Elite Women's Race Report - Vallnord XCO World Cup
A throwback to the past, an untimely flat, and some crazy hot temperatures
Since winning the XCO World Cup at Vallnord in 2019, the Netherlands’ Anne Terpstra has finished 2nd in cross-country World Cups five different times, including the 2022 season-opener in Petropolis, Brazil. Sunday’s World Cup in Andorra provided a perfect opportunity for the steady Dutch rider to break through and get another win in the small country tucked into the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France.
First and foremost, Loana Lecomte, who is riding another hot streak after winning at Leogang and Lenzerheide, opted to skip the weekend and give up the World Cup overall leader’s jersey she captured with her win at Lenzerheide. Additionally, with blazing hot temperatures beating down across Europe, the Swiss duo of Jolanda Neff and Sina Frei also withdrew from Sunday’s XCO race. For riders who could withstand the temperatures that were pushing 100 degrees, it was a golden opportunity to score a quality result.
Almost as soon as the dust started flying when riders went flying out onto the dusty track, Terpstra showed she was ready to take advantage of her opportunity. She went to the front near the top of the first climb and scored a small gap of 5 seconds on a sizeable chase group.
As we have frequently seen in the Elite Women’s races this season, it was a case of getting on the Terpstra train or getting left behind. Rebecca McConnell jumped across, and then last Sunday’s home-country hero Alessandra Keller followed suit. Even though the lead group grew a bit, Terpstra kept the heat on in the opening lap, and when the dust settled from the first of five laps, it was Terpstra and McConnell locking handlebars for a battle.
However, it was a battle that wasn’t meant to be. McConnell was seeking a return to the form she showed in April and May, but her hopes of a podium finish were dashed when she suffered a rear flat tire on the dual slalom descent. McConnell got passed by the chase while Terpstra quickly opened up a lead that ballooned to 30 seconds at the end of Lap 2.
The rest of the way, Terpstra was not challenged by the chase and was able to keep her cool and not have to put in big efforts of the ilk that seemed to quickly sap the strength of the Elite Men later that afternoon. It was a win three years in the making.
Hot Starts and Flat Tires
Despite sitting in the Pyrenees Mountains, Vallnord was not immune from the high temperatures sweeping across Europe last weekend. The temperatures that were pushing 100 degrees left the course dusty and the riders getting little protection from the extreme heat.
The race was the second part of a block that included Lenzerheide last weekend, but a number of riders opted to either skip the weekend or they were felled by illness. Loana Lecomte was the most noticeable absence from the weekend of racing, and American Kate Courtney opted to skip Vallnord as well. Jolanda Neff and Jenny Rissveds were all DNSes after racing in Friday’s rather demanding Short Track race.
The riders who did take to the start line were led out by an unlikely pace-setter in Brazil’s Raiza Goulao. Mexican rider Daniela Campuzano also had a really good start and was sitting in the top five heading into the first climb. Goulao’s time at the front lasted for a few minutes before Terpstra took over near the top of the first big climb.
Terpstra got a clear look at the rocky, technical descent and took advantage of the opportunity. She opened up a 5-second lead on last week’s standout Alessandra Keller and the start of April and May Rebecca McConnell. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Martina Berta, Annie Last, and Greta Seiwald were the next riders in line trying to keep the pace.
Terpstra hit the long “big wall” climb with a gap, but McConnell and Keller bridged across near the bottom to make it a lead trio. Once over the top, Berta also bridged across to make it four.
The group of four did not last long. Terpstra stayed on the front and kept pushing the pace through the technical features and down a long flowy descent in the woods located near the end of the lap. Only McConnell could stay with Terpstra in that flowy descent, and after one lap, the duo had a 6-second gap on Keller, Ferrand-Prevot, Berta, and Laura Stigger.
Terpstra’s role as aggressor took a page from McConnell’s playbook for success earlier in the season. McConnell has hit a bit of a lull after her amazing start to the season, but her presence in the early break suggested Sunday’s race could be a huge step toward regaining her top form.
Unfortunately, the fun downhill dual slalom section thought otherwise. While ripping down the descent next to Terpstra in a performance of synchronized shredding, McConnell suffered a flat tire near the bottom of the feature. She was left with a long climb up to the tech zone while Terpstra sped away, to the extent one can on a long climb.
The 6-second lead at the end of Lap 1 became 13 seconds at the top of the climb, with Ferrand-Prevot and Keller leading the chase. Terpstra’s advantage quickly grew to 26 seconds at the first time split of Lap 2. Given the heat and the conditions, the lead wasn’t per se insurmountable, but Terpstra got a lot of space on her competitors in an awful hurry. The chasers had their work cut out for them. They were 30 seconds back after the second of five laps.
Any chance of the chasers erasing the gap dissipated in Lap 3. Terpstra extended her lead to 1:08 with just two laps to go. Barring a disaster, she could ride comfortably and not tempt fate by having to go too hard in the sweltering heat.
The story of Lap 3 was Mona Mitterwallner. The young Austrian was 18th after Lap 1, 7th after Lap 2, and then made contact with the chase in Lap 3.
Terpstra was unchallenged the rest of the way en route to taking her first World Cup win since winning at Vallnord back in 2019. Her result also moved her up into 2nd place in the World Cup overall after Loana Lecomte opted out of racing.
Back in the chase, it was, not surprisingly, Mittens Time on the first climb of Lap 4. She calmly went to the front of the chase and set a steady pace on the long incline. Ferrand-Prevot stuck her wheel to the top of the climb, but the former Elite world champion could not keep pace down the rocky, technical descent. Mitterwallner did the same thing again on the second climb, and she held a 25-second advantage on 3rd heading into the bell lap.
She would hold it the rest of the way to take 2nd.
Another newcomer joining the chat late in the race was Switzerland’s Ramona Forchini. Forchini surged forward from 7th to 3rd in Lap 4 to head out into the bell lap with Ferrand-Prevot in a chase for the 3rd podium spot.
Forchini separated into a solo 3rd position on the first climb of the bell lap and then held on as Stigger and Berta dangled perilously close on the second climb of the final lap. She did hang on and took home a celebratory bronze medal for the afternoon.
Stigger finished 4th, and Denmark’s young Caroline Bohe surged forward to finish 5th.
McConnell ended up in 21st, but she still opened up a 112-point lead in the World Cup overall standings.
Full results are below. Up next are the North American block of racing, with Snowshoe July 29-31 and Mont Sainte-Anne August 5-7.
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