Epic mudfest at Austrian XCO creates hilarious slip ‘n’ slide
Mud, rain and a steep hill
Photo by:
Intagram/Florian Vogel
Sunday’s Zanzenbergrennen cross country race in Dornbirn, Austria delivered epic conditions and epic struggles, as racers attempted to navigate a mud-slicked downhill in heavy rain.
A barrier part way down the course caused havoc among racers in the slippery and wet conditions. Racers weren’t even attempting to walk their bikes, opting instead to slide down the slippery conditions. As rider after rider slid down the steep hill the mud got increasingly slick. One brave onlooker attempted to catch a few of the cyclists-turned-frictionless objects, but was unable to help as a jumble of cyclists and bikes piled up at his feet.
Retired World Cup racer and Olympian Florian Vogel shared his video of the chaotic slip’n’slide section, captioning it “Man I miss mountain bikes!”
Conditions were so treacherous, both slippery and cold, that Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff was forced to drop out of the race while she was in the lead by over one minute. You can see Neff safely navigating the wild descent five laps into the race in a video posted by World Cup commentator Bart Brentjens.
With less than two laps to go, Neff crashed. At that point, unable to hold onto the bars in frigid conditions, the Swiss star was forced to abandon the race. While most people would be upset about dropping out while leading a race, the relentlessly positive Trek Factory Racing rider said the experience reaffirmed her love of the sport. In a Instagram post, Neff said of the Dornbirn race “I absolutely needed this reminder of why I love racing bikes! Thank you Dornbirn!”
Meanwhile, in Belgium
Zanzenbergrennen wasn’t the only epic mud battle in Europe over the weekend. In Belgium, at the 3 Nations Cup / GP Stad Beringen, racers faced equally sloppy, if less slippery conditions.
On the gravity racing side, conditions were so bad at the opening Enduro World Series round that organizers shortened the race to two stages from five. Canada’s Jesse Melamed thrived in the tough conditions, taking the win over Martin Maes.
The XLC 3 Nations Cup is an international series of mtb races around the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Many are using the UCI C1 races as preparation for the upcoming World Cup doubleheader in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot won the women’s race Sunday, posting an epic post-race, next level “Belgian tan lines” shot. “It rained lightly,” she joked in the caption.”It works out that I needed to wash my hair today anyways.” Italian Eva Lechner finished in second.
France’s Tituoan Carod won the men’s race over fellow Frenchman Jordan Sarrou. “First Victory of the season in Beringen!” He said. “Nice race under the rain and a good battle in the mud with Jordan Sarrou!”
