard-fought fifth place “Albstadt went just about as good as it could for me,” Amos said “I had a fifth row call up which obviously isn’t ideal but I came in with a plan for how to move up quick and with some good legs and a whole lot of luck I was able to go to make the top 10 group by the end of the start loop From there it was just everything I could do to hang onto the group “I’m beyond stoked to start the World Cup season better than expected and I’m planning to finish the year even stronger than I start it.” Jolanda Neff took 13th place in Albstadt's short track and XCO races The women’s elite race didn’t go as planned for Evie Richards and Jolanda Neff Both are accustomed to competing for World Cup podiums but they struggled to find their legs over the weekend Neff finished 13th in both the short track and XCO races, and said on Instagram after the race that she was battling hay fever Richards finished 25th during Sunday’s race after entering the weekend confident in her form Evie Richards is confident in her form and hopeful to bounce back in Nové Město “I’m obviously disappointed with my results this weekend but sometimes that’s just racing,” Richards said “I have trained incredibly hard at home so I hope that will shine through in the coming weeks It was amazing being back with the team and it’s very exciting to be back traveling on my bike.” Both riders — along with TFR’s Stéphane Tempier who had to pull out of the men’s race — will be looking to bounce back in Nové Město which features a very different profile from Albstadt: flatter With four days until Friday’s short track start they won’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption Elisa talks with Italian sport newspaper Tuttosport about the decisive stages and climbs and biggest contenders in the 104th Corsa Rosa The Romanian talent didn’t let that slowly accumulating pile of problems weigh him down in Albstadt After pulling into the pits for a quick saddle fix on the second lap he grinded his way through A LOT of climbing back into the leading chase group and a third place finish just behind Nino Schurter Dascalu made it clear that his legs were feeling good He and Schurter created a lead gap on Lap 1 pulling away on the second of two climbs that added up to roughly 900 feet of elevation gain per lap Dascalu was fighting within a lead group along with Schurter Alan Hatherly and eventual winner Tom Pidcock a saddle problem would slow him down on the descent before the pits but he would soon find himself roughly a minute back from the front group Dascalu put himself within striking distance of a podium box position at the start of the sixth and final lap in fourth place by eight seconds to Schurter and Titouan Carod and easily dropped Carod to create a dog fight with Schurter for the line where he finished just one second out of silver he had to start on the fourth row due to circumstances out of his control during short track — a broken chain in Petropolis it’s hard not to be impressed with the start of Dascalu’s career with Trek Factory Racing The 24-year-old now has two XCO World Cup medals on two very different courses Dascalu is going to have a bout of good luck Trek Factory Racing’s weekend featured a lot of highs and lows The third round of the World Cup is coming up in Nove Mesto next weekend and there is plenty to chew in the meantime Jolanda Neff and Evie Richards never fully found their legs. Neff finished fifth in short track and ninth in XCO, while Richards took 19th and 16th, respectively. After the races, Neff said that she had spent nearly three weeks off her bike while recovering from her illness in Brazil, while Richards admitted Friday that she has been struggling with back problems Richards said that her mission on Sunday was “just to find some good feeling” while riding within her limitations “I just wanted to finish the race and not be in so much pain,” Richards said making sure I was assessing every lap to make sure my back wasn’t getting worse.” Riley Amos after battling hard in a grueling men's U23 race One more week of recuperation should do them a lot of good. Ditto Anton Cooper, who finished 24th in short track and 17th in XCO. Cooper is still finding his race legs after a long offseason and more racing should help him round into form In U23 racing, Riley Amos finished eighth after competing for a spot on the podium box with the leading chase group for most of the race. In the women’s race, Hattie Harnden took 23rd, while Maddie Munro had to sit out her planned 2022 World Cup debut due to a crash in pre-riding giving everyone a chance to score some quick redemption on another iconic course Skye Moench on not negotiating with herself on her way to a career result Dutch champion has only two opportunities before Tokyo The Dutch rider is only racing on the mountain bike this weekend and in Nove Mesto before his main goal Van der Poel has not raced on the mountain bike World Cup level since 2019 when he won the XC rounds in Nové Mesto Val