The highlights of the UCI MTB World Cup in Nove Mesto 2022 in the video summary.
Men's XCC and XCO race
The race weekend started with a surprise. The 25-year-old German Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon) won the short track race on Friday ahead of the British Albstadt dominator and Olympic champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). He thus secured his first ever World Cup victory and took the lead in the Short Track World Cup. In the cross-country race on Sunday, Romania's Vlad Dascalu (Trek) and Tom Pidcock broke away from the leading group on the last lap and it came down to a tight sprint on the home straight, which cyclocross world champion Pidcock won in the end. He took his second World Cup victory of the 2022 season and impressively showed the competition that he is a force to be reckoned with at the World Championships in Les Gets. XC legend Nino Schurter (Scott-Sram) dropped back on Sunday due to a flat rear tyre. Although he was able to catch up with the leading group again during the race, the Swiss rider was unable to keep up with Dascalu and Pidcock's attack and crossed the finish line in third place.
Women's XCC and XCO race
In the women's race, Australian Rebecca McConnell (Primaflor Mondraker) dominated the cross-country race right from the start. She crossed the finish line 40 seconds ahead of the runner-up, the young Frenchwoman Loana Lecomte (Canyon). Third place went to the consistently strong Swede Jenny Rissveds (Team 31). In the short track race on Friday, McConnell finished in second place, just behind the Swiss Olympic champion Jolanda Neff (Trek). After Nove Mesto, McConnell not only leads the cross-country World Cup, but also the short-track series.
