Finally, a World Cup week with the three major mountain bike disciplines in the same place. That’s right: Not one, not two, but three styles of mountain bike racing were on tap for the Leogang World Cup with enduro, downhill and XC all racing in the beautiful Austrian city.
The e-bikes kicked off the action with the E-EDR competition getting hotter and hotter each round. Flo Espiñeira (Orbea Enduro Team) had a phenomenal race, landing her first win of the 2023 season. Ines Thoma (Canyon Bikes) also excelled in Austria, snagging second place in the stacked Women’s field.
Up next was the fourth round of the EDR World Cup. A big day of racing saw riders taking on six stages across 71km of Leogang terrain. Emmy Lan (Forbidden Synthesis) once again raced furiously to a first-place finish in the U21 Women’s category. On the Elite side of things, Raphaela Richter (Ibis Enduro Racing) stacked another great result, taking the bronze medal in Elite Women.
The Elite Men’s race was a good one, with a first-time EDR (or EWS) winner. Richie Rude (Yeti Fox) battled Rhys Verner (Forbidden Synthesis) all day, but his Maxxis teammate would end up the winner of this round, taking the first elite win of his career.
On Friday, the crowd-favorite XCC race was another great fight between the world’s best cross-country racers. Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing) is on a roll, taking yet another win in the U23 Women’s field. Carter Woods (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) also stood on another U23 Men’s podium, coming in fourth. Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) and Jens Schuermans (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) held it down for Maxxis in the Elite categories, both holding onto fourth place.
Next on Friday was the Junior’s downhill race. On a fast Leogang course, Valentina Roa Sanchez (Transition Factory Racing) took another podium spot with fourth in Junior Women. The next day, the Elite racers took to the course.
Marine Cabirou (Scott Factory Downhill), Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Team) and Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate) were all just off the pace this weekend, ending up in sixth through eighth place. In the Men’s race, Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) had a day, taking his first-ever Elite World Cup podium in third place. Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV) showed up to represent the stars and stripes, landing on the fifth step of the podium.
Finally, the XCO race on Sunday rounded out the long week of racing. The rising star, Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had the race of her life, taking the Elite Women’s win. Ondřej Cink (PMG Racing) ended the day in third position in the Elite Men.
It was an absolutely mind-blowing week of World Cup racing in Austria, and we can’t wait for the next round of action starting with the EDR/E-EDR in Val Di Fassa Trentino this weekend.
