July 14/19 8:14 am - Smith Sixth at Les Gets World Cup

Posted by Editoress on 07/14/19
 

Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) re-established her dominance in the Mountain Bike World Cup with her third XCO win in four rounds on Sunday in Les Gets, France.  Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory) recovered from over extending herself in the first lap to finish second, while Germany's Elizabeth Brandau had her best ever World Cup finish in third.  Haley Smith (Norco Factory) was the top Canadian, finishing just off the podium in sixth place.

After faltering in the 2000 metre altitude at Andorra last weekend, Courtney showed that she remains the strongest woman in the cross-country this season at the slightly lower 1200 metres in Les Gets.  Neff had her usual fast start, but then slowed on the climbs, dropping nearly a minute back of the lead group.

Kate Courtney

Courtney attacked out of the group, and had a 14 second gap by the start of the second lap.  The chase was led by Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Canyon Factory), who was joined by Brandau, Sina Frei (Ghost Factory), Italian champion Eva Lechner and, remarkably, 2016 Olympic champion Jenny Rissveds (Sweden), who came up from starting nine rows back.  Rissveds went right through the group and up to Courtney, but almost immediately faded after her effort, eventually finishing ninth.

In front, Courtney was steadily riding her way to victory, but behind there was a battle for podium spots.  Rissveds was caught by Frei and Ferrand Prevot by the fourth lap, with Neff joining them late in the lap and attacking to move into second.  Courtney appeared to be slowing, as Neff moved to within 30 seconds by the start of the penultimate sixth lap, but the world champion was merely managing her effort, and maintained the gap for the rest of the race.  Brandau had joined Frei and Ferrand Prevot in the chase, and got a slight gap on Frei after Ferrand Prevot had a small crash.

Jolanda Neff, Kate Courtney, Elisabeth Brandau

First Photos

Canadians

"Today I just rode my own race and focussed on the objectives," said Courtney.  "I'm really happy it worked out.  It has been a really good weekend, but I'm new to this, so I'm learning to focus on just one race at a time and not let the pressure get to me.  Of course, having a rider like Jolanda, who is so strong on the climbs and a maniac of the descents put some pressure on, but I just tried to stay focussed and keep on the gas."

Haley Smith

Smith, who was another rider who had struggled with the altitude in Andorra, took a more measured approach in this race, moving up to 13th in the first lap and then to eighth in the second lap, leading the second chase group.  By the fifth lap she had moved up another spot, and then to sixth for the final two laps, just holding off Round 3 winner Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory).  Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro) also had a strong ride, moving as high as tenth by Lap 4 before dropping two spots to finish 12th.  Other Canadian results had Canadian champion Emily Batty (Trek Factory) finishing 23rd, Sandra Walter (Team Canada) 42nd, Jennifer Jackson (Team Canada) 45th and Cindy Montambault (Team Canada) 46th.

"Yes, I had a really good ride today," said Smith.  "I was experiencing a lot of stress and doubt all week; I'm not really sure why.  But when that happens I know I just have to return to the basics of bike riding and focus on those.  So that's what I did today - just focused on the task at hand and stuck with my mantra of 'I can do this'.  Often, finishing sixth can be frustrating because you wonder if you could have given anything more for the podium, but I know there was just absolutely nothing left today.  My legs were on the verge of cramping for the last two laps and I had to go so deep to hold off Anne Terpstra charging behind me.  So I'm very satisfied. I'll sleep well tonight.  And honestly, no matter how my race went today, I just felt so happy for Sean [Fincham, in Under-23 men] getting his first podium.  Talk about a positive distraction during warm up!!"

Courtney, after winning both the XCC on Friday and the XCO, extended her lead in the overall standings to 175 points over Neff.  Terpstra, despite finishing seventh remains third, but Brandau jumps from 11th to fourth.  Smith remains the top Canadian in the overall standings, dropping one spot to tenth after Brandau and Ferrand Prevot leapfrogged her.  Pendrel moves up again, now 13th, as does Batty, from 24th to 22nd, while Walter drops two spots to 31st.

First Photos

Canadians

Fincham Third in U23 Men World Cup at Les Gets

Disera Sixth at Les Gets World Cup

Results

First Photos

Fincham Third in U23 Men World Cup at Les Gets

Disera Sixth at Les Gets World Cup