Swedish National Champion Jenny Rissveds (TEAM 31 IBIS CYCLES CONTINENTAL) took the Short Track women's win in resounding fashion, beating Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller (THÖMUS MAXON) into second place by two seconds. France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (INEOS GRENADIERS) rounded out the podium.

Jenny Rissveds had this to say about her victory: "It's always interesting when you start from behind and work your way to the front. You get a feeling of how the others are riding, the lines they are taking and how strong they are.

"I love this course and this place. The terrain is similar to Sweden, a lot of roots and pretty intense. The difference is the altitude, it's really hard but I like it. I'm going to enjoy Sunday's race as well. I don't have any specific season goals, I just want to be consistent through the season and feel strong at every race."

Results XCC Women Top 5:

1.    Jenny Rissveds (SWE | TEAM 31 IBIS CYCLES CONTINENTAL) 20:34

2.    Alessandra Keller (SUI | THÖMUS MAXON) 20:36

3.    Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA | INEOS GRENADIERS) 20:36

4.    Puck Pieterse (NED | ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) 20:40

5.    Anne Tauber (NED | ORBEA FACTORY TEAM) 20:48

In the men’s race it was German National Champion Luca Schwarzbauer (CANYON CLLCTV) who had more power in the sprint to finish ahead of France’s Jordan Sarrou (Team BMC) in second and Denmark’s Sebastian Fini Carstensen (LAPIERRE MAVIC UNITY) in third. 

At the start of lap eight, heading into the first turn and at the front of the leading pack, current UCI Short Track World Champion Sam Gaze (ALPECIN–DECEUNINCK) lost his front wheel and took both himself and local hero Nino Schurter (SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING TEAM) out in the process. 

Speaking after the race, Schwarzbauer said: "I felt pretty good after Nove Mesto. That was a very satisfying result. Even though I was still struggling with my diaphragm, my shape in general is quite good. I'm speechless, it all goes so fast and is so overwhelming. It's crazy. I had a perfect lead out on the last lap. Jordan finished second which is a great result, but in the end, he worked for me as well. He led me out nicely towards the end and luckily, I had the legs to overtake on the last climb. I did think it might have been too early to attack but in the end it was the right decision."

Results XCO Men Top 5:

1.    Luca Schwarzbauer (GER | CANYON CLLTVC) 19:47

2.    Jordan Sarrou (FRA | TEAM BMC) 19:49

3.    Sebastian Fini Carstensen (DEN | LAPIERRE MAVIC UNITY) 19:51

4.    Luca Braidot (ITA | SANTA CRUZ ROCKSHOX PRO TEAM) 19:52

5.    Joshua Dubau (FRA | ROCKRIDER FORD RACING TEAM) 19:52

Erice Van Leuven and Christian Hauser took the first Downhill Junior finals wins of the year

New Zealand’s Erice Van Leuven (COMMENCAL LES ORRES) would be fastest when it mattered, seeing off Colombia’s Valentina Roa Sanchez (TRANSITION FACTORY RACING) into second place by a healthy 4.2 seconds.  France’s Lisa Boudalou would take third place. 

In the men’s race, the USA’s Ryan Pinkerton (GT-CONTINENTAL FACTORY RACING) would occupy the hot seat until the fastest qualifiers arrived.  It was Italian Christian Hauser (THE UNION – FORGED BY STEEL CITY MEDIA) though who managed to hold off Canada’s Bodhi Kuhn (TREK FACTORY RACING GRAVITY) in second and Hugo Marini (COMMENCAL-MUC OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION) from France in third. 

Speaking after the race, Erice Van Leuven said:

“It was an insane run. Sometimes you hit a run where you can't remember anything because it works so well. That was one of them, so I'm really stoked. One section where I crashed in qualis yesterday I rode perfectly, so I'm really happy.”

Christian Hauser had this to say about his win:

"I crashed in qualifying yesterday, so I wasn't expecting to get a first at my first-ever World Cup. I am so excited. The track was slick this morning from yesterday's rain, but it was dusty by the time we were racing on it." 

Results Downhill Junior Women Top 5:

1.    Erice van Leuven (NZL | COMMENCAL LES ORRES) 3:22:247

2.    Valentina Roa Sanchez (COL | TRANSITION FACTORY RACING) 3:26:524

3.    Lisa Bouladou (FRA) 3:27:660

4.    Vanesa Petrovská (SVK | NS BIKES UR TEAM) 3:34:182

5.    Rebeka Aimi Kenyon (GBR | PINKBIKE RACING) 3:40:255

Results Downhill Junior Men Top 5:

1. Christian Hauser (ITA | UNION – FORGED BY STEEL CITY MEDIA) 2:48:776

2. Bodhi Kuhn (TREK FACTORY RACING GRAVITY) 2:50:396

3. Hugo Marini (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION) 2:51:775

4. Henri Kiefer (GER | CANYON CLLCTV PIRELLI) 2:51:984

5. Ryan Kenneth Pinkerton (USA | GT-CONTINENTAL FACTORY RACING) 2:52:000

Elites go after the first points of the year in the Downhill

Switzerland’s Camille Balanche (DORVAL AM COMMENCAL) took the qualifying win in Lenzerheide, with a gap of 5 seconds back to Great Britain’s Rachel Atherton (CONTINENTAL ATHERTON) in second place. Austria’s Valentina Höll (ROCKSHOX TREK RACE TEAM) took third. 

In the Elite men’s race it was Austrian Andreas Kolb (CONTINENTAL ATHERTON) who laid down the marker for the weekend, finishing ahead of France’s Loris Vergier (TREK FACTORY RACING GRAVITY) in second and Spaniard Angel Suarez Alonso (UNNO RACING) in third. 

The full results from today’s races can be found here.

For the schedule of the upcoming races of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lenzerheide please click here.

More information on where to watch which race is available here. 

Missed any of the action? Full replays from this weekend’s race are available globally on GCN+ here.