Carter Woods wins Chelva HC XCO in Spain
Two podiums in two weeks caps off early block of European racing for Vancouver Island racer
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Giant Factory Off-Road Team
Carter Woods backed up his u23 bronze last weekend in La Nucia with a victory this weekend in the u23 men’s race at the Chelva XCO HC in Spain.
Woods wins u-23 in Chelva
Giant Factory Racing’s new signing flew off the line, taking the race to the under-23 men’s field. Woods ended up with a 1:26 advantage over second-place finisher, Francesco Barber (Primaflor Mondraker Genius) of Spain. The U.S.A.’s Bjorn Riley (Trek Future Racing) followed in third.
Italy’s Sara Cortinovis (Santa Cruz RockShox) edged out Sofie Pedersen (Willier-Pirreli Factory Team) of Denmark for the u23 women’s race. Matylda Szczecinska (MMR Factory) of Poland rounds out that podium in third.
Elite Women and Men
On Sunday, elite men and women had their turn on the Chelva XCO course. Martina Burta (Santa Cruz RockShox) won ahead of Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing) with Anne Tauber (Orbea Factory Team) in third. Jenn Jackson was the lone Canadian racing in Spain on Sunday, placing 20th in the elite women’s race.
Romania’s Vlad Dascalu (Trek Factory Racing) took the win in the elite men’s race. Pierre de Froidmont and David Domingo Campos, both of Orbea Factory Team, joined Dascalu on the podium.
Travelling to these early-season UCI races is important for North American racers to help improve their UCI ranking. That ranking determines placing on the start grid when World Cup racing begins later this spring. Another group of Canadians headed in Puerto Rico for the UCI C1 Clasico de Florida this Sunday.
