Racing doesn’t get much better than the spectacle we witnessed in Lenzerheide as the Swiss venue provided electrifying and record-breaking action for round two of the 2023 World Cup series.
The U23 Women’s racing kicked off early Sunday morning ahead of a packed schedule of racing. Round one winner Sofie Pedersen once again took control of the race and lead from the start loop. Sofia did have some tough competition as Swiss rider Ronja Blöchlinger remained a constant threat through the four full laps, although she was never able to fully close the gap to this year’s dominant force.
After a short break, it was U23 Men’s turn to tackle the roots and rocks of Lenzerheide. From the off, a group of six controlled the front of the race across the first four laps. The fifth of six laps saw the leading group shrink slightly to five riders before a massive increase in pace for the final lap saw Friday’s XCC winner Dario Lillo build a gap to the other riders. Canadian Carter Woods tried his best to close the gap. Despite a sprint to catch the leader into the finish area it was not enough to get on the rear wheel of Lillo.
The Elite Women were up next with Loana Lecomte providing a masterclass in race craft as she showed her strength from all one. Lecomte managed her pace throughout the laps ensuring she had plenty left in the tank for a final lap attack that caused Pauline Ferrand Prevot to blow up on the first climb of the lap. From here on Loana held a lead of around 18 seconds all the way to the line. Pauline Ferrand Prevot felt the effects of trying to keep with Loana Lecomte as she fell back to fourth place being passed by Anne Terpstra and Alessandra Keller in the final lap.
The final question of the day after the Elite Women was could Nino Schurter finally take his 34th World Cup win after it has eluded him since the start of last year? Breaking the record at his home race was clearly the fairytale ending for the rider who has already won it all.
Straight from the start Nino Schurter showed he meant business as he quickly recovered from his lower start ranking after a crash during the short track to join the leading riders at the front. Schurter spent the first few laps testing those around him as he planned his race tactics for the later laps. As the riders headed off road for the first time on lap four a small mistake from a rider in the leading group saw Nino Schurter take his chance. Schurter was joined by Swiss rival Mathias Flückiger as a leading pair at the front. Flückiger couldn’t hold onto the World Champs pace for long as it quickly became a solitary race at the front for Schurter building his lead to around 30 seconds going into the final lap. With a large lead into the last lap, Nino could take things steady as he soaked in the wild Swiss crowd on his way to his record-smashing 34th win as he further showed he is truly unmatched in XC racing.
The teams and riders will now make the trip to Leogang to get between the tape once again for the third round of the 2023 season.
