XC World Cup - Full Reports from Albstadt and Nove Mesto Na Morave

Words and Photographs by Anna Buick

Following on from a cold evening of Eliminator racing came a sunny Saturday morning and a spree of spectators hiking up into the middle of the course from where you could see the brutally steep climbs and technically demanding downhills. The U23 women kicked off the racing and fine weekend for Australia and Trek Factory Racing...

After a reserved start Rebecca Henderson came to the head of the U23 race in the latter stage of lap one, passing through the start/finish for the first time at the front of the field but with Linda Indergrand for company. Indergrand dropped off the pace on lap two and last year's World Cup winner Yana Belomoyna settled into second position where she looked comfortable for the middle part of the race. Henderson had everything under control; she looked calm and steady, no frills and no spills. She could not afford to race easy though. After losing a minute on the opening lap, Jenny Rissveds was working her way up through the field from her 33rd position on the grid and an early crash. The first year U23 was something of a blonde blur as she set the fastest third and fourth laps to move up to second place. However, it was not enough to overhaul the fastest opening two laps of Henderson, who took victory by 48 seconds from Rissveds, with Belamoyna a further fourteen seconds back in third.  British Cycling Cross Country Series Round One winner, the African Continental Champion, Mariske Strauss, rode a strong race, looking  especially good on the climbs, to finish eighth, whilst Great Britain's young talent, Beth Crumpton, rode a very solid race from 27th on the grid to twelth at the finish. She was "very happy with that" and "loved the course". The other British representative in the U23 race was Hannah Barnes. After her appearance at Sherwood Pines there was a lot of interest in whether there was to be a 'comeback' for Barnes who raced mountain bikes as a junior but subsequently made the transition to road racing. Her entry at Albstadt shows that the young talent is serious about mountain biking, but she admitted that the technicality of the course was hard to get her head round and that it would take more time until she felt confident enough to race this type of track well. Hannah finished 34th.

On track at the same time was the younger Barnes sister, Alice. Unlike her sibling she revelled in the technical sections. For Alice it was the steep gradientof the uphills that was the problem, and the lesser ability of her peers in the downhills: in a very matter of fact manner, she pointed out that some French girl crashed in front of her and failed to get out of the way so she ran over her ankle! Despite her frustrations, Alice finished  a solid 25th. At the front of the race Greta Weithaler took the win ahead of the fast finishing Marlene Degn and Kate Courtney rounded out the podium. 

Race Two on Saturday was the U23 Men. It wasn't a number one start for the number one board, last year's World Cup winner, Michiel van der Heijden, who spent the rest of the race working his way back up to the front. It was too much to ask that he get back on terms with the early, and eventual, leader though. Markus Schulte-Luenzum was out to win his home World Cup, and what a partisan crowd-pleasing performance it was! The German rider led from start to finish, and despite fading considerably on the final lap, won by seventeen seconds. Behind Schulte-Luenzum, Jens Shuermans was riding a solid race, moving up the field and evetually dropping van der Heijden and Jordan Sarrou who were riding together in second to fourth spot towards the end of the race. vdH attacked and entered the last downhill section to the finish with a comfortable margin to secure third. 

Orange Monkey Pro Team's Rourke Croeser rode to a World Cup best twelth position, riding for much of the race with the GB duo of Grant Ferguson and Kenta Gallagher who finished fourteenth and sixteenth respectively. Steve James made up one third of the British entrants and came home in 77th position on a course described as "brutal"! 

As we had been warned by the locals, if there is a sunny day in Albstadt, the following day will bring rain. And so it did. The Junior men were off first, and they managed to stay dry, but by the end of the women's race the heaven's opened and what was already a slippy and sketchy track became, in the words of Marianne Vos, "an ice rink"...

With Juniors only being able to pick up UCI points at World Cups and Major Championships, the front row of the Junior Men's grid was taken largely by Sounthern Hemisphere riders who have already raced their continental Championships. It was not long though before the European riders came to the fore and took over at the head of a very exciting race. Frenchman Neilo Perrin-Ganier set the fastest opening lap, and the fastest third and fourth lap as well, but it was his fellow countryman, Raphael Gay, who was back in 22nd at the end of the lap one, who worked his way into pole position by the finish. It was by no means an easy race for him though. Philipp Bertsch,with the amazing Albstadt crowd behind him, joined the French duo driving the pace at the head of the race, with Gioele Bertolini and Jan Vastl never far from the action. A slip by the German at the entrance to Albstadt drop - a vertical drop into a steep chute with a hay bail-lined right hander at the bottom - on the penultimate lap opened a gap and looked to lose him a shot at the win. However, a huge cheer went up as he regained the lead later in the lap, and by the finish the podium positions were to be decided in a sprint that seperated the first three by just one second. Gay stood atop the steps, with Bertsch second and Perrin-Ganier third. 

National Champion Sam Stean was the leading British junior in 31st spot, Michael Thompson was 44th and Iain Paton was 52nd (all three bettering their gridding position), Dylan Kerfoot-Robson was 88th and Billy Harding finished 109th after a puncture. 

Jolanda Neff burst onto the Elite Women's scene with her trademark fast start, leading the opening lap of the women's race with another XCE specialist, Alexandra Engen. The chasing duo of Katrin Leumann and Eva Lechner took over at the head of the race for the second lap but were reigned in by Tanya Zakelj and Maja Wloszczowska to form a group of four, with Engen hanging off the back and Neff, the current U23 World Champion, dropping back off the pace despite her evident technical prowess. Neff, who is still an U23 but has opted to race in the Elite category, was excited for her first Elite World Cup and had no particular goal in mind in terms of result, but rather she hoped to be able to race hard for the duration of the race. After six laps of the course - the last in rain that made the steep, tight corners of the descents incredibly difficult to negotiate, even by the best riders in the world - Neff finished a very credible eighth, whilst at the front of affairs Lechner, who loved the steep up and steep downs of the Albstadt hillside, felt that she had the legs to make an attack stick and so tried her luck. Wloszczowska, who was by now the only rider left with Lechner, couldn't close the gap the Italian managed to open up and crossed the finish line eight seconds adrift of the delighted second-time World Cup winner. Leumann was a further eight seconds adrift, proving her early season form was indicative of things to come, and Zakelj and Engen rounded out the podium positions, all within a minute of the winner. 

Annie Last was, unsurprisingly, Great Britains' highest finisher in 25th position. Whilst this is not the top-ten finish we have become accustomed to from the Olympian, it is still a remarkable result considering that Annie is currently nursing a fracture to the L5 vertibrae that has, and continues to, seriously curtail her training. This explains her fluctuating results, and also why she has been riding a full-suspension bike and her usual, aggressive bike handling is somewhat dampened. Behind Annie, National Chapion Nikki Harris had a strong race to move from 65th on the grid up to 37th. Lee Craigie also had a good day, with fine form and a genuine love of challenging courses seeing her ride within her target of a top 40 finish...until a last lap crash cost her time and places. Still, Lee finished 42nd.  Also suffering a crash was Maxine Filby. The xcracer.com rider DNFd on lap two after a nasty tumble and subsequently took the decision to miss the following weekend's World Cup in favour of putting herself back together.

In the Elite Men's race, anyone betting on unlikely contenders may well have made a handsome profit. It seemed like last year's normal state-of-play had been resumed, with World Champion Nino Schurter flying off the start line and into the early lead, but the super slippery conditions and consequent crashes saw the standings constantly changing. Constantly changing behind Absalon, that is. The Two-time Olympic Champion was riding a race of his own out in front, setting the fastest second, third and fourth laps to pull out a lead of over a minute on the chase, led by Fabian Giger and followed by current Oympic Champion Jaraslav Kulhavy, Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez, Maxime Marrotte and Lukas Fluckiger. For those out on course, laps five and six coursed some confusion. However, for those watching the Redbull coverage on the big screen it was plain to see that what looked to have become an unassailable lead for Absalon quickly turned into a DNF. A snapped rear drop-out resulted in an understandable paddy and an abrupt re-evaluation of the race. Giger now found himself out front but was fading fast, whilst slower starters were now clawing their way further towards the front. Most notably of the aforementioned was Dan MacConnel, the Australian rider who used to ride for British Sports Nutrition Company Torq and who had only once before finished inside the top twenty at a World Cup. Passing under the finish gantry to enter the final lap, the Aussie was in sixth place, 29 seconds off the leader. For a rider whose homeland sees a distinct lack of rain, and thus mud, something seemed to click into place and, on the last lap, a surge of energy, paired with his newfound technical confidence, allowed him to pass Kulhavy - whose usual latter stages of the race engine seemed to kick start but then sputter and choke - and then Marotte. In the closing sections McConnell was able to bridge across to Mantecon and power past him in the grassy straight to take the final corner in the lead, from where, he said, "nothing was going to come past me"! Mantecon had no regrets, he made no mistakes, he said that McConnell was just faster. Third placed Kulhavy was surprised to manage a podium finish having had to take two significant breaks from training for infections since Cape Epic. Marrotte was happy to be back on the podium and Lukas Fluckiger, who came home in fifth, continued his good results on the Albstadt course following a win in the HC-categorised Bundesliga race last year. 

The British representation in the race was an entirely Scottish affair, with Rab Wardell and Gareth Montgomerie making the trip across to mainland Europe to chase the world's best and Commonwealth Games qualification results.  After the cyclo-cross style opening lap of sprinting like crazy then running a bit, Wardell sat for much of the race in strong-looking group around 60th-70th position. With a top 60 position earning UCI points and thus a move up the grid, Wardell said he "got a little bit excited" and "rode a little bit too hard" and paid for this on the final lap. Montgomerie was having something of a disaster. A race, a fitness test and travel the preceding week left him feeling less than sprightly, and a broken shifter just added to the fun! 

Some riders were out on course as early as Tuesday, but most opted to spin along the roads until Thursday. With the organisers having free-reign over the woodland at the puropse-built Winter Biathalon venue, there were some intersting new features for the racers to grapple with. Foremost of these was a new rock garden descent that offered no obvious line and was the cause of much hand-on-hip deliberation. The top section of rocks could be avoided with a B line that went over a wooden northshore-style bridge that spat riders out onto the bottom, much easier, section. The penalty was a string of tight turns at the top of the feature that cost time. The difference was not great though, and less technicallyproficiant riders were actually losing time riding the A line. As well as this rock Garden, named Rubena's Choice, was the Vertical Drop (similar to Dalby Forest's Worry Gill but with out the turn at the bottom), Rock 'n' Roll and ACDC among others. It is a course that tests riders both up and down hill and this appears to be well-received among the riders, many of whom were very excited to back on the Nove Mesto course. Among them was Lee Craigie. Despite a very nasty fall here last year, and in spite of an elbow harbouring stitches following her crash in Albstadt, Lee was excited to get back on course and test out the new features. Just not quite yet, the elbow was only allowing road riding for the time being... 

Come Saturday, another rider who felt at home on the technical sections of the Nove Mesto course was the previous week's U23 Women's winner, Rebecca Henderson. Despite fighting a cold all week, the World Cup leader was the only rider able to respond to the early attack of Andrea Waldis. Over the rocks the two riders looked to be equally matched, but the Swiss rider proved too strong on the tough climbs as the race entered its second half. Waldis pulled away and accrued a 44 second lead by the finish, with Henderson coming in second to retain her leader's jersey, and Yana Belamoyna mirroring her previous week's position and finishing third. Orange Monkey's mid-week signing, the ever-smiling Mariske Strauss, was an early contender for a podium position but eventully settled for a very solid sixth place following a last lap puncture. Undoubtedly the ride of the race, and probably even the weekend, went to GB's Beth Crumpton. The long tarmac start straight of Nove Mesto is conducive to blisteringly fast, full gas starts, and with this kind of start comes some pretty spectacular crashes. Fortunately they were few and far between this year, but unfortunately Crumpton was involved in one of them. Having untangled herself from the bodies and bikes around her and got everything pointing in the right direction, Crumpton headed out of the arena some 45 seconds off the back of a fast-disappearing field. The plan had been for Beth to try and ride in the wheels of the top five and hang on for as long as possible, dropping back in the closing stages but hopefully not out of the top ten. As it transpired, Crumpton rode a strong and mature race, starting at the back and working her way into the top ten to a fine eighth place finish. 