di Sole and Lenzerheide because the season was interrupted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic taking home victories in the Tour of Flanders and the Dutch championships late last year while this season he won Strade Bianche and stages of Tirreno-Adriatico and UAE Tour after winning his fourth cyclo-cross world title Mathieu van der Poel's World Cup race bike - Gallery UCI MTB World Cup Albstadt: Van der Poel, Ferrand-Prévot win short track events It's an abrupt transition from the Tour of Flanders to the MTB, but Van der Poel says he enjoys training off-road more. "For sure the intensity is quite different and I also have a bit more fun on the MTB than I have on the road bike. The technique and the places you can go on a MTB is nice and it doesn't feel like training because you're enjoying yourself so much." The 26-year-old is unsure how he will fare on Sunday in Albstadt. "I trained to be in the best possible shape but it is difficult to compare with a World Cup. You can train as long and hard as you want but to get the specific feeling on a World Cup course is just something that comes after races, I'm a bit curious to see where I'm at this weekend. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! "I haven't been competing against those guys for a while now, so I don't know which steps they've made. I hope to be on a good level but to be honest, I don't think I'm on the same level as when I stopped." Van der Poel says it would have been much better if the Olympics had gone on last year. His Alpecin-Fenix team didn't have the Tour de France to take on in 2020, and as the team's star, he will be expected to perform there - even though the final stage is July 18, just over one week before his major goal in Tokyo. "The program is a bit busy and not ideal for the Olympics maybe. But we have to deal with it. Of course, the Covid situation was a bit shit for everyone. I'm just happy that we can race again. I'll take it and try to be as good as possible on the days that matter." One of those days is Sunday, where Van der Poel likes the course but not the fact there will be no spectators. "It suits me quite OK - maybe not my favorite, I think Nové Mesto suits me a little better.” After next week's World Cup, Van der Poel will prepare for the Tour de France at an altitude camp in La Plagne before racing the Tour de Suisse and Dutch championships. Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling Loana Lecomte celebrates her victory in Albstadt(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)Leona Lecomte en route to the win in Albstadt(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)Pauline Ferrand Prevot takes second(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)Pauline Ferrand Prevot Leona Lecomte and Haley Batten on the podium in Albstadt(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)Haley Batten took third in Albstadt(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)ALBSTADT GERMANY MAY 09 Pauline Ferrand Prevot of France competes in CrossCountry Olympic Women Elite race during UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on May 09 2021 in Albstadt Germany Photo by Christian KasparBartkeGetty Images(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)France finished 1-2 on Sunday in Albstadt for the opening round of the Mountain Bike World Cup with Under-23 world champion Loana Lecomte (Massi) beating elite world champion Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Absolute-Absalon-BMC) Ferrand Prevot took the World Cup leader's jersey Albstadt is one of the hardest courses on the World Cup circuit with two long Albstadt is a final qualification event for the Tokyo Olympics as riders fight to qualify for their Olympic teams Lecomte simply rode away from the rest of the 106 rider field on the start loop opening up an 18 second gap on the first major climb of the race increasing her lead to over a minute by the start of the fifth and final full lap and eventually beating Ferrand Prevot by 53 seconds This race and Nove Mesto are the race qualifications for the Olympic Games [for France] so it was a big goal for me to be in shape for these two World Cups; now that goal is 50% complete." Ferrand Prevot was joined in the early chase by 2019 World Cup champion Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) and Australian champion Rebecca McConnell (Primaflor Mondraker XSauce) and the early hard pace hurt them later in the race with McConnell sliding all the way to 21st by the finish While Courtney dropped off the pace of Ferrand Prevot she looked to be solidly in third until her young compatriot caught her and then dropped her on the third lap is one of a number of Americans battling for an Olympic spot (Courtney already has one locked up) and she was actually making ground on Ferrand Prevot in the last lap and a half The French 1-2 was followed by an American 3-4 as Courtney held onto fourth behind Batten just ten seconds in front of Yana Belomoina (CST PostNL