Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) survived a nail-biting final lap chase to win an emotional maiden UCI World Cup round, while Victor Koretzky led a 1-2-3 for Specialized Factory Racing in the Men Elite UCI Cross-country Olympic (XCO) World Cup race in tropical Araxá, Minas Gerais (Brazil).

Koretzky and Blevins broke clear very early and rode a majestic two-man team time trial for the first eight laps, the Frenchman finally breaking the truce on the penultimate circuit with the chasing pack well out of contention. After Blevins led a team 1-2 in the UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup yesterday, it was Koretzky’s turn in XCO and Martin Vidaurre made it thrice as nice for the team after his important role disrupting the pursuit.

Maxwell broke for glory on lap seven, causing the group of favourites to splinter behind as only teammate Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Nicole Koller (Ghost Factory Racing) could live with the 23-year-old’s frantic pace. Maxwell led the chasers by 18 seconds at the start of the final lap but was hanging on by her fingernails through the final few corners with Koller finishing just four seconds behind the first-time victor.

Men’s and women’s U23 victors only spent a couple of laps within view of the main pack combined, Finn Treudler (CUBE Factory Racing) and Isabella Holmgren won by 29 and 19 seconds respectively.

VICTOR BY NAME AND NATURE AS SPECIALIZED CELEBRATE SUPER SUNDAY

A race that lasted 80 minutes was effectively over within five when Koretzky and Blevins gapped Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) in the Red Bull Energy Zone on lap one.

After their dominance in the XCC curtain-raiser, the Specialized Factory Racing pair were again left to fight between themselves for victory in an exceptional display of teamwork that worked perfectly for eight laps.

As Kortezky and Blevins rolled turns on the front for over an hour, Maximilian Brandl (Lapierre Racing Unity), Simon Andreassen (Orbea Fox Factory Racing Team) and Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) each made big efforts leading a fractured chasing group but all in vain with Specialized Factory Racing’s Martin Vidaurre playing a valiant blocking role.

The white flag was finally raised with three laps of nine still to go, as the 17-man chase group switched their focus to the fight for third, and the party soon become 18 when Schurter completed his impressive recovery ride from an early problem.

As the gap hit a minute on the penultimate lap, Koretzky decided enough was enough and dropped the hammer on his teammate, the move appearing conclusive as he quickly gained nine seconds on Blevins.

The American stemmed the bleeding as rain began to fall adding an extra dimension to the red clay and humid conditions, before Koretzky kicked again on the final lap while Vidaurre attacked behind to make it one-two-three for Specialized on the trail. All of them held on, Koretzky embraced Blevins after crossing the line before the pair turned and cheered Vidaurre home in the sprint for third, capping a special weekend for the team

“Chris [Blevins] was super strong at the beginning of the race, he did a super-high pace and it was difficult to follow him. Then I had a second life in the middle of the race,” Koretzky said.

“We just did one lap each all the time, I had a flat on the last two laps so it was tricky for me on the downhill, tough stuff until the end, but I managed to finish like this. 

“I think we were all the time teammates; the goal was to be together until the last moment. Alone it was difficult to do it but with my teammate it was like a hard day in training. It’s so cool to share that with the team.”

The Specialized trio weren’t the only ones celebrating at the finish line either, as three home heroes sent the Araxá crowd into raptures. Gustavo Xavier, Alex Malacarne and Ulan Galinski crossed the line together in 10th, 11th and 12th sealing the first time three Brazilians have finished in the top 12 of a UCI World Cup round, passing a host of more established riders on the final lap to complete the feat. 

MAXWELL CONTINUES TO LIVE THE DREAM IN ARAXÁ

After Samara Maxwell described Saturday’s XCC second place as a “dream come true”, she must quickly get used to this reality of being a main contender at UCI Cross-country World Cups as the Kiwi blazed clear of a star-studded lead group and held off a determined pursuit from Nicole Koller who also had the carrot of a first win at this level.

While the winning move only went away in the final quarter of the race, the main protagonists were established early as Jenny Rissveds set a blistering early tempo in her first XCO race for Canyon CLLCTV XCO.

Aided by Jolanda Neff - also keen to impress in new colours for Cannondale Factory Racing - the Swiss rider couldn’t sustain the punishing workload, but the winner always looked likely to be one of Rissveds, Maxwell, Blunk, Koller, Candice Lill, Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) or Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team).

