After almost four and five hours respectively, both the men’s and women’s UCI Mountain Bike Marathon (XCM) World Cup races came down to sprint finishes in the third and final UCI World Cup of the season with Vera Looser and Simon Schneller (Team Bulls) coming out on top. Looser’s win saw her crowned the series champion, while Fabian Rabensteiner retained the men’s overall. 

After a marathon 100km of racing, the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon (XCM) World Cup title came down to sprint finishes in the men’s and women’s competitions on a fast-paced course in Mt Van Hoevenberg – Lake Placid (New York, USA). 

The women’s race was won by Vera Looser, who had enough left in the tank to edge Rose Van Doorn (Buff Megamo Team) for her second UCI XCM World Cup win of the season. Simon Schneller (Team Bells) meanwhile came out on top in a nine-rider contest for the men’s race. 

The results saw the XCM overall series titles decided too – Looser leapfrogging Lejla Njemcevic to win by 50 points, while Rabensteiner’s third place saw him extend his lead over Héctor Leonardo Páez to retain his title by 120 points. 

LOOSER SPRINTS HER WAY TO THE WIN 

The women were the first to set off and were faced with three laps of the punchy 33.3km course. After a fast and frantic start, a nine-strong lead group had formed by the end of the first lap. 

As they crossed the start-finish line for a second time, the pack had been whittled down to five – the quintet composed of Njemcevic, Looser, Van Doorn, Janina Wüst (Buff Megamo Team) and Margot Moschetti. 

It was the Frenchwoman who was first to crack on the third and final lap, and the remaining four stayed together deep into the race. And then there was three, with Wüst dropped inside the final 10km. 

But fans didn’t get a sprint showdown for the series title as the race entered its final kilometers – Njemcevic unable to hold Van Doorn and Looser’s wheels as the riders passed the 97km checkpoint. 

In the end, it was the Namibian who came out on top, throwing her handlebars just at the right time to narrowly beat Van Doorn. Njemcevic meanwhile finished third, 31-seconds down. 

The result was Looser’s second consecutive UCI XCM World Cup win, following her victory in Nové Město na Moravě (Czechia) in May, and secured her first XCM overall series title. 

Speaking after the race, Vera Looser said: “I quite like riding in a pack, especially in such a long race because there’s always something happening and you can dice yourself, you can hang on, you can attack or different things. I prefer that to just riding on my own. Today was a long race but it was a tactical race. There’s a lot of punchy climbs and technical sections but they’re never long or difficult enough to drop somebody, so I knew it would probably come to a smaller group at the end and it might come down to a sprint. I was totally fine with that because my sprint is quite good. At the end of the day, it’s who wants it the most – especially with such a tight final. It’s amazing to win this race overall. The UCI World Cup defines the best rider of the season over all courses, over different races, over different tactics. I think I pulled that off pretty well.”

SCHNELLER EDGES NINE-MAN THRILLER, RABENSTEINER RETAINS TITLE

The men’s race was just as engaging, as the 40 starting riders had only been reduced to a group of 17 after a relentless first lap. The group was still together another 33km later, and it was only in the dying stages of the race that riders started to feel the pace. 

Entering the final 10km, it was a 10-strong group that included title favourites Rabensteiner and Paez Leon, and whoever came out on top between the pair was most likely to take the overall title. 

Gearing up for the final sprint though, it was Schneller who had the edge in the nine-man pack – the 27-year-old German doing enough to outgun Martin Stošek (Canyon Sidi MTB Team) to win his first UCI XCM World Cup.  Rabensteiner was a close third, guaranteeing him the title, while his rival Páez Leon finished at the back of the pack in ninth.

Speaking after the race, Fabian Rabensteiner said: “I’m super happy with this title. Back-to-back is not easy. I performed well this year. I started well in Nové Město and had a good race in Megève. [This] course wasn’t so much for me, but I felt super strong and could bring home this trophy.”