Bafang) who made a late race surge to take the fifth and final podium spot "I honestly didn't know what I was capable of," admitted Batten "so to start the season like this is pretty incredible I think in the Short Track I felt really strong I've had a couple of hard races here in the past so to just race so strong and so smooth from start to finish is not something I would have expected previously I'm not sure how much this counts towards [the American] Olympic criteria With every World Cup course comes the obvious question of ‘what is the best tool for the job’. Albstadt is one of the courses where the hardtail is a strong option for race day. Although riders make their final decision on race day, several of the XC squad have been practicing on the Trek Procaliber this week the dropper has become a must have on many courses and with mixed conditions likely on race day Be sure to catch the final choice on bike tomorrow as riders line up for the short track event. Catch it live on Red Bull TV! and Giulio Ciccone talk about team ambitions and personal goals You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience World Cup athletes are gearing back up for the first big UCI event of the season: The Albstadt, Germany short course and XCO The XCO course is a 4.2k- long lap in the Black Forest with two long and steep climbs and fast and technical descents like the ‘Red Bull Devil’s Corner.’ where Mathias Flueckiger and Kate Courtney pulled ahead but jack-of-all-trades Mathieu Van der Poel took the men’s race The XCC short-track race on Friday is about 20 minutes long and will seed starting places for the 90-ish minute XCO race on Sunday Several athletes are still trying to qualify for the Olympics in July while the last automatic qualification opportunity will be the next race in Nove Mesto Kate Courtney was the only US rider to automatically qualify by finishing in the top 5 at the 2019 World Championship race the US will get two additional starting positions for the women’s team and Chloe Woodruff all competing for those spots The US men have a single starting position, with Christopher Blevins and Keegan Swenson competing for that spot. According to USA Cycling, the final Olympic team will be chosen from the Olympic Long Team they will automatically be nominated to the Olympic Games Team then up to one athlete per gender who finishes in second through eighth place will be selected to the team then the highest-placed athlete will earn the nomination If no one automatically qualifies given these criteria then the selection committee will utilize discretionary selections All of the races will be available on Red Bull TV May 7: Men and Women’s XCC: 17.20h CEST (11:20am ET/8:20am PT) May 9: Women’s XCO: 11.00h CEST (5:00am ET/2:00am PT) May 9: Men’s XCO: 14.15h CEST (8:15am ET/5:15am PT) Czech Republic (XCO/XCC)June 12-13: Leogang Slovenia (DH)August 24–29: UCI Mountain Bike World Championships – Val di Sole Switzerland (DH/XCO/XCC)September 18-19: Snowshoe Enter your email for the top stories in mountain biking plus product picks and deals delivered to your inbox each week World Cup racing moves back to Europe this weekend after an early start in South Africa and conditions in Germany couldn’t be further from the early rounds dry and dust Thick mud and a forecast calling for more rain has been greeting riders as they arrive at the classic Albstadt course this week and it doesn’t look like it will change before Sunday’s main event If there’s one rider that stands to benefit most from the sloppy conditions it has to be Dutch cyclocross star-turned-mountain biker Mathieu van der Poel who continues his hunt for a first XCO World Cup podium Several of the top Women of XCO have found success in cyclocross but former cyclocross world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot could eek out an advantage should the conditions stay muddy Albstadt will also see the debut of the new XCC format at the World Cup which runs Friday night using the same start as the main race The UCI is hoping XCC will add an injection of pace and excitement to the cross country format and has created the added incentive for riders to take the new format seriously by offering the front two rows in Sunday’s start grid to the top 16 finishers in Friday’s XCC With the importance of start position in Sunday’s XCO all the world’s will have to be ready to go Friday night Canadian’s to watch at the Albstadt World Cup while Sandra Walter (Liv Cycling) and Catherine Fleury (Team Canada) join them on the start line Sunday for the XCO RELATED: Haley Smith brings home Bronze from Commonwealth Games RELATED: Cycling Canada announces team for Albstadt, Nove Mesto World Cups Albstadt World Cup Elite Men’s race preview so it’s understandable if you missed the first round of racing in Stellenbosch Both men’s and women’s races were absolute barn burners After years of talk about the “next generation” of men’s XC racers Schurter’s historic undefeated streak of World Cup victories