Tom Pidcock caps stellar weekend in Crans-Montana with victory in Men's Elite race at UCI Cross-country World Cup
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ByEurosport
Published 23/06/2024 at 19:11 GMT
Tom Pidcock warmed up for the Tour de France in some style with victory in the UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup race at Crans-Montana. The victory, the final major mountain bike race before the Paris Olympics next month, came 24 hours after he went from last to first to take the win in the short track event. Loana Lecomte was the winner of the women's race.
'The Tom-inator!' - 'Unstoppable' Pidcock destroys rivals to win in Crans Montana
Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) made it two wins from two in Crans-Montana, in his final UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup appearance before next weekend’s Tour de France Grand Depart.
A strong - but not perfect - ride saw him out in front on lap two, and that was where he stayed for the duration.
In the women's race, Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) made all the right moves with a dominant performance on a tough course in difficult conditions.
A week before he is set to line up at the Tour de France in Florence (Italy), Pidcock had time for one last battle with his old nemesis Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team).
The lights went from red to green and all hell broke loose. Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) got off to a great start, as did Marcel Guerrini (BIX Performance Race Team) and Luca Braidot (Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team).
Pidcock, who took victory in the short track race on Saturday, was shuffled back a few rows behind the likes of Schurter and British champion Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing).
Aldridge took the prime position as the riders swung onto the track proper following the Red Bull Roots & Rolls section but the opening five minutes were tight and cagey.
Julian Schelb (Stop&Go Marderabwehr MTB Team) took the lead from Aldridge towards the top and opened a decent gap on the short descent.
Schelb entered the timber garden with Pidcock five seconds back but in hot pursuit. Schurter was not going to let Pidcock’s wheel go that early, wrestling his Scott to keep on the men’s UCI world champion’s wheel.
Pidcock closed to Schelb and took over the lead by taking a trickier line before the rock garden. Schelb did not like that and shook his head, going back in front with a faster line of his own.
Olympic champion Pidcock - who will look to defend his title in Paris later this summer - took a tumble in the tech zone while snatching a gel. That saw him drop into the Schurter group, leaving Schelb to enjoy a bit of clear air.
The three were joined at the start of lap two by another Swiss rider, Mathias Fluckiger (Thomus Maxon) as Pidcock drove it on to regain contact with Schelb.
Pidcock had more trouble in the mud than Schurter and Schelb, but the right line was often more a matter of luck than judgement. The lead changed hands and places were swapped several times across the next few minutes.
Pidcock sensed that the time was right and put in a muscular attack ahead of an early descent. He quickly turned that into a seven-second advantage over Schurter and Fluckiger, as Schelb slipped backwards. Fluckiger seemed most capable of bringing back the leader and was just six seconds down, well within reach, at the start of lap three.
Schurter and Schelb were on their own in third and fourth, with Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV) and Maximilian Brandl (Leware Mountainbike Team) battling it out for the remaining podium place.
On the technical rooted section, Pidcock kept on his bike while Fluckiger had to hop off. It felt like one of the thousand cuts that could see Pidcock disappear into the distance. After half an hour of racing his lead was 19 seconds and growing.
A rare mistake on the lap’s early descent from Schurter sent him into a rut and over the barriers. It was a soft landing but cost him bags of time, third place, and left him visibly rattled.
Meanwhile, Pidcock held a 34-second lead with more than half the race to go.
Another controlled off for Schurter on the rock garden effectively put him out of contention. A less controlled one from Max Brandl required medical attention and put him out completely.
On to lap four, Schurter was struggling to hold his place on the podium, battling for it with Schwarzbauer and Luca Forster (Canyon CLLCTV.)
Seemingly out of nowhere, Pidcock was the next rider to take a hit, losing the front wheel on a root. Unlike others, he had time to remount, relax and recover. Then Forster lost his own rear on the logged descent, going down hard and giving up fifth place to Schurter.
Pidcock continued to motor, eating up back markers. Such was his lead that he was able to take the safest lines, get round safely while making it count on the power sections of the course. He crossed the line with the sun coming out, having lost just a few seconds to Fluckiger, who could take comfort from at least having stabilised the situation.
A minute back, Schelb seemed solid in third, as Braidot joined Schurter and Schwarzbauer in the squabble for fourth.
