Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon Racing) dominated the dry and dusty conditions in the elite women’s short-track race at Pal Arinsal, Andorra to take her first win of the 2023 season.

The 2022 overall champion in both UCI Mountain Bike cross-country formats controlled the high-altitude action for most of the series’s fifth-round race crossing the line some six seconds ahead of hard-charging Brit Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing XC).

In the sixth of eight laps the pair managed to gap a group containing third-placed finisher Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Martina Berta (Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team). Newly-crowned World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) came in sixth.

Keller now takes the lead from Ferrand-Prévot in the overall standings.

In the men’s race it was another characteristically high-powered display from series leader Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV) that saw him take his third short-track win of the season.

The German was pushed hard by Switzerland’s Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) who came in second from a front group that included third-placed finisher Jordan Sarrou (Team BMC).

Schwarzbauer mastered the 2,000m altitude and once again spent most of the nine-lap race in front to extend his lead in the overall standings.

The U23 riders were in short-track action on Thursday afternoon with Switzerland’s Ronja Blöchlinger (Liv Factory Racing) making it her fifth straight win of the season by edging out Kiwi Samara Maxwell on the line. Blöchlinger leads the rankings.

In the U23 men, it was a third 2023 win for France’s Adrien Boichis (Trinity Racing MTB) with the USA’s Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing XC) in second. Boichis leads the overall ahead of round six.

The action continues on Saturday when the UCI Downhill World Cup semi-finals and finals take place on the super-fast and technical 1.6km track from Andorra’s Pic del Cubil to Fontanals.

And on Sunday the cross-country athletes are back between the tapes for the fifth round of the UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup. 

For the full results, schedule and more information on this week’s races click here.

You can watch this weekend’s action live globally on GCN+, and across Europe on Eurosport.com and discovery+.

For more information on Where to Watch: Pal Arinsal Andorra, click here