finally came to an end in a wild finish line sprint with young New Zealander Sam Gaze It may not have been the young talent viewers were expecting to topple Schurter though Mathieu van der Poel wasn’t far off the pace in fourth but Gaze himself rode with a confidence that made it clear that he believes this is his his year A visibly frustrated Schurter was left claiming he’d been undone by a slipped pedal in the sprint but from the outside it looked like Gaze had the Swiss star beat RELATED: The streak is over: Sam Gaze defeats Schurter at showdown in South Africa it was the first time since the legendary rivalry between Julien Absalon and Schurter that the Scott-SRAM racer had been pushed all the way to the finish line acknowledged in post-race interviews how impressive the young Kiwi’s ride had been Stellenbosch delivered riveting racing action but what happens next is just as interesting After struggling to unseat the unshakeable Schurter all last season the Men’s field will surely smell blood in the water The mental aspect of elite athletics can be the decisive factor in a race and just knowing that Schurter can be beaten could be the motivation the rest of Gaze’s generation needs to swarm the Swiss XC institution at the front of the race has proven so hard to beat for so long precisely because he has been so impressive in responding when he’s placed under pressure When Mathieu van der Poel crossed over to cross country last season it was at Albstadt and the Dutch cyclocross star rolled right up to Schurter’s wheel but came back stronger the next round and went on to have a perfect Van der Poel remains on the cusp of a break through World Cup performance having placed tantalizingly close to the podium with his fourth place finish in South Africa which should feel natural to the cyclocross star the new XCC format should benefit the young Dutch rider who has had to fight back from poor positions on the start grid up to this point Between MvdP and Schurter in South Africa was Maxime Marotte, one of several rising French talents. Along with Jordan Sarrou and Stephen Tempier, the next generation of French riders has been edging closer and closer to a World Cup win for a couple seasons now. With Julien Absalon’s retirement from the circuit it will be up to them to bring a win back to France On the Women’s side it is another French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who is looking to fly the French flag from the top of a World Cup podium After going through a very public struggle to regain her form from 2015 the year she held a remarkable four different UCI world champion titles at once Ferrand-Prévot was second in Stellenbosch after a last-lap mechanical saw her lose contact with Denmark’s Annika Langvad RELATED: Langvad wins thrilling World Cup round, Pendrel seventh We will never know how the South African race could have played out if Ferrand-Prévot had a clean ride but if Langvad’s performance since is any indication the result may not have been any different The Dane stayed on in South Africa to win the grueling ABSA Cape Epic mountain bike stage race with her teammate Kate Courtney then stopped by Sea Otter to win the XC race while visiting Specialized HQ nearby won the Whisky 50 Off-Road and defended her Danish XCM title back at home before heading to Albstadt In Germany, Langvad and Ferrand-Prévot won’t have the front of the race to themselves. World champion Jolanda Neff struggled in South Africa, still feeling the effects of a heavy crash at Hoogerheide Cyclocross World Cup The Swiss rider has had mixed results since but always manages to pull out big results when it matters Neff’s Kross Racing teammate Maja Włoszczowska finished fifth while Canadian Olympic medalist Catharine Pendrel finished just behind in seventh after fighting for a podium position through much of the race Yana Belomoina (CST-American Eagle) returns to the World Cup circuit having missed out on the first round due to an injury in training Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" It’s time for the world’s best Cross-Country riders to take to the trail in Germany’s Albstadt >>> Why XC racing is now must see Can Nino Schurter (SUI) continue his dominance or has the extremely strong chase-pack made up ground over the 7-month-long winter break Can Kate Courtney (USA) build on her sensational performance at last year’s UCI World Championships in Lenzerheide and win her first World Cup Will the battle between Jolanda Neff (SUI) and Annika Langvad (DEN) for the Overall World Cup Title continue or can the rest of the field break up the pair at the top The first round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup live from Albstadt In addition to the live broadcast of the finals the World Cup Chatter pre-show will be available on Saturday the 2018 season saw a close-fought duel between Annika Langvad and Jolanda Neff Langvad absolutely dominated the XCC races with victories at five of the six rounds and won the XCO in Stellenbosch and Nove Mesto Neff however won the World Cup stops in Albstadt whilst finishing second in Nove Mesto and Vallnord and consistently placing in the Top 5 in XCC races In the end Neff’s consistency paid off and she narrowly beat Langvad to win the Overall World Cup title Will the duel between Langvad and Neff continue in 2019 it seemed like that title would be decided between Neff and Langvad once again but a fantastic break-out performance by first-year Elite rider Kate Courtney (USA) stunned everyone and the American took home Gold Can young riders like Kate Courtney and 2018 podium-threat Emily Batty (CAN) join the fight for the victory in the Overall Ranking Can the rest of the extremely strong and unpredictable women’s field led by riders like Maja Wloszczowska (POL) 2017 Overall World Cup Title winner Yana Belomoina (UKR) Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA) and Anne Tauber (NED) threaten the top step on the podium After dominating the 2017 season with wins at every single World Cup stop and the World Championships on the way to a historic perfect season Swiss power house Nino Schurter had his work cut for himself in 2018 Right at the very first World Cup stop in Stellenbosch Sam Gaze (NZL) ended the Swiss dominator’s winning streak Schurter did come back to win a total of four of the seven World Cup rounds as well as the Overall Title in 2018 and capped off his season with a victory in front of his home crowd at the World Championships but his lead on the rest of the field was a lot smaller than the results portray The highly talented and motivated field behind Schurter will be looking to further close the gap and will only have one goal – toppling the most dominating rider of recent years Can Schurter hold the field off for another year or is his reign coming to an end The field chasing down Schurter is led by Dutch all-round Cycling phenomenon Mathieu van der Poel who spent the winter dominating the Cyclocross World Cup with a perfect season capped by winning the Cyclocross World Championships and a sensational victory on the road at the prestigious Amstel Gold race Ever since his first start on the Cross-Country World Cup circuit in 2017 ‘VDP’ seemed to put a lot of pressure on Schurter it was never quite enough to threaten Schurter for the top step The new Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) format however proved to favour the Dutchman’s sprint abilities The XCC races held two days prior to the XCO races act as qualifier for the first two starting rows in the XCO events while also awarding half of the World Cup points towards the overall ranking that are on offer in XCO Mathieu van der Poel’s three victories and two second places in the five XCC races he attended played a key role in his second place finish in the overall ranking in 2018 Who will challenge van der Poel’s dominace in XCC Will VDP win his first XCO World Cup and further challenge Schurter Can the strong French contingent around Titouan Carod Maxime Marrotte and Jordan Sarrou continue to challenge the podium It was a big day for Canada’s small towns with two Comox Valley riders earning big results at the Albstadt World Cup A post shared by Norco Factory Team (@norcofactoryteam) “It’s pretty special for sure,” said woods after the race. “Last time in Altstadt, I had a rough one It all unfolded on the second half of the last lap and I laid everything down on the last climb and they weren’t able to stay with me I just took it smooth down the descent and rolled into the finish My goal going into the race was to take the win Gunnar Holmgren (Pivot Cycles-OTE) had a great day in Germany as well The Ontario racer finished 21st in the 132-rider field rode from the back of the start grid all the way up to 18th It’s a hugely impressive result for the Canadian’s first World Cup appearance Marianne Theberge (Pivot Cycles-OTE) followed in 31st While Julianne Sarrazin (44th) and Roxane Vermette (49th) rounded out a strong showing for Canada While under-23 races weren’t televised anywhere, you can watch Sunday’s racing live on Red Bull TV Be one of the first to try our new activity feed "I've been ready for this for a long time." American MTB phenom Haley Batten finished third in her first elite World Cup Haley Batten was so in the zone that nothing could faze her stealing a glance at the rainbow stripes whizzing through the trees on the track ahead of her “I could see Pauline [Ferrand-Prévot] a couple times what’s going on,” Batten told VeloNews While she may have been momentarily surprised to be riding within sight of world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Batten didn’t show it. Instead, the 22-year old just kept riding her own ride — all the way to a third place finish at her first elite World Cup XCO race in Albstadt it’s so rare that you get that,” Batten said racing hard and so in control of my effort and just steadily moving to front of the field.” That position put Batten at an early advantage, and the Trinity