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Tom Pidcock adds another rainbow jersey to his collection in eMTB XCO

France ends Switzerland's XC Relay dominance on mudfest Day 1 of Leogang worlds

pidcock emtb worlds Photo by: UCI Twitter
October 7, 2020
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Epic course conditions delivered exciting racing on Day 1 of 2020 UCI mountain bike world championships. France ended Switzerland’s three-year winning streak in the XC Team Relay in the week’s first race. Then both eMTB Cross Country races saw last-lap lead changes, as racers contended with mud and the mysteries of electric racing.

France states XC intentions with relay win

Switzerland has dominated the XC Relay for three years, winning every championship since 2017. The depths of the Swiss squad has always been difficult to match. On Wednesday, though, it is France stating their intentions for the individual races this week with a solid win in the relay.

The excellence of the French team was hard to argue, even before the start. Led bu XCO#1 World Cup winner Loana Compte and veteran French rider Jordan Sarrou, the French team took over the lead from a fast-starting U.S.A. squad and didn’t look back. The Austrian home team briefly challenged, before falling behind France again.

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France takes the win, followed by Italy. With several top riders opting to rest between a World Cup doubleheader and Saturday’s world championships, Switzerland drops to third.

Each six-rider team must include a male and female rider each from the junior, under-23 and elite categories. With no junior racers crossing the pond to race world’s this year, there was no Canadian team entered in the relay.

Two very different winners on muddy day of eMTB

Tom Pidcock built his name on the road and cyclocross tracks of Europe before racing XC. Melanie Pugin arrived at Wednesday’s eMTB race fresh off two wins at the Enduro World Series (one electric, one analog). Heavy rain made the Leogang course a highly technical affair, requiring fitness on the climbs and finesse on the slippery descents. Pidcock and Pugin showed they have both, surging to late-race leads in the eMTB Cross Country race.

How technical was the course? Well, watch Pugin attacking her Swiss rivals down a muddy chute late in the women’s race.

Melanie Pugin takes her first eMTB world championship title. Switzerland’s Kathrin Stirnemann finished second with last year’s winner Nathalie Schnneitter placing third.

Canada’s lone eMTB entry, and last year’s second-place finisher Maghalie Rochette finished fifth. “That was so crazy!” Rochette shared on Instagram after the race, “the muddiest, slipperiest mountain bike race I have ever done. I’m so glad to be back racing!”

Pidcock wins his first eMTB world championship, but not his first rainbow jersey. Early race leader Jerome Gilloux (France) finishes second. After winning his first elite World Cup last week in Nove Mesto, Simon Andreassen (Denmark) adds a third place in eMTB to his medal tally.

The U.K. phenom made clear in his post-race interview that his week was not over. Pidcock’s racing the under-23 men’s XCO on Friday. After winning both u23 World Cup’s last week, he has his sights set on another world champs title: