Martin Vidaurre (Specialized Factory Racing) and Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were victorious in the elite cross-country races at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series held in Val di Sole, Italy on Sunday.
Vidaurre, from Chile, made history with his first-ever career victory at the highest level and for his nation in the elite XCO World Cup.
A former under-23 world champion, he attacked on the sixth lap, bridging across to France’s Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division). He passed Azzaro on the penultimate lap and went on to secure a solo win, with Azzaro taking second and Fabio Püntener third.
“I love racing in Italy, the energy was incredible. This win is huge – for me and for my country. I knew I had the legs, and I just went all-in,” Vidaurre said.
“I have such good memories from 2021 when I became U23 World Champion. The whole race, I said to myself, ‘you can do it’. I just pushed through the bike, the Specialized was amazing over the roots, it’s incredible how fast I can go.
“I found my flow, kept it easy at the beginning and then just took energy from the crowd. I needed this win, I’m more than happy. It has been a long way to be here, it’s my third year as an elite, and to win a World Cup is all that I wanted. This is for my people and for my country.
“I’ve watched Christopher [Blevins] win seven World Cups and Victor [Koretzky] win a bunch. Finally, it is my turn. It’s the team spirit to push and support each other.”
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Chris Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) finished eighth and retains the leader’s jersey in the overall standings with 1,282 points, ahead of teammates Vidaurre with 952 and Victor Koretzky with 866.
In the women’s race, reigning world champion Pieterse backed up her short track triumph with another commanding performance, solidifying her place among the sport’s most dominant athletes.
“It’s quite cool,” Pieterse said about winning back-to-back XCO and XCC races.
The Dutch rider set a fast pace on the opening lap, and while Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) tried to match that speed, she ultimately fell off pace.
Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) took a more conservative approach, working her way through the field and finishing on the podium in second place, 26 seconds behind Pieterse.
Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) completed the podium after a tight contest with Rissveds and Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory).
“I already knew from the XCC that she [Jenny Rissveds] was strong, she went out hard and I decided to follow a bit and not go as long [attack so early] as in Leogang. I noticed a few spots where I was a bit quicker, and I tried to make the best of it. I got a gap and had to go for it,” said Pieterse, who crashed in the rock garden on the fourth of seven laps and had to regain her rhythm.
“It took a lot today, especially when I heard that they were coming closer and closer. I heard that Samara [Maxwell] attacked and went all in, especially the climb on the back (of the course), it was almost undoable.”
Maxwell remains the overall World Cup leader with 1,253 points, ahead of Koller with 912 and Pieterse with 850.
Results
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