An end to monotony! The past Cross-Country World Cups in Albstadt and Nove Mesto have made it clear: 2021 will be a damn exciting year for cross-country racing. Because in the year of the Olympic Games, of all years, the first Wold Cup victories will go to guys who nobody really had on their radar before the coronavirus-related race break in 2020. While Nino Schurter is not yet in top form, Thomas Pidcock (21), Victor Koretzky (27) and Loana Lecomte (21) in the women's category have all achieved respectable successes in their first World Cups. Co-favourite and Cycling superstar Mathieu van der Poel, delivers a solid performance in each case, but can only win the short track races and not the Olympic cross-country format. From the hyped superstar's point of view, this is certainly a defeat. A closer look at the racing action makes it clear: the roles of favourite in mountain bike racing are being redistributed and a generation of very young riders have no inhibitions about asserting themselves.
Cross-country racing is changing
Looking back, the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup of men's cycling has been characterised by very few names in the last decade. Julien Absalon, Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter have mostly decided the victories among themselves. But those days are over. Kulhavy and Absalon have long since retired and Nino Schurter's position on the throne of the cross-country elite is shaky. And it's a big one. In absolute terms, Nino Schurter is still the most successful cross-country World Cup rider of all time. No question about it. But it seems that the 35-year-old's fame and experience are no longer enough to win World Cup races in 2021. The first races of the 2021 season have shown that a generation of young riders no longer want to be ruled by King Schurter. In Albstadt, he lost to Koretzky in the sprint. In Nove Mesto, European champion Schurter only finished seventh, while Tom Pidcock won his first Elite World Cup. In the women's race, former top favourites such as Jolanda Neff, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Kate Courtney also had no chance of victory.
Thomas Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel: multi-talented cyclists
One thing is obvious: the circle of favourites to win a World Cup or the Olympic race has grown considerably over the winter. Victor Koretzky, Nino Schurter, Matthias Flückiger, Ondrje Cink, Thomas Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel are the names to watch out for this season. The current world champion Jordan Sarrou and the New Zealander Anton Cooper were at least still within striking distance at the World Cup opener. One thing cannot be denied when listing these favourites. The dominating riders in Nove Mesto are doing mountain biking on the side, so to speak. Until shortly before the first MTB World Cups, Pidcock and van der Poel were still mixing up the peloton in the spring classics on the road. Van der Poel won the Strade Bianche and finished second in the prestigious Tour of Flanders, while Pidcock took silver in the Amstel Gold Race by a wafer-thin margin. Both have well-paid contracts in the much better paid road cycling sport and yet they can't resist digging in the dirt with the mountain bikers. After taking part in the Tour de France in 2017, Ondrje Cink has hung up his road career and switched completely back to the mountain bike camp. The situation is clear with Cink, but why are the two top favourites van der Poel and Pidcock dancing at two weddings when they could easily earn twice as much on the road?
Pidcock: "I was born for mountain biking."
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the chance of winning an Olympic medal on a mountain bike is much greater than on the road. Tactical racing and strong teams play such a big role in road cycling that it is not always certain that the strongest rider will win. On the other hand, it seems that van der Poel and Pidcock simply have more fun on the bike than on the road. After his victory in Nove Mesto, the 21-year-old Brit said "I was born for mountain biking" to the journalists' cameras. It gives the impression that he only rides road races to earn money. But his heart beats for mountain biking. You could assume that van der Poel has a similar interest, even if the hardened pro doesn't let you look as deeply into his cards as the young Pidcock. Incidentally, in the winter, when riders like Schurter are working on their foundation, van der Poel and Pidcock also duel in cross races. Together with Wout van Aert, Pidcock and van der Poel represent a generation of cyclists who do not want to commit themselves to one discipline. In the past, van der Poel experienced first-hand that this balancing act between the two disciplines is not easy. After spending the summer of 2019 on his mountain bike, he suffered a bitter defeat in the autumn of the same year in his attempt to become road world champion. Before the Olympic Games in Tokyo, he still wants to compete in the Tour de France, but according to media reports, he is already toying with the idea of finishing it early to save himself for the Olympics. The guys with the strongest start in the mountain bike field (van der Poel and Pidcock) are performing a balancing act between the disciplines and it is not clear whether they will be able to keep this up until the start in Tokyo. Which makes the MTB season all the more exciting. After all, thoroughbred bikers like Schurter, Flückiger and Cink are focussing purely on the Olympic mountain bike race and certainly have no desire to be shown up by the part-time bikers. The 2021 season is therefore likely to be the most exciting cross-country season in a long time. The next clash at the World Cup in Leogang could be very different to the season opener.
In the women's race: Loana Lecomte rides in a world of her own
While the men's race in Nove Mesto and Albstadt was exciting with several lead changes and tactically clever attacks, the women's race was almost monotonous. Although the 21-year-old Frenchwoman Loana Lecomte was unable to prevail in the short track races, she dominated in the Olympic discipline of cross country. Impressively unruffled, she rode to a solo start-finish victory in both Albstadt and Nove Mesto. While her competitors were just panting into the microphone during the post-race interviews, Lecomte looked as if she hadn't even had to make an effort at the award ceremony. In contrast to the men, the favourites in the women's race are quite clear. Well-known names such as Jolanda Neff, Kate Courtney, Anne Terpstra and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will find it difficult to get past Loana Lecomte. If Lecomte continues to ride like she did at the start of the season, it will only be a question of second place for the women's competition this year. The 22-year-old American Haley Batten put in an astonishingly strong performance. The newcomer to the elite field finished on the podium in both the cross-country races in Albstadt and Nove Mesto. At the Short Track in Nove Mesto it was even enough for the woman with the explosive start to win.
Fumic, Brandl, Schwarzbauer: How did the German riders do at the start of the season?
From a German perspective, the start of the World Cup was rather mixed. In Albstadt, the trio of Schwarzbauer, Brandl (both Lexware) and Fumic (Cannondale) finished 19th to 21st. In Nove Mesto, Brandl made it onto the extended podium in the short track with fifth place, but had to retire early from the main race after a crash. Manuel Fumic finished in midfield in 37th place and the young Luca Schwarzbauer (25) was only two places behind the veteran in 39th place. The decision has not yet been made, but it seems that Fumic and Brandl will be travelling to the Olympic Games in Tokyo for Germany. Luca Schwarzbauer and Georg Egger are likely to remain on the reserve bench for the Olympic race. In the women's race, Elisabeth Brandau is still searching in vain for her form, finishing 24th (Albstadt) and 38th (Nove Mesto). Ronja Eibl, who has been struggling recently, was only slightly better with 22nd (Albstadt) and 18th (Nove Mesto). Both have already proven in the past that they are capable of much more and will hopefully be back to their usual rhythm by the Olympic Games.
Conclusion after the first two Mountain Bike World Cups 2021
In both the men's and women's categories, the World Cup victories went to previously unknown names. Thomas Pidcock and Loana Lecomte were already successful in the U23 category. However, it was not to be expected that they would race so dominantly in their first elite races. In the men's category, it seems as if there are more than a handful of favourites in 2021. With Schurter, Flückiger, van der Poel, Pidcock, Cink, Koretzky, Cooper and Sarrou, a whole host of riders had the form for a place on the podium at the start of the season. The World Cup in Leogang from 11-13 June should be extremely exciting once again!
