After a short break the XC World Cup is back as part of a big weekend of racing in Lenzerheide. Last year we saw plenty of drama in the races and after a flat-out first round in Nove Mesto, it’s looking like it could be a great weekend.
Before the racing kicks off with the Elite XCC Short Track we have given our best shot at predicting who we think could be the ones to watch this weekend.
The first round at Nove Mesto saw reigning World Champion Pauline Ferrand Prevot just falling short of the win. Puck Pieterse closed in on the French rider during the final lap and a late attack through the tech zone secured the win by five seconds. Following Pauline in 2nd was Loana Lecomte after working her way up the ranks through the race to take home 3rd place. Evie Richards was a rider on pace for the win, but a flat rear tire ended her chance at the gold medal.
In the Men’s racing wet weather added an extra challenge to proceedings with the slippy rocks and roots claiming a few victims including Tom Pidcock. Despite being battered and bruised Tom was able to get back on Joshua Dubau’s rear wheel and claim the win ahead of the French rider’s standout 2nd place finish.
Lenzerheide has a history of producing unpredictable results with only Nino Schurter and Jenny Rissveds securing more than one win at the Swiss World Cup venue. Last year we almost saw the Swiss one-two of Nino Schurter and Mathias Flückiger, although the infamous final lap collision ended the chances of a Swiss win on home soil. Both riders are looking fast this year, although we hope no riders come together this weekend.
2015: Jaroslav Kulhavy
2016: Nino Schurter
2017: Nino Schurter
2018//Worlds: Nino Schurter
2019: Mathieu Van Der Poel
2021: Victor Koretzky
2022: Luca Braidot
2015: Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa
2016: Jenny Rissveds
2017: Annie Last
2018//Worlds: Kate Courtney
2019: Jenny Rissveds
2021: Evie Richards
2022: Loana Lecomte
Puck Pieterse is coming off a huge win at the first round in Nove Mesto after she stopped Pauline Ferrand Prevot from kicking off her season with the win. Beating the current World Champion has to fill you with plenty of confidence and the young racer will be wanting to prove her speed in the Czech Republic wasn’t a one-off.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot Showed she is strong this year and in the opposite of Puck Pieterse the French 2022 World Champion will want to show she is the rider to beat this year. With a new team and bike to show off Pauline will be hungry for a big result in Lenzerheide after she came so close to the top step of the podium previously.
Evie Richards is another rider who will be wanting more after the first round. Evie seemed very happy with he fourth place after the race in Nove Mesto but she was clearly on a winning pace before a rear flat took her out of the race and with this in mind she will be wanting to match her win in 2021 and join Jenny Rissveds as a rider with multiple wins in Lenzerheide.
A year later and as the World Cup heads back to Lenerheide Nino Schurter is still on the hunt for the elusive 34th race win. Nino came so close here last year and his home race would be the perfect place to break the record. Unfortunately for Nino, the Elite men’s field is stacked but it’s hard to bet against the World Champ and we think he might just have the speed to take the win this weekend.
One of the many Swiss riders wanting to take a home win is Mathias Flückiger. Mathias also came very close to taking his first Swiss win last year and he is fired up after having to miss most of the last season. After performing well at the first round MAthias will be wanting to step things up for round two and at least get himself on the podium in Lenzerhdie once again.
With Tom Pidcock skipping the next few races Joshua Dubau has become the rider to beat at round two following his incredible performance at the first round. Joshua performance at round one was a surprise for most but we will all be watching closely to see if he can back up his standout ride at Nove Mesto.
While we have made our main predictions for potential winners above there were other riders who we should mention as potential top performers this weekend.
The 2022 overall World Cup champion has started the season strong with a 5th place in Nove Mesto and Alessandra Keller is coming off a win at last weekend’s Swiss national champs. We have yet to see a Swiss winner at Lenzerheide but maybe the newly crowned national champion can change this on Sunday.
Loana Lecomte had a slow start to the racing in Nove Mesto but her pace at the end of the race was fast enough that given another lap she would have been in contention for the win. After the break from round one Loana will be wanting to match her winning speed in Lenzerheide from last year and take her first win of 2023.
Luca Schwarzbauer is always on the cusp of top results with huge amounts of power he is yet to truly turn his XCC Short Track strength into consistent XC results. Luca managed to cross the line in sixth at the last round and we think he will be wanting to up this and take a podium spot at round two.
Who Will Win the Elite Women’s Race?
Who Will Win the Elite Men’s Race?