For a second week in a row World Champion Jenny Rissveds got to celebrate on the top step of the podium, taking a solo victory in the women's elite Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) race at the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lenzerheide.
Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing), on the other hand, converted a run of second places into victory this time. He turned the tables by claiming the top spot in the men's elite race after a long battle with last week's winner in Leogang, Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing).
The lead group was whittled down from six to four and then two, with Boichis pushing on the climbs and launching a last lap attack on asphalt as he chased a second victory on the trot, but then he slipped out on the gravel and crashed. That was all Martin needed to get away and pull out a gap that left him crossing the line with time to celebrate.
“I’m so happy after three second places, I needed to win. It was a crazy race. In the first part, I tried to stay at the back [of the leading group] and feel my shape," said series leader Martin in a media release after taking his first World Cup XCO win of the year and second of his career.
“I knew the last lap would be very dangerous and it was never finished. When Adrien attacked, I felt like I could come back in the downhill. He crashed, it was very slippery, [that was] when I saw that I had to go.”
Behind Martin and Boichis, it was Bjorn Riley (Scott SRAM MTB) in third.
For Rissveds, there was no final lap battle as the World Champion and series leader took off solo early after reeling in an opening surge by home-nation rider Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing). After that, Rissveds forged on alone right to the line, to take the win with a one-minute advantage on the Swiss rider Blöchlinger, who held firm for her first World Cup XCO podium finish and second podium of the weekend.
"I’m really happy about today’s race. In short track on Friday, I was pretty exhausted to be honest," said Rissveds. She also mentioned that it hadn't been an easy week given the controversy surrounding the contact with Savilla Blunk that had resulted in a crash for the Decathlon Ford Racing rider on the first lap in Leogang in the last round.
“I was just trying to be patient today, but then I realised that I was feeling good.”
Blunk, who earlier won the short track in Lenzerheide, claimed third, 12 seconds back from Blöchlinger.
After two weekends in a row of racing, there will now be a couple of weeks until another set of close rounds: La Thuile, Italy from July 3-5 and Pal Arinsal, Andorra from July 10-12.
