Flueckiger and Cink duel in fantastic elite men’s World Cup XCO

A new Swiss mountain bike star is emerging this season. Mathias Flueckiger and Ondrej Cink locked into a race-long duel on Sunday in Austria, fighting down to the wire for the third World Cup XCO win of 2021.

It was a repeat of the duo’s battle from Friday’s XCC Short Track, down to the result. While Nino Schurter struggled, Flueckiger showed he could be the new Swiss rider to beat in the elite men’s ranks.

Canadians in Austria

A course that heavily favoured fitness over technical ability didn’t play out in the Canadian’s favour on Sunday. Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) led the results, fighting up the steep climbs in the Austrian Alps to finish 31st. Disera’s Norco teammates spaced out at consistent intervals behind, with Sean Fincham in 51st and Andrew L’Esperance in 61st.

RELATED: Carter Woods fifth in Austrian World Cup

Léandre Bouchard (Pivot Cycles-OTE) finished 63rd, Quinton Disera (Norco Factory Racing) 67th, Tyler Orschel (Durham Shredders) 84th, and Alexandre Vialle 87th. Marc Andre Fortier (94th) and Raphael Auclair (98th) of Pivot Cycles-OTE followed, with Anthony Bergeron rounding out the Canadian entries in 104th.

How the race played out 

Sunday’s XCO started with Nino Schurter in an unusual position. The 2016 Olympic Gold medallist was back in the third row, the result of a disastrous missed-pedal on the start line of Friday’s Short Track XCC.

As the massive elite men’s field bunched up in the first few corners, Schurter just barely managed to squeeze through. By the first time check, the Swiss star had only moved up to 17th.

Up front, Ondrej Cink (Kross) led with Anton Cooper (Trek Factory Racing) hot on his wheel. South Africa’s Alan Hatherly rode in third, taking initiative for Cannondale Factory Racing in the absence of his Brazilian teammate Henrique Avancini.

Cink and New Zealand’s Anton Cooper (Trek Factory racing) quickly established a gap on the first full lap. They were soon joined by Friday’s Short Track XCC winner Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN). Behind, Schurter struggled to make his way through the field. Sliding back into 19th after Lap 1, was the veteran Swiss racer riding smart on the steep course? Or still searching for his former fitness?

Cink vs. Flueckiger: Round 2

Cink and Flueckiger opened a gap to Cooper on the second full lap and, in a repeat of Friday’s Short Track, the Czech rider appeared happy to do the bulk of the work early on. Cooper chased, six seconds back but well ahead of world champion Jordan Sarrou (Specialized) and his chase group in fourth.

Flueckiger and Cink traded attacks with neither able to gain an advantage until the penultimate lap. The Swiss rider went into the Leogang course’s one technical descent first, earned an advantage and committed to the move. Cink chased desperately, but unable to close the distance to Flueckiger.

Flueckiger wins, becoming only the second man to pull off the XCC/XCO double in one weekend. The other? Mathieu van der Poel.

Ondrej Cink followed in second, with Anton Cooper 31 seconds behind in third. Thomas Griot (Massi) and Vlad Dascalu (Trek-Pirelli) round out the podium in fourth and fifth. Nino Schurter worked his way to 10th, 1:59 behind his fellow Swiss rider’s winning time.

“I knew I had to make an attack,” Flueckiger said of how he dealt with a persistent challenge from Cink. “Maybe he was a bit stronger on the climbs, at the beginning I was struggling. But I had better and better legs as the race went on.”

Flueckiger takes over the World Cup overall leader’s jersey, 140 points ahead of Ondrej Cink.

“It was a very hard race, in the end I’m happy. I know this is my course, I can have a good result here. I did my best but Mathias was a little bit stronger,” Cink said after the race, adding that the Swiss rider’s strength on the descents is what caused the separation. “He’s very fast in the downhill. He made a little gap there and after that he tried to push and I couldn’t catch him. He was better today, congrats to him.”