Loana Lecomte dominates Leogang World Cup ahead of a fierce battle for second
Unstoppable French woman stays clear of thrilling race for second
Photo by:
Bartek Wolinksi / Red Bull Content Pool
In the dynamic women’s field, there has been one constant in 2021: Loana Lecomte. The young French rider raced all alone off the front, as she has at the last two World Cups, to win the elite women’s race in Leogang, Austria.
Behind Lecomte’s dominant performance, a riveting race for podium positions played out between a elite group of the fastest women in the world. A young Austrian, a world champion and a resurgent Olympic champion battled for second over five laps in Leogang.
Canadians in Leogang
Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) proved to be the fastest Canadian in Austria, crossing the line in 26th. At her side, long-time friend and training partner Sandra Walter (Liv) finished on the same time in 27th.
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Emily Batty (Canyon MTB Racing) followed in 32nd, Jenn Jackson (Norco Factory Team) 35th and Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) in 37th. Cindy Montambault rounded out the Canadian results in 59th, with Batty’s teammate Laurie Arseneault not starting after an injury during training.
Lecomte goes alone: How the race was won
Of the start, it was Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing) leading to the first corner. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Absolute Absalon) quickly took over, with Haley Batten (Trinity), Loana Lecomte (Massi) and Italian national champion Eva Lechner on her wheel. With lengthy steep climbs welcoming riders to the start lap, Ferrand-Prevot quickly spread out the field.
Leading out onto lap one, it was again Loana Lecomte taking the lead. Ferran-Prevot on her wheel, with Batten, and Rebecca McConnell (Primafloor Mondraker) on her wheel. Neff and Jenny Rissveds (Team 31) chased close behind.
As the course pitched steeply up, Lecomte took off. McConnell chased, followed by Batten in third with Ferrand Preveot and Rissveds chasing further behind. While earning her suddenly-massive lead on the climbs, the 21-year-old French rider was flying through Leogang’s wildly technical descents.
An ever-shifting chase group formed behind, with Batten, Neff, Ferrand-Prevot, Rissveds and McConnell soon joined by Austrian Laura Stigger (Specialized). This group rode together for the remaining laps, constantly changing places and leads, with no rider gaining an advantage or giving up their place.
Going out onto the final lap, Stigger and Ferrand-Prevot started together, with Neff and Rissveds close behind. Evie Richards emerged had from the field behind to challenge for the final podium spot.
It was Stigger making the first move though, buoyed by loud cheers from the home crowd fans. Rissveds and Neff followed, while Ferrand-Prevot had a moment of struggle.
Rissveds responded to Stigger’s attack, passing the Austrian to take second place on the line. Stigger, thrilled with her best ever elite World Cup finish, takes third for the home crowd. Jolanda Neff completes her comeback from injury, finishing fourth. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot holds onto the final podium spot in fifth.
In a class of her own, Lecomte also crossed the finish line alone. With a winning margin of 1:48, the Frenchwoman lands her third consecutive World Cup of 2021.
“I’m very happy to have this shape this year,” said Lecomte after the finish line, struggling to find her breath and words to describe her sudden success. “I’ve never had wins in junior or under-23, so winning four World Cups in elite is, I don’t know, a bit funny”
“I’ve been struggling with my self confidence in the last couple of weeks, so this was a very good race for me,” Rissveds shared, in a very honest post-race interview. “I’ve been practicing a lot recently to commit fully because I think it’s very scary to go all in. It hurts, and there is always a chance of making mistakes, so I’ve practiced today and I’m very happy it worked out.”
World Cup racing heads to France next, returning to Les Gets on July 3-4.
