UCI Mountain Bike World Cup: Flueckiger and Lecomte win in Leogang

Switzerlands Mathias Flueckiger celebrates his first place of the Mens Cross Country competition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Leogang Austria on June 13 2021 Austria OUT Photo by JFK various sources AFP Austria OUT Photo by JFKEXPAAFP via Getty Images
(Image credit: Getty Images)

France’s Loana Lecomte once again rode off the front of the race to take a solo win, her third World Cup XCO victory in as many races this season. 

“I’m very happy to have this shape this year,” Lecomte said after crossing the finish line. 

In the men’s race, Flueckiger joined an elite group of three leaders along with Ondrej Cink and Anton Cooper. Cooper was the first to crack, and then rode into a solitary third-place finish. Flueckiger eventually was able to open a gap to Cink and held on to take the win by 14-seconds. 

“I'm really, really happy with this win,” Flueckiger said, noting that it was a mental battle to find his rhythm during the race. 

A number of riders were not at the race, including Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel. Pidock is recovering form a broken collarbone, while van der Poel was racing at the Tour de Suisse. In the women’s field, Kate Courtney also stayed home because of a broken arm sustained in a crash at the Nove Mesto World Cup. 

How it unfolded: men’s cross-country 

On the start loop, New Zealander Anton Cooper took the lead, looking to have good legs. The Trek Factory Racing rider was joined by Ondrej Cink, who set a fast pace on the first couple of laps. Flueckiger joined them to create a dominant group of three leaders. 

Cooper was the first to crack, however, but he held on, riding solo through the rest of the race to take third. 

Cink and Flueckiger looked to have about the same pace on the climbs, with Flueckiger a bit more skilled on the technical descents. Each rider pushed hard in the closing miles, and it was Flueckiger who finally was able to open a gap on Cink during the final lap. 

The Swiss rider crossed the line 11-seconds ahead of the Czech Cink. The second-place finish for Cink is an improvement on two fourth-place finishes in the previous World Cup rounds this season. 

“When I had the gap, I was pretty much confident I could go to the finish with this lead,” Flueckiger said. 

Winner of the first World Cup in Germany, Victor Koretzy, came in ninth. Jordan Sarrou won the World Championships in Leogang last year, but didn’t have the same legs on Sunday and instead crossed the line in 13th. 

Nino Schurter had a tough weekend as well. A slipped pedal at the start of Friday’s short track race quickly put him out of contention. In the XCO, he placed tenth, far off from his ambitions. 

The next World Cup in Les Gets, France, and the following Olympic mountain bike race in Tokyo will be a battle between mountain bikers like Flueckiger and multi-discipline stars Pidock and van der Poel, who both have ambitions on the road this year as well.

Loana Lecomte

(Image credit: Getty Images)

How it unfolded: women’s cross-country 

Because of Lecomte’s dominance, the hottest battle on Sunday was for second place. 

The race opened with Jolanda Neff leading on the start loop, but Lecomte quickly took to the front and opened up a gap on the field. Neff would later crash off-camera and announced after the race that she broke her hand, although she still was able to take fourth place. 

Neff was part of the chase group that also included Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Austrian Laura Stigger, but Lecomte extended the gap to over two minutes heading into the final lap. 

After sitting in fifth place earlier in the race, Jenny Rissveds was able to claw back time and finish in second, two seconds ahead of Stigger. 

Despite a hard-fought battle from the chasers, Lecomte crossed the line with a minute and 48 seconds to spare. 

Lecomte is in great form this year heading into the Tokyo Olympic Games next month. The next World Cup test is in her home country of France, but riders like Ferrand-Prevot and America’s Haley Batten will certainly be hoping to break her streak. 