Jackson was the most surprising member as she survived a heart-in-mouth moment on the opening lap. The Canadian misjudged a landing in the Red Bull Energy Zone and skewed left into the crowd yet somehow returned to the front group in a matter of minutes, later saying she hoped her race wasn’t only remembered for the ‘hugie’.

A crash for Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team new signing Emily Johnston threatened to red-flag the race, but the action ultimately continued uninterrupted as the incident coincided with Maxwell’s winning attack.

She scorched up a rocky ascent and try as they might, Koller and Blunk couldn’t reel in Maxwell, who gave a tearful interview after a fight UCI World Cup victory that looked like it might never come when the reigning Oceania Champion took a career break to deal with an eating disorder that gives her reduced energy levels.

“I genuinely can’t [believe it], Jenny [Rissveds] was so strong at the start and I was on the limit the whole time,” Maxwell said. “On the descents I’ve been working so hard technically over the summer on my skills, it was just a matter of getting to the front and I just went for it.”

Asked when she believed she would win in Araxá, Maxwell responded: “At the finish line. I honestly couldn’t believe it, I just kept telling myself ‘this is for a world cup win, hurt as much as you can because you won’t get it if you don’t’.

“The team has been so incredible for me, I’ve had a bit of hard time the last few years and the team stood by me and said, ‘no matter what you do, as you long as you put your health and yourself as a person first, we will support you’.

“They were willing to support me walking away from the mountain biking team for a few years to get back healthy because they believed in me so much. So, to have everything fall into line for these amazing people is the most special part.”

U IS FOR UNTOUCHABLE AS TREUDLER AND HOMLGREN DOMINATE U23

Isabella Holmgren wrote off a tilt at the overall title after her UCI XCC World Cup triumph yesterday, but 24 hours later the Canadian underlined her supremacy in the Women U23 competition by winning the XCO race by 19 seconds

Resplendent in the UCI World Champion’s rainbow bands, Holmgren wasted little time in breaking away from the field with only Valentina Corvi able to follow for Canyon CLLCTV XCO.

It appeared that pair would contest the win until Corvi was also discarded on the rocky ascent of lap three, she dropped back to join Ella MacPhee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) and Ella MacLean-Howell (CUBE Factory Racing) in the group that provided the best remaining action.

Despite her early pace, Corvi made the mistake that crowned MacPhee runner-up as she was forced to unclip on a narrow and rooty uphill section, blocking MacLean-Howell with the Canadian ahead, and none of the trio were even in view as Holmgren crossed the line to complete her weekend double.

“I was pretty much on the limit with her [Valentina Corvi]. I think at one point I realised I put in a bit of a gap, so I just kept my effort going and then tried to hold on until the end”, Holmgren said. 

A start line crash marred the opening lap of the men’s U23 race as Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountainbike Team) hit the deck, the German’s misfortune causing a domino effect through the riders behind including Canyon CLLCTV XCO’s Thibaut Francois Baudry and Tom Schellekens of KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team.

Martin Farstadvoll set a blistering pace on the opening lap and held a commanding early lead, but proved to have gone too hard too soon and was overhauled by Finn Treudler on lap two.

The Swiss rider disappeared into the distance and quickly inflated his advantage to 45 seconds, where it would remain until a late chain problem, while the all-Danish battle for second between Nikolaj Hougs (CUBE Factory Racing) and national champion Heby Gustav Pedersen (Wilier-Vittoria Racing Team) was won by the latter. 

Schellekens took a very creditable fourth, but none of them could touch Treudler, who finally took top spot in Araxá after finishing a close second to Riley Amos last season.

“I was really determined on going for that first spot today,” Treudler said. “I came so close last year, and I knew with all the fast guys from last year moving up I’m definitely one of the favourites and I wanted to prove that today.

“I lost my chain in the second-last lap, I was a bit scared, but I had a good gap and kept it to the finish. I just tried to keep calm, and I knew I had the legs even if they catch me again.”

The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series remains in Brazil for more thrills and spills next Friday and Saturday on a modified Araxá course, with the UCI XCC World Cup taking centre stage on April 11 before the UCI XCO World Cup returns on April 12 as the climax of this opening double-header.