UCI XC World Championships Les Gets: Ferrand-Prévot and Schurter make history

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot makes history

Seventy riders took part in the women's cross-country race at the UCI MTB World Championships 2022 in Les Gets at the start. After three of six laps, Alessandra Keller (SUI) and Haley Batten (USA) were 1:20 behind Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA). Her compatriot Loana Lecomte was a further 10 seconds behind. A reinvigorated Jolanda Neff (SUI), who 2021 UCI World Champion Evie Richards (GBR) and Anne Terpstra were still in the hunt for medals.

Neff chased and overtook Lecomte, then Keller and Batten, before Keller tired on the penultimate lap. This advance secured the Swiss Olympic champion the podium places. Ferrand-Prévot won her second world title in Les Gets 2022 with a time of 1:22:08, Jolanda Neff took silver (+1:35 min) and Haley Batten secured bronze (+2:13 min). Lecomte won the duel with Keller for fourth place.

To the delight of the French fans, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot crowned herself the most successful woman in the history of MTB racing with her fourth cross-country world title alongside Norway's Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå. "I opted for the hardtail because I knew I could ride faster on the climbs. I wanted to go full throttle right from the start and secure a lead," said Ferrand-Prévot.

Nino Schurter wins his 10th World Championship title

On the hunt for the Title defence of Val di Sole 2021 Nino Schurter took the lead with an international group that also included his Swiss compatriots Filippo Colombo and Titouan Carod, as well as Jordan Sarrou (FRA), Vlad Dascalu (ROM), Sam Gaze (NZL), Alan Hatherly (RSA), David Valero Serrano (ESP) and Luca Braidot (ITA), while Olympic champion Tom Pidcock (GBR) moved up from 53rd to 16th place on the first lap.

On the third lap, newly crowned short track world champion Sam Gaze crashed on a jump and Pidcock caught up with Hatherly before passing the South African and then Sarrou, Valero Serrano, Braidot and Schurter in one go. The Briton and the Italian opened up a small lead, while the 36-year-old Schurter slipped in a corner but quickly recovered. The first six riders had a lead of 30 seconds on their closest rivals.

Sarrou and Hatherly dropped back. When Valero Serrano pushed the pace, Pidcock fell back, but recovered and joined the leading quartet. Schurter attacked on the climb on the penultimate lap and only the tall Spaniard was able to follow him. Braidot chased the two, while Pidcock was slowed down by a puncture on his rear wheel.

Although Valero Serrano attacked several times on the final lap, it was Schurter who pulled away on the longer descent. In the end, Schurter won his tenth UCI World Cross Country Championship title in 1:21:13 hours, Valero Serrano took silver (+0:09 min) and Braidot bronze (+0:29 min).

"It's madness! It's incredible, I couldn't believe it when I crossed the line that I'd done it again," said Schurter. "This place is magical for me. I won my first title here and now I've won again as the oldest rider."

The replays of the cross-country races of the UCI MTB World Championships in Les Gets can be found here at Red Bull TV.