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UCI MTB World Cup XCO Leogang 2021: Full Results: Men
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathias Flueckiger (Swi) 1:15:50
2Ondřej Cink (Cze) 0:00:14
3Anton Cooper (NZl) 0:00:45
4Thomas Griot (Fra) 0:01:26
5Vlad Dascalu (Rom) 0:01:27
6Thomas Litscher (Swi) 0:01:28
7Maxime Marotte (Fra) 0:01:44
8Simon Andreassen (Den) 0:01:49
9Victor Koretzky (Fra) 0:01:54
10Nino Schurter (Swi) 0:01:59
11Sebastian Fini Carstensen (Den) 0:02:11
12Nadir Colledani (Ita) 0:02:24
13Jordan Sarrou (Fra) 0:02:38
14Milan Vader (Ned) 0:02:47
15Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita) 0:03:03
16Lars Forster (Swi) 0:03:11
17David Valero Serrano (Spa) 0:03:17
18Daniele Braidot (Ita) 0:03:24
19Anton Sintsov (Rus) 0:03:30
20Reto Indergand (Swi) 0:03:44
21Christopher Blevins (USA) 0:04:14
22Antoine Philipp (Fra) 0:04:18
23Titouan Carod (Fra) 0:04:26
24Alan Hatherly (RSA) 0:04:33
25Jens Schuermans (Bel) 0:04:40
26Erik Hægstad (Nor)
27Pablo Rodriguez Guede (Spa) 0:04:44
28Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) 0:04:45
29Marcel Guerrini (Swi) 0:04:46
30Maximilian Brandl (Ger) 0:04:48
31Peter Disera (Can)
32Andri Frischknecht (Swi) 0:04:53
33Vital Albin (Swi) 0:05:07
34Karl Markt (Aut) 0:05:16
35Luca Schwarzbauer (Ger) 0:05:25
36Georg Egger (Ger) 0:05:48
37Pierre De Froidmont (Bel) 0:05:57
38Maximilian Foidl (Aut) 0:06:09
39Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo (Mex) 0:06:15
40Manuel Fumic (Ger) 0:06:28
41Maxime Loret (Fra) 0:06:33
42Joshua Dubau (Fra) 0:06:37
43Luca Braidot (Ita) 0:06:41
44Krzysztof Lukasik (Pol) 0:06:43
45Basile Allard (Fra) 0:06:44
46Gregor Raggl (Aut)
47Jofre Cullell Estape (Spa) 0:06:49
48Jan Škarnitzl (Cze) 0:06:54
49Bartlomiej Wawak (Pol) 0:06:56
50Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) 0:07:05
51Sean Fincham (Can) 0:07:13
52Ismael Esteban Aguero (Spa) 0:07:15
53Martins Blums (Lat) 0:07:16
54Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) 0:07:43
55Bruno Vitali (Swi)
56Gioele Bertolini (Ita) 0:07:48
57Lukas Flückiger (Swi) 0:07:51
58Niklas Schehl (Ger) 0:08:08
59Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) 0:08:27
60Jan Vastl (Cze) 0:08:30
61Andrew L'Esperance (Can)
62Frazer Clacherty (GBr) 0:08:41
63Leandre Bouchard (Can) 0:08:57
64Nicholas Pettina' (Ita) 0:09:20
65Simon Vitzthum (Swi) 0:09:25
66Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) 0:09:27
67Quinton Disera (Can)
68Filip Helta (Pol) 0:09:37
69Ivan Filatov (Rus) 0:09:42
70Matej Ulik (Svk) 0:09:43
71Lukáš Kobes (Cze)
72Emil Lindgren (Swe) 0:09:55
73Julian Schelb (Ger) 0:10:05
74Moritz Bscherer (Aut) 0:10:10
75Sebastian Miranda Maldonado (Chi) 0:10:29
76Josef Jelínek (Cze) 0:10:39
77Hugo Drechou (Fra) 0:11:55
78Andrin Beeli (Swi)
79Thibault Daniel (Fra)
80Ursin Spescha (Swi)
81András Parti (Hun)
82Sven Strähle (Ger)
83Luis Neff (Ger)
84Tyler Orschel (Can)
85Nick Burki (Swi)
86Alessio Agostinelli (Ita)
87Alexandre Vialle (Can)
88Dario Thoma (Swi)
89Fabian Giger (Swi)
90Amando Martinez Galvan (Mex)
91Tim Feinauer (Ger)
92Clément Auvin (Fra)
93Rob Vanden Haesevelde (Bel)
