In a fitting finale for the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series, ,the rainbow jersey-clad Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) delivered a dominant performance in the elite men's cross-country Olympic race on Sunday to claim both victory on the day and the overall series win.
Hatherly was already leading the series heading into the technical Canadian race at Mont-Sainte-Anne. Just one rider who could pose a threat overall, the in-form Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing), and only if the French rider won and Hatherly slipped well into the back half of the field. The South African, however, had little intention of letting either scenario come to pass.
“The overall was one objective for today. The main objective was to win with the rainbow jersey," said Hatherly in a race media release. "It’s one thing to win the UCI World Championships, but I wanted to win a UCI World Cup again this year just to finish."
Hatherly had already carved out a gap of around 30 seconds to the first chase group by the end of the first lap of eight. At one point Mathis Azzaro (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) closed the gap, but an attack from the world champion soon meant he was out the front solo again.
"I went to the front in the start lap and got a gap straight away and I was like ‘okay, let’s go long’," said Hatherly. "It was super tough, and I had to be tactical when Mathis caught me, but I had more in the tank and just emptied it."
"I thought - this is it, the final 20 minutes of racing for the year and I just need to go for it - and I did exactly that."
In the end Hatherly crossed the line 30 seconds ahead of the second-placed Azzaro. Koretzky was a further 18 seconds back, taking third on the day and second in the series overall.
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