There’s a lot of change happening to World Cups in 2023, but if there is one constant at the first round of the 2023 series, it’s Nove Mesto. The venue in the Czech Republic continues to bring incredibly exhilarating racing and nail-biting sprint finishes.
For the first time since the XCC format was introduced to World Cups in 2018, the U23 got their chance at the format that sees riders go all out for series points and the chance to be on the front row for the XCO race. In the Women’s race, it was Ronja Blöchlinger who kept it calm in the early laps, always keeping the lead in sight. A very close finish saw Ronja just pull ahead at the line with the following four riders ending on the same second. The Men’s race saw Adrien Boichis take the first win for the U23 riders as he piloted his way through the pack to get himself in the perfect position for a last-minute sprint attack placing him two seconds up on Riley Amos and Oliver Vedersø Sølvhøj.
A day later and with a period of rain to dampen down the loose course that saw some big crashes in the U23s, the Elite riders kicked off the first live broadcast for the new Warner Bros. Discovery Sports team. First up for the riders’ first big test of the weekend was the Women and with an incredibly competitive and exciting field of riders, the stage was set for some big racing. Straight off the line, last year’s overall XC and XCC champion Alessandra Keller led the group alongside Jenny Rissveds into the tricky first corner that had taken out a few riders in the U23s. Luckily with the damp weather and some course modifications, this wouldn’t be a problem for the Elite riders. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop an early race crash as a mid-pack pileup saw Rebecca Henderson and Martina Berta go down along with holding up the racers behind.
Despite some early crashes and a high speed from the off, riders mainly stayed together as one group for the majority of the race as the lead constantly swapped between the likes of Pauline Ferrand Prevot, Loana Lecomte and Haley Batten. It wasn’t until the last lap that Laura Stigger played her hand and took the lead. The early attack on lap nine didn’t go unchallenged as Alessandra Keller fought back to take back the lead into the finish arena. After just shy of 20 minutes of racing everything came down to a five-rider sprint to the line. Laura Stigger had slightly more power in her legs in a close sprint to propel herself to her first XCC win. Alessandra Keller crossed the line in 2nd with Laura’s teammate Sina Frei making it two Specialized riders in the top three.
Quickly following the frantic Women’s race was the even more dramatic action from the Elite Men. There was drama before riders even got between the tape on Friday as Tom Pidcock and Sam Gaze were added to the race as late additions following two riders pulling out of the race just a few hours before the start. Tom Pidcock shared in his post-race interview that he was so unprepared for the race that he had been out for a three-hour training ride in the morning.
With both riders starting in dead last on the grid they didn’t have the fastest starts, but from the green light it was David Valero Serrano who made his way to the front in the early stages. The Spanish rider would be quickly joined by the incredibly powerful German rider Luca Schwarzbauer, who won here in 2022, both riders would be regular faces at the front alongside Nino Schurter and Sam Gaze who had made his way to the front.
After stealthily moving through the pack Tom Pidcock made his attack on the final lap with a big move on the first corner where the British Olympic champion took the wide line and slingshotted his way onto the rear wheel of current leader Luca Schwarzbauer. It wasn’t until the jumps into the finish arena that Tom Pidcock made his next move passing Luca Schwarzbauer and taking the lead in a side-by-side mid-air overtake. With Luca and XCC World Champion Sam Gaze right on his rear wheel Tom Pidock managed to keep his position in the sprint to the line and kick off his 2023 season with his first XCC win.
The Elite riders now have a short break before the big race, but the U23 will be back between the tape for their first live broadcasted XCO race.