The Junior Women's race, the start of which was delayed slightly due to the U23 crash, unravelled in a scarily similar manner to the previous week in Germany. As in Albstadt, Greta Weithaler led from lap one but won by only four seconds after Marlene Degn set the fastest closing lap. Bizarre! Third place went to Sofia Wiendenroth. 

The Junior Boys race was also won by the Round One winner, though beyond that there were few similarities. Raphael Gay the convincing winner, coming through in second place after thestart loop and then in first position for the remaining four complete laps. His team mate and compatriot Romain Boutet was second, and the fast-starting Lukas Baum dropped to third place. Billy Harding was the only British Junior riding, having swapped his GB kit from Albstadt for his Orange Monkey team kit. Following a heavy fall in practice, he suffered from a stiff thigh that was not keen on running or climbing. With a gridding position of 97, Harding was never going to avoid bottlenecks and therefore running up the climbs he would later have to climb. Despite a less-than-ideal race the first-year junior was still smiling; happy to have the opportunity to race World Cups and loving the learning experience. 

The final race of Saturday was the U23 Men, or, in Dutch, Beloften (promises) and Espoirs (hopes) in French. There were, whatever nationality you are, a lot of promising riders lined up on the grid, and they were all hopeful of a successful race. For the most impressive rider in Albstadt, Markus Schulte-Luenzum, this hope was quickly dashed. He finished down in 95th after calling it a day with three broken chains and a puncture. Second behind Schulte-Luenzum the previous week, Jens Shuermans rode the opening two laps with Luca Braidot before moving clear of the Italian to win by a very comfortable one minute and fouteen seconds. Reto Indergand rode a steady race to move from fourth, up to third and finally second position, whilst Michiel van der Heijden also made up places, as he had done in Albstadt, to finish third once again. 

Grant Ferguson was the best-placed Brit in 16th position, whilst his team mate, Kenta Gallagher, was suffereing down in 29th after taking victory in the Eliminator the night before. Steve James had a fantastic ride, making his way through the field to finish 40th, a result and a race he was very happy with, especially after a problem start. 

After a disappointing start to the World Cup season, Catharine Pendrel was keen to set things straight on Sunday in Nove Mesto Na Morave.  She finished the start loop in third position, on the wheels of Alexandra Engen and World Cup leader Eva Lechner. Engen dropped off the pace by a few seconds on the opening full lap, and was replaced in the leading trio by Maja Wloszczowska. Tanja Zakelj sat in fourth position, looking controlled, if not comfortable, on the steep, loamy and rooty climbs. Wloszczowska took the lead in the mid stages of the race as Pendrel began to lose time. Lechner moved up to second and looked good to replicate her Round One win until a puncture on lap four lost her around a minute and a half. As Lechner went backwards - albeit not far - Zakelj turned the screw on her competitors and set the fastest closing three laps. Having attacked off the front, Zakelj's gains were neutralised by a crash, and coming into the arena on the last lap, Wloszczowska and Zakelj looked to be lining up for a sprint finish. However, the inclement weather proved the downfall of Wloszczowska, quite literally, and Zakelj was left to cross the line alone for her first World Cup win, nineteen seconds ahead of the hugely popular Pole. Pendrel secured third place and Engen took fourth - in doing so putting her at the head of the UCI rankings - and Lechner did remarkably well to make it onto the podium after her unlucky set-back. Zakelj, a rider who is evidently benefitting from the lack of Olympic pressure she felt she was under last year, takes over the World Cup lead and establishes herself as a rider to be watched. 

