PAL ARINSAL, Andorra: The 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships have witnessed thrilling victories in the Elite Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) categories as Evie Richards of Britain and France’s Victor Koretzky claimed the Women’s and Men’s titles, respectively.

A busy third day of the event marked intense competition in Pal Arinsal, Andorra, which also saw the inaugural Under-23 XCC titles awarded to Riley Amos of the United States and Canada’s Isabella Holmgren. Full results

The Women’s Elite XCC race brought together 45 competitors, including favourites Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France, Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller and the Netherlands’ Puck Pieterse.

Ferrand-Prévot, the reigning UCI World Champion and Olympic Champion, set a blistering early pace, closely followed by Sweden’s 2016 XCO Olympic Champion, Jenny Rissveds.

Midway through the race, Richards, who earned a bronze in last year’s XCC, began to make her move. She passed Pieterse and soon overtook Rissveds as the Swede began to fade. Richards then set her sights on Ferrand-Prévot, and the two riders pulled clear of the field.

As the race neared its climax, Ferrand-Prévot launched an attack on the main climb, but Richards held firm. Timing her sprint to perfection, Richards crossed the line in 19:46, securing the XCC rainbow jersey to add to her 2021 XCO title. Ferrand-Prévot finished just one second behind, with Rissveds taking bronze, 18 seconds adrift.

“I really can’t believe it; I wanted to win so badly,” Richards said after the race. “When Pauline stayed on my wheel, I wasn’t sure if I could hang on. I waited for the sprint and gave it everything.”

In the Men’s Elite XCC, Victor Koretzky of France emerged victorious after a tactically brilliant race. Among the 45 starters were his compatriot Jordan Sarrou, Denmark’s Simon Andreassen, South Africa’s Alan Hatherly, and 2021 XCC World Champion Chris Blevins of the US.

Koretzky and Sarrou set the early pace, with Andreassen and Hatherly in close pursuit. As the race progressed, Koretzky launched a decisive attack on the penultimate lap. Blevins stayed in contention until he was overtaken by Britain’s Charlie Aldridge, the 2023 XCO U23 World Champion, just before the final lap.

Koretzky maintained his lead, finishing three seconds ahead of Aldridge, who took silver, with Hatherly claiming bronze. Blevins finished fourth, while Sarrou slipped to fifth, 11 seconds behind the winner.

“I’m super happy about this win,” Koretzky exclaimed. “I’ve won many UCI World Cups, but never the Worlds. I’m thrilled to finally wear this jersey!”

Under-23 XCC: Holmgren and Amos make history

In the inaugural Under-23 XCC races, Canadian Isabella Holmgren and American Riley Amos etched their names in the history books by claiming the first-ever titles.

In the Women’s U23 race, 31 riders took to the start, with Holmgren leading a strong Canadian contingent alongside compatriot Emilly Johnston. Pre-race favourite Madigan Munro of the US and Britain’s Ella Maclean-Howell also battled for podium spots. However, Holmgren’s dominance was unchallenged, as she pulled away to secure gold, with her twin sister Ava Holmgren also finishing strongly.

In the Men’s U23 race, Riley Amos led a 48-strong field that included his compatriot Bjorn Riley and several other North American hopefuls. Despite early pressure from South Africa’s Luke Moir and Denmark’s Tobias Lillelund, Amos executed a perfectly timed sprint to take victory ahead of Bjorn Riley, with Lillelund settling for bronze.

Junior XCO: Philipsen and Chladoňova shine

The Junior XCO races saw outstanding performances from Denmark’s Albert Philipsen and Slovakia’s Viktoria Chladoňova. Philipsen, the defending champion, retained his title in a dominant fashion, leading from start to finish and crossing the line nearly two minutes ahead of his closest competitor. In the Women’s Junior XCO, 17-year-old Chladoňova delivered a commanding performance, winning by a significant margin to claim her first World Championship title. (With inputs from UCI)