Racing rider said she felt great by the time Sunday’s race rolled around that my body felt really strong,” she said “To some extent it depends on where you are mentally and physically You have to be  so aware of what you feel like race week Maybe your prep wasn’t the best in the world but you have to race really smart with the body that you have on race day you have to tap into that and race accordingly.” In fact, Batten’s good start position was initially derailed when Kate Courtney slipped off her pedal in front of Batten on the start line a rider in front of her dismounted on one of the early climbs during the first lap Batten said she watched a handful of riders pass her as she waited to get back on her bike ‘oh I’m a little ways back there on one of the first climbs in the start lap,'” she said to see what my body felt like and race the best I could.” Batten spent a full four years racing in the U23 classification because she “wanted to learn how to win and learn how to win consistently.”  While she now has the opportunity to put to test all that she gained as a U23 rider Batten also gets the additional opportunity that short track racing presents is a huge advantage when assessing fitness and mental headspace Another advantage to being a first-year elite “There are really no expectations,” Batten said “I’m just so excited to be racing at this level ‘let’s just see what I can do.” While an hour and a half of intense MTB racing might seem like an eternity for us non-elites Batten said that her effort on Sunday felt more like a flow state than a suffer fest “I honestly was so in the zone that race that the 1.5 hours went by really fast and my body felt so capable,” she said After the early snafus on the beginning lap Batten steadily worked her way forward with each kilometer The 4.2 km circuit at Alsbtadt is non-technical and full of climbs “I moved into third a bit earlier than I remember,” she said “I think I spent the last 2.5 laps there Even as Batten overtook former world champ and fellow U.S she didn’t feel like she was getting in over her head she had the occasional fleeting thought — “can I hold this?” — but her mental training had prepared her to ignore it Batten simply knew that she wasn’t out of her league; in fact “I’ve been ready for this for a long time and shown glimpses in results,” she said “I’ve been prepared to do it but just hadn’t done it yet.” Batten said that it wasn’t until the final stretch to the finish line when she got a high-five from her boyfriend that she realized what she’d just accomplished You can read the story on her face as she crossed the line “It was so hard for me to believe that I’d actually done it,” Batten said “It felt like someone else had done it I’d wanted to be that racer for so long and that’s what I train for every day Olympic Champion makes triumphant return to mountain biking and rides away from Schurter and Dascalu Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) takes the win in Albstadt(Image credit: Rob Jones)Crowds came out to watch(Image credit: Rob Jones)Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)(Image credit: Rob Jones)Vlad Dascalu (Trek Factory Racing XC)(Image credit: Rob Jones)Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team0(Image credit: Rob Jones)Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team)(Image credit: Rob Jones)Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)(Image credit: Rob Jones)Men's podium (L to R): Titouan Carod and David Valero Serrano(Image credit: Rob Jones)Prior to Sunday's World Cup in Albstadt Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) had not raced his mountain bike since he won the Olympic cross-country (XCO) title last year It did not prove to be much of an issue as he rode away from the rest of the field to win his second ever World Cup.  "I haven't ridden my mountain bike so much this year so it's a different sort of effort [from the road] Those repeated climbs and having to dig deep each time was harsh." Results powered by FirstCycling Albstadt is considered one of the most physically demanding courses on the World Cup circuit with long steep climbs and technical descents only to blow up and fade in the latter part of the race The men's race quickly came down to Schurter and Absalon The pair rode wheel to wheel for the entire race consisting of Maxime Marotte (BH-SR Suntour-KMC) Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) and Lars Forster (BMC) and then Marotte finally dropped Kulhavy with a lap and a half to go Schurter and Absalon took turns attacking each other Schurter took chances on the final descent and crashed so this year he waited for the sprint out of the final corner onto pavement but Schurter clearly had a stronger kick and came around his rival in the final five metres and I would say we were both the same [fitness] I would say we were both the same strength and I knew on a sprint finish I could maybe beat him That straight finish is also long enough and I was lucky to win