World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) secured a solo victory in the elite women's cross-country race at the fourth round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Val di Sole, Trentino.
After finishing second to Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the short track event two days ago, Ferrand-Prévot showed her dominance winning the cross-country event by 50 seconds ahead of Pieterse. Candice Lill rounded out the podium in third place at 1:13 back in what was one of the top results of her career.
"It wasn’t an easy one. I did three big days of training, so today I felt a little bit tired, but I managed to take the lead and stay in the front, so I am quite happy with that. I only had to focus on my own race and tempo and go as fast as I could," Ferrand-Prévot said.
"In every race building up for the Olympics, I try to understand better where I stand compared to my opponents: it’s a long process, but I can’t wait for the Paris race."
Ferrand-Prévot broke away from the rest of the field with Pieterse and Loana Lecompte (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) on the opening lap. They were no match for the World Champion, who distanced them both to take the win by nearly a minute.
Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) is currently leading the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series individual rider standings with 901 points. Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) is in third place with 743 points, and Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) is in third place with 738 points.
Results
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