Annie Last was back nearer to where she blongs with a twelth place finish. It is not the result the talented Brit would have hoped for before her injury - with an obvious desire to please her new sponsors and move forward in her already-impressive career - but it is certainly a solid result. For Lee Craigie, the love of the Nove Mesto Na Morve course did not equate to a good result. Not by her own standards, anyway. Legs and lungs were resolutely reluctant to work and the Scot had to make do with 47th position. It wasn't a good day for Nikki Harris either, who pulled out after two laps. Also displaying GBR after their name on the startlist was Ruth Owen-Evans who finished up in 56th. It would be great to see more Brits racing World Cups. As Ruth said, it's a "very big step, but such a great experience and motivation to improve!". 

Following from the women's race, and a new face atop the podium, the men's race delivered a well-practiced winner. Nino Schurther was always out in front, from start to finish, but he wasn't alone. Following fine form but bad luck in Albstadt, Julien Absalon kept the World Champion company. Behind the leader, Sergio Mantecon and Jaraslav Kulhavy formed part of the early chase but both fell foul of the tricky rocks, with Mantecon pulling out and the local hero, despite almighty support from the voiciferous crowds, falling continually further back. The Czechs were not without a rider to cheer onto a possible podium place though. The first-year senior, Ondrej Cink, was riding a remarkable race, up in third spot for a short time and for much of the race in fifth. In front of Cink was his team mate Thomas Litscher and, hanging onto the heals of Schurter and Absalon was Lukas Fluckiger. Staphane Tempier was, until lap four, in the mix at the front as well, but a horrible crash in the jump-section saw him heading to the hospital rather than the podium. Fluckiger was a resilient third-wheel to the perennial battle of Absalon and Schurther, but the elastic finally snapped and the stage was set for another dual. With Schurther able to carry more speed through the technical sections, and Absalon not able to overtake him on the short, sharp climbs, the French Champion lost vital seconds on the final descent through ACDC and Rock 'n' Roll and on into the finish. It was not a gap worth giving up on, but despite his best efforts Absalon had to settle for second, and a triumphant Schurter crossed the line three seconds ahead, very happy to have returned to his winning ways. Fluckiger came in for third, Litscher took fourth and a fantastic ride from Canadian Champion Max Plaxton saw him steadily work his way through the field from 27th after the start loop to claim the final podium spot. Cink kept the packed stands cheering, hooting and waving with a fine 6th spot. 

Rab Wardell and Gareth Montgomerie both made the trip from Germany to the Czech Republic, and once again faced the battle from the back. For Rab it really was the back, the creeping and barging that occurs with one minute to go left the Scot dead last. With the plan to go "full gas" on the start loop in order to get a good-as-possible position into the singletrack, and thereafter ride a controlled race ready to hit the final lap hard, Wardell settled himself into the top 80. Having dipped inside the top 70 on the penultimate lap he was frustrated to be just a few seconds the wrong side of the 80% rule and consequently pulled. Gareth suffered a similar fate, though it was an altogether better race than in Albstadt. "Feeling like a racer again", he could work his way up into a decent position in a race he described as "by far the best...i've ever attended".  Both riders looked comfortable on the technical features and were by no means completely left behind. Wardell finished 68th and Mongomerie 70th. It was a pleasure to cheer them, and all the Brits, on. 

So there we have it. Two weekends, two World Cups and two new Elite winners. The courses were tough, the riders were brave and the results were unpredictable. Zakelj, Wloszczowska and Lechner look strongest of the women, while Absalon's form seems most consistant and Lukss Fluckiger will not be a surprise winner in the future after his strong start to the season. The crowds have been incredible, the atmosphere overwhelming and the races a showcase of pure world-class excellence in every aspect. Us Brits have made it back to the motherland with invaluable experience, motivation and, for many, a dose of snotty nose. Head down, power up and onto the next one...

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