Zoe Cuthbert 10th in U23 XCO World Cup!

After the short track action on Thursday, the U23 racers were ready for the big dance on Saturday, as the XCO (cross-country Olympic) races were set to be held. Conditions were all-time, with cool and crisp conditions and a dry course – no doubt a relief for many given the mess of roots and rocks on many parts of the popular course at Nove Mesto Na Morave in the Czech Republic.

Danish riders Oliver Sølvhøj and Heby Sofie Pedersen showed their class at the opening round of the UCI Cross-country U23 World Cup to take the win. But Australian Zoe Cuthbert showed she is a force to be reckoned with finishing in 10th!

Heby Sofie Pedersen wins XCO U23 World Cup opener 

If you follow U23 racing, you will know how exciting it can be, as talent emerges and often quickly jumps to the elite ranks. In the absence of reigning U23 overall World Cup winner and World Champion Line Burquier (Canyon CLLCTV), who will contest her first elite season in 2023, Switzerland's Noëlle Buri (Bixs Performance Race Team), who finished second last year, was one of the favourites for the race in the pines.

Blöchlinger, Heby Sofie Pedersen (Wilier – Pirelli Factory Team XCO) and Giana Caluori (Thömus Akros – Youngstars) pulled away from the field early in the race before Blöchlinger had to say goodbye to the title fight on the fourth lap with a mechanical. She rejoined the race but could not get to the front.

Pedersen was solo early before Calouri and Blochlinger caught her – and she set about to go it alone again and dominated for the remainder of the race. Swiss rider Caluori could no longer pose a threat to her and crossed the line in second place. Third place went to Emilly Johnston (Trek Future Racing) from Canada.

“It was a super hard and exciting race," said Heby Sofie Pedersen. "I just tried to go full gas from the start. I think I was strong on the downhills so I could get more time on each descent then go full gas on the uphills. It was hard to tell what Ronja’s mechanical issue was, she was very strong and it’s a shame she had a problem.”

Second place Ginia Caluori said:  

“I can’t believe it, I feel like I’m in a film. It’s so cool. Today I felt really strong and I could ride the downhills controlled and concentrated and push the uphills too. Cross-country is my favourite compared to the short track so it was super cool to start in the second row and just ride today.”

Zoe Cuthbert was in the second group for much of the race, quite often racing closely to Sammy Maxwell from New Zealand. By the race end Cuthbert finished 10th – a great way to start the World Cup XCO season. Sammie Maxwell finished in 8th.

Results XCO U23 Women Top 5: 

1.    Heby Sofie Pedersen (DEN | Wilier – Pirelli Factory Team XCO) 1:09:21
2.    Giana Caluori (SUI | Thömus Akros – Youngstars) 1:09:51
3.    Emilly Johnston (CAN | Trek Future Racing) 1:10:41
4.    Sara Cortinovis (ITA | Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team) 1:10:53
5.    Noëlle Buri (SUI | Bixs Performance Race Team) 1:11:11

Denmark’s Oliver Sølvhøj finishes the weekend in style

The front lines of the U23 men's XCO race was throbbing with anticipation before the lightsd went green. Adrien Biochis (Trinity Racing MTB), Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing XC) and Oliver Vedersø Sølvhøj made the perfect front row for the XCO World Cup race thanks to their short track performances. The rise of Martín Vidaurre Kossmann (Specialized Factory Racing) joining the Elite ranks for 2023 has reshuffled the cards this year.

There was no real decisive move early in the race, with small groups splitting before coming back together before Sølvhøj, Amos and Dario Lillo (Scott Davos MTB Project) managed to pull away on lap four. After several lead changes, the Dane Sølvhøj finally took the lead on lap six and took that lead to the finish. Lillo from Switzerland finished second, Tom Schellekens from Holland finished third.

After the race, Oliver Sølvhøj said:

“Yeah, it was just incredible. I still can’t quite believe it. It was just flat out racing all day and a very good weekend in general for me. I’m just over the moon. When we were pushing on up the Expert Climb, Riley made a mistake on the downhill. At that point I took it a bit slower on the downhill and then putting a bit more pressure on the uphills to try and force a mistake from Dario. At that point it was quite scary.“

Dario Lillo said after the race:

“It was a good, hard race. It’s always hard in Nové Město, the track is quite physical. We were quite a big group at the front at the beginning of the race then us three guys managed to open a gap. Then it was an all-out sprint to the finish with Oliver. He was a bit faster than me, I had some problems in the last lap but I think it was a good performance from me today. It was special because it was the first time that we have done a short track race before a World Cup, so it’s new and we had to adapt a little to everything that goes with it. I made some mistakes in the short track, but I felt the performance was there so I tried to enjoy today and see what’s possible. I’m really looking forward to my home World Cup in Lenzerheide now.“

Joel Dodds was the sole Australian in the race, finishing in 99th.

Results XCO U23 Men Top 5:

1.    Oliver Vedersø Sølvhøj (DEN) 1:08:27
2.    Dario Lillo (SUI | Scott Davos MTB Project) 1:08:29
3.    Tom Schellekens (NED) 1:09:08
4.    Oleksandr Hudyma (UKR | KMC MTB Racing Team) 1:09:12
5.    Matthew Wilson (NZL | Team Talley’s – Kiwi MTB Collective) 1:09:22

UCI Mountain Bike Cross-country Marathon World Cup gets under way

Fabien Rabensteiner (Wilier-Pirelli Factory Team MX) wins in a sprint finish in Nové Město na Moravě in the men’s Cross-country marathon event. Bosnian Cross-country marathon champion Lejla Njemcevic dominated the women’s race.

Alongside the Elite Cross-country marathon and the respective junior races, the marathon of Nové Město na Moravě took place as an open race over the distances of 60 and 120 kilometers.