Despite earlier difficulties, Schurter refused to give up, rediscovering his shape, form and rhythm on the fifth lap. He homed in on Schelb, overtaking him on the hour.
Pidcock took the long asphalt climb out of the saddle and drew out a few more seconds over Fluckiger. Schurter looked to make it hard for Schelb in the fight for third. As the course dried out, Braidot was not prepared to allow it to be a two-rider affair.
On the last lap, Pidcock nudged his own lead over a minute for the first time as he eased his way home.
Fluckiger cruised to second. With the line in sight, Schurter put in one last dig, but could not do enough to stop Braidot from mugging him for third. Schelb was safe in fourth as Nadir Colledani (Santa Cruz RockShox Pro Team) rounded out the podium.
Pidcock, who had not practised the course before the race, admitted to early difficulties.
“It was really tricky in the first few laps just to find my own rhythm,” he said. “We were just getting in each other’s way.”
He went onto suggest that, after gapping the field, he may have relaxed a bit too much considering what’s in store in the coming weeks:
“I made a couple of mistakes after getting my gap," Pidcock said. "I’ve got big things coming up and I don’t think my team-mates would be too happy if I’d binned myself today."
Lecomte imperious in challenging Crans-Montana conditions
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‘What a turnaround!’ - Lecomte dominates women's elite XCO World Cup in Crans-Montana
“It’s a proper course. Not a cyclocross course,” Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV) said at the start of the week, revealing her taste for the more challenging, technical Crans-Montana circuit.
The French national champion went on to prove it, leading the Women’s elite UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup race virtually from start to finish, with only a few short spells off the front.
The absence of the overall XCO leader Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) and third place Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) had presented possibilities for swings in the overall standings on a treacherous day. Several riders were looking to move up.
Lecomte and Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) shot off the start line, as Allessandra Keller (Thomus Maxon) went bar to bar with Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) - Saturday’s UCI XCC World Cup winner leading around the corner and onto the start loop’s tight asphalt climb.
After taking the lead, Lecomte opted for the challenging constructed timber garden centre. Pieterse took the wide line, costing her a couple of seconds, while Keller in third place also played it safe.
After 15 minutes racing, Lecomte was going from strength to strength, 17 seconds to the good over Pieterse. Into the rock garden, Lecomte went for the middle, balanced line and was followed by Pieterse.
Onto the second lap where Pieterse at least had Lecomte in her sights - just - with the Dutch rider in Keller’s.
On the steep muddy climb, Pieterse was practically back to the front of the race, her cyclocross dismount and remount skills working to her advantage.
Pieterse took the lead a minute later, as she pieced together the different parts of the course slightly better than Lecomte, with Keller seemingly coming back herself.
On the next climb, Lecomte was able to stay on her bike as Pieterse had to run it. Lecomte immediately stomped onto the pedals while Pieterse’s struggle to clip back in cost her several seconds and forced her to relinquish second to Keller.
Through the second tech zone, Lecomte spun the gear and pressed forward.
A slip for Lecomte over a root, her first meaningful mistake, allowed Keller to close the gap; the Swiss rider made a great line choice moments later to put her right on the Frenchwoman’s wheel.
Lecomte shook it off and continued to ride her own race. She was particularly confident and competent on the descents, gaining a few metres here and there. Pieterse, meanwhile, was unable to find any parts of the course to favour her.
Deeper into the race, Lecomte was able to increase her advantage over Keller to the double digits.
At the bell, Lecomte had 35 seconds in hand. Keller, roared on by the home supporters, had not given up. Nor had Pieterse, but it had been a largely lonely race for the European champion.
As the course ran out, Lecomte just had to get round, so she took the final technical sections with care. All smiles, she stopped the clock in 1:17 to complete a demonstration.
Soon, Keller crossed the line to become the new UCI XCO World Cup leader. The podium was competed by Pieterse, Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) and Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing).
“It’s good to be back,” a jubilant Lecomte said. “I love this track.
“Even if we had a dry track, it’s a real mountain bike track, with a lot of technical sections, and very physical.
"I can’t wait to be back here for the World Championships next year. The secret is just to be happy and have fun on the bike.”
It was Lecomte’s 10th UCI World Cup at elite level.
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