94Marc Andre Fortier (Can)
95Patricio Farias Diaz (Chi)
96Michal Topor (Pol)
97Armin Embacher (Aut)
98Raphael Auclair (Can)
99Pau Romero Barcelo (Spa)
100Matej Baco (Svk)
101Zdeněk Vobecký (Cze)
102Lucas Thilly (Fra)
103Maël Desrieux (Fra)
104Anthony Bergeron (Can)
105Vincent Jonatan Beckmann (Ger)
106Joris Ryf (Swi)
DNFJakub Zamrozniak (Pol)
DNFRemy Duquesne (Fra)
DNSGioele De Cosmo (Ita)
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UCI MTB World Cup XCO Leogang 2021: Full Results: Women
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Loana Lecomte (Fra) 1:17:03
2Jenny Rissveds (Swe) 0:01:48
3Laura Stigger (Aut) 0:01:50
4Jolanda Neff (Swi) 0:02:02
5Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) 0:02:30
6Evie Richards (GBr) 0:02:42
7Rebecca Mcconnell (Aus) 0:03:17
8Anne Terpstra (Ned) 0:03:24
9Rocio Del Alba Garcia Martinez (Spa) 0:03:32
10Eva Lechner (Ita) 0:04:14
11Sina Frei (Swi) 0:04:21
12Linda Indergand (Swi) 0:04:22
13Lena Gerault (Fra) 0:04:38
14Janika Lõiv (Est) 0:04:46
15Daniela Campuzano Chavez Peon (Mex) 0:05:10
16Haley Batten (USA) 0:05:12
17Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) 0:05:13
18Ronja Eibl (Ger) 0:05:17
19Yana Belomoina (Ukr) 0:05:25
20Anne Tauber (Ned) 0:05:42
21Alessandra Keller (Swi) 0:06:04
22Nicole Koller (Swi) 0:06:53
23Malene Degn (Den) 0:07:29
24Jitka Čábelická (Cze) 0:07:32
25Lotte Koopmans (Ned) 0:07:37
26Catharine Pendrel (Can) 0:07:41
27Sandra Walter (Can)
28Barbara Benkó (Hun) 0:08:01
29Steffi Häberlin (Swi) 0:08:15
30Katarzyna Solus-miskowicz (Pol) 0:08:20
31Hélène Clauzel (Fra) 0:08:44
32Emily Batty (Can) 0:08:59
33Lucie Urruty (Fra) 0:09:05
34Sophie Von Berswordt (Ned) 0:09:11
35Jennifer Jackson (Can) 0:09:38
36Karla Štěpánová (Cze) 0:09:57
37Haley Smith (Can) 0:10:07
38Kelsey Urban (USA) 0:10:14
39Martina Berta (Ita) 0:10:15
40Tanja Žakelj (Slo) 0:10:46
41Greta Seiwald (Ita) 0:10:58
42Elisabeth Osl (Aut) 0:11:24
43Kim Ames (Ger) 0:11:48
44Nina Benz (Ger) 0:14:41
45Candice Lill (RSA)
46Giorgia Marchet (Ita)
47Paula Gorycka (Pol)
48Tereza Tvarůžková (Cze)
49Theresia Schwenk (Ger)
50Chrystelle Baumann (Swi)
51Cherie Redecker (RSA)
52Janina Wüst (Swi)
53Anna Spielmann (Aut)
54Charline Fragnière (Swi)
55Seraina Leugger (Swi)
56Amelie Laquebe (Fra)
57Gabriela Wojtyla (Pol)
58Elisabeth Brandau (Ger)
59Cindy Montambault (Can)
60Katharina Kurz (Ger)
DNFChiara Teocchi (Ita)
DNFAndrea Waldis (Swi)
DNFRamona Forchini (Swi)
DNFMichelle Vorster (Nam)
DNFCeylin del Carmen Alvarado (Ned)
DNFGitha Michiels (Bel)
DNFMariske Strauss (RSA)
DNSLaurie Arseneault (Can)
DNSFabienne Schaus (Lux)
Ryan Simonovich

Ryan Simonovich has been riding and racing for nearly a decade. He got his start as a cross-country mountain bike racer in California, where he cultivated his love for riding all types of bikes. Ryan eventually gravitated toward enduro and downhill racing but has also been found in the occasional road and cyclo-cross events. Today, he regularly rides the trails of Durango, Colorado, and is aiming to make a career out of chronicling the sport of cycling. 


Rides: Santa Cruz Hightower, Specialized Tarmac SL4