Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) and Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) were the winners of the cross-country Olympic (XCO) races at the mountain bike World Cup in Les Gets on Sunday, conquering the Alpine course to take victories.
Newly-crowned European champion Rissveds got through a chaotic start to go solo in the women's race, though it wasn't a race of straightforward domination, as she faced a few issues, including riding outside of the course tape, but she was not penalised, and some tricky moments through the rock sections.
However, despite some sketchy moments, Rissveds successfully held off chaser Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) to take the win by just over a minute. Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Teams) took third and continues to lead the overall standings.
It was a day to forget for world champion Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who settled for 10th after looking not her best across the weekend in Les Gets, just two weeks out from attempting to retain her XCO world title.
In the men's race, Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) claimed his first elite World Cup victory, winning on home soil after a confidence-boosting second place in the short track on Friday.
It was a closely fought race which saw three leaders go into the final lap together, and Luca Braidot (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) looked to be in a winning position after attacking. Still, Martin chased him down to then draw away right at the end and claim victory.
Mathias Flückiger (Thömus Maxon) took third, just ahead of world champion Alan Hatherly (Giant Factory Off-Road Team).
Mathieu van der Poel's (Alpecin-Deceuninck) return to mountain biking went better than his last appearance in Nové Město as he finished the race in Les Gets without crashing, but had to settle for sixth. Starting far down the grid, Van der Poel spent his race charging through the pack to try to catch up with the leaders, but ultimately ran out of time to make it onto the podium.
He will try again at his main mountain bike goal of the season, the World Championships, with his improved technical performance in Les Gets a positive sign.
It was a perfect weekend for Rissveds, who also took the win in the short track (XCC) on Friday evening, attacking in the final stages of the race and winning solo after going away on the final lap.
British national champion Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) won the men's XCC in a thrilling finish that saw him and teammate Luca Martin chased down by a large group, but then fight back to take 1-2 on the finish line.
In the U23 XCO races, Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) and Valentina Corvi (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) were the winners, with Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) taking third despite coming straight from winning the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes on Friday to to mountain bike podium on Sunday.
The next stop on the calendar will be the World Championships in Valais, Switzerland, which have already kicked off for the enduro riders, with the XCC and XCO races taking place September 9-14 in Zermatt and Crans-Montana.
