After a spring spent racing on the road in Classics, multi-discipline riders Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) made their WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series debuts Saturday in Czechia. Both fought through the field to contend for victory, but the decisive final straight settled the outcome differently in each race.
After a fast start, Pieterse made her way through traffic from close to the back of the pack to hit the front at the start of lap three. From then on, the Dutch rider attacked up the climb every lap in the second half of the race, putting her competition in the red each time, even if she couldn’t shake them off.
However, the selection was not made on the climb but on the start/finish straight when XCC World Champion Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon) crashed into the barriers alongside Jolanda Neff (Cannondale Factory Racing) after getting caught up in Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing)’s handlebars.
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Jenny Rissveds (Canyon XC Racing) swept to the front on the inside to lead over the summit on the final lap, but Pieterse used the leadout to unleash her sprint on the final straight, going around Nicole Koller (Lapierre PXR Racing) for the win. Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) came home second, with Koller holding on for third.
“I’ve missed it,” said Pieterse who claimed five victories last season WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, including a XCC win in Nové Město na Moravě.
“Here it always gets quite bunchy on the road and slows down a bit, however this year Jenny [Rissveds] was setting such a high pace that it took me a bit to get to the front. When I was there, I just decided to stay there, and tried to keep in control for the final sprint.
“I saw Nicole [Koller] coming from the left and she was starting to step on the pedals. I thought ‘now I have to kick’, so I did. It’s super cool, flashbacks to last year’s Short Track here. The goal for tomorrow is just to keep the material [equipment] good and see from there how a one and a half-hour effort compares to the four-hour road sessions.”
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Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) finished second at Nové Město Na Moravě XCC (Image credit: Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series)
In the men’s race, Pidcock spent the first four laps dead last to avoid the potential pitfalls of a much bigger bunch at the front. After accelerations by Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon XC Racing) and Jordan Sarrou (BMC Factory Racing), Pidcock started to move up on the fifth lap to reach the front one lap later.
The group stayed mostly together until the bell lap sparked a drag race into the bottom of the final ascent before Pidcock put in a massive turn off speed on the climb to take the lead.
Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) immediately jumped on the wheel but Pidcock was not able to shake the pack and was forced to lead going into the final straight, where Azzaro was able to slingshot off to accelerate to the line and take the win ahead of Pidcock. Dario Lillo (Giant Factory Off-Road Team XC) rounded out the podium.
“I knew that Tom [Pidcock] was coming from the back, I just waited, he came the last lap like a Formula 1 car, and I just jumped into the wheel. It’s a name that everyone knows and I’m super proud to beat him, it’s great to race with a champion like this,” Azzaro said.
“I knew when he was straight on my wheel. It’s hard coming back to mountain bike from some time away. I feel like I’ve no idea what I’m doing when I come back, so it’s just nice to get that first race out the way, know that I’ve still got the legs. It’s always a doubt when I come back,” Pidcock said.
“I’m here to try and win, I’ve done it every other time. I’m here so need to keep that streak going [tomorrow], added Pidcock, XCO winner in 2024, the last time he competed in Nové Město na Moravě.
Both Peterse and Pidcock will line up for the XCO race on Sunday.