it in a sprint." Schurter leads the standings with 500 points after his second straight win Absalon moves into second in the standings at 360 points World champion moves into overall lead in standings Malene Degn(Image credit: Rob Jones)Podium: Alessandra Keller Elisabeth Brandau(Image credit: Robert Jones)World champion Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) rode away from the rest of the women's field in Round 2 of the Mountain Bike World Cup on Sunday taking both the event win and donning the leader's jersey for the series Rain through the week and on the morning of the race made the circuit muddy and slick with almost every rider crashing at least once on the steep and technical descents and was already 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field by the end of the start loop Alessandra Keller (Thomus-RN Racing) spent most of the racing chasing solo in second place when she was caught by defending World Cup champion Yana Belomoina (CST Sandd American Eagle) and Anne Tauber (CST Sandd American Eagle) "The conditions were my best friend today," said Neff "When I heard that it was going to be muddy and rainy I love these conditions and I love mountain biking we had a real mountain bike race and I loved every second A two-minute gap [over second place] was my goal I knew the conditions were going to play in my favour It was like La Bresse [France] a couple years ago I knew if I could be the first through the downhills I could use it to my advantage I just tried to be in front and from there it went all smooth." Neff jumped from sixth to first in the standings with 480 points while round 1 winner Annika Langvad (Specialized) fell to second after struggling in the muddy conditions Olympic champion Tom Pidcock is preparing to make his return to mountain biking The Ineos racer confirmed he will step away from road racing for a few weeks to race a series of World Cup XCO events RELATED: How to watch: 2022 Albstadt World Cup XCC/XCO Pidcock will race back-to-back XCO World Cup weekends in Albstadt and Nove Mesto. From there, the Olympic champion and cyclocross world champion will likely return to road racing for Grand Tour season. A post shared by ᵀᴼᴹ ᴾᴵᴰᶜᴼᶜᴷ (@tompidcock) Pidcock is the latest sensation in a generation of men that refuses to stick to a single race discipline. Wout van Aert continues to mix road and cyclocross. Mathieu van der Poel set the stage for Pidcock’s trifecta, racing cyclocross, road and mountain bike events. After his flurry of early successes, including winning the Tokyo Olympics mountain bike cross country race last summer Pidcock has hinted at ambitions to win world championships in all three disciplines this year it would put him in the company of the great female riders who raced successfully across disciplines for years Receive our weekly Newsletterand set tailored daily news alerts All the circular knitting machine manufacturer’s riders crossed the line in Albstadt-Ebingen within the prescribed time Knitted Outerwear, Sports/​Activewear combines circular knitting and braiding businesses New apprentices ready to go at Mayer & Cie The first race of World Cup cross country season is done and dusted American Kate Courtney looked immediately comfortable in the rainbow stripes of her world champion jersey winning the first Short Track XCC of the season in Albstadt The Scott-SRAM racer rode a tactical race against former world champion Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing) with both hiding in the top-5 for much of the eight lap race the American held off Neff by half a bike length to win the first Short Track XCC of the season Switzerland’s Kathrin Stirnemann (Thomus RN Racing) finished close behind in third Canada had five riders on the 40 rider start list in Albstadt Only 40 riders are eligible to participate from the full start list for Sunday’s full-length XCO Three of these five finished inside the all-important top-24 places the top 16 riders qualified for the front two rows that has been extended to 24 riders and the first three rows of the start grid making a bad result in XCC more consequential Those 24 riders are given positions in the front three rows for Sunday’s XCO Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) was the top Canadian in 14th with Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) and Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) squeezing into the final spots in 15th and 16th Sandra Walter (Liv Racing / Team Canada) nabbed one of the final spots RELATED: Results: van der Poel wins thrilling Men’s Short Track XCC in Albstadt but will be seeded on the start grid according to their UCI ranking entering the weekend It was a good day for North American cross country In addition to Courtney winning and three Canadians qualifying Chloe Woodruff added a second American top-10 finish Courtney earns 125 points toward the overall taking the early lead over the rest of the field as well as the UCI leaders jersey for Sunday’s XCO final