Short Track showdown in Switzerland: Richards and Avancini win two very different races
Léandre Bouchard leads Canadian efforts in Lenzerheide
Photo by:
Bartek Wolinksi / Red Bull Content Pool
Lenerheide World Cup weekend started with two equally thrilling, but very different short track XCC races. On the women’s side, an elite group of champions escaped to fight it out for the win. A short while later, a cagier men’s race ended in a bunch sprint for the line.
Canadians in Lenzerheide
Friday’s racing didn’t favour the Canadians gathered in Switzerland, particularly. Léandre Bouchard and Peter Disera had solid races in the men’s event, finishing 21st and 24th. The Canuck duo were 28 and 34 seconds back after 20 minutes in a closely fought Short Track race.
Jen Jackson was the only one of four Canadian women finishing on the lead lap. The Norco Factory Team rider was 32nd at the end Friday’s race. Sandra Walter finished 33rd, one lap down. Haley Smith, battling an injured ankle, and Emily Batty were both two laps back in 34th and 36th.
All six Canadians will line up again for the XCO event on Sunday. Catharine Pendrel, who would normally be on the 40-rider start list for World Cup XCC events, is sitting out the Lenzerheide weekend to prepare for when the series returns to Snowshoe, W.VA in September.
Rissveds out-duels Richards in Lenzerheide
At the front of the women’s race, a thrilling showdown played out between a world champion and a pair of Olympic champions. Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing), hot off her winning first elite XCO world championship title, 2016 Olympic gold medallist Jenny Rissveds (Team 31-Outride) and 2020 Olympic gold medallist Jolanda Neff formed an extremely elite trio to battle for the win.
All three took turns attacking, distancing the rest of the field, but the decision came down to the final lap. In the end, Rissveds’ all-out, last-lap sprint to pass Richards on the final climb was the deciding move. The Swedish rider takes the Short Track World Cup win ahead of Richards. Jolanda Neff crossed the line third.
Avancini dominates strategic short track showdown in Switzerland
The men’s short track was a much different event than the women’s. While various riders, including current World Cup leader Matthias Flueckiger (Thomus RN) tried, no rider could escape from the group to form any kind of brake. A large leading pack made for wild changes in pace, with no rider willing to put in the work to pull the group around a steep Lenzerheide track.
With an elite group still riding together on the last lap, it came down to a sprint. Despite making several attacks over the 20-minute race, Mathias Flueckiger still made an effort into the final climb. It was Brazilian short track specialist, Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) countering the Swiss rider with a perfectly timed attack to take the win.
Avancini wins, his first World Cup win of 2021, with Flueckiger second and Victor Koretzky (KMC Orbea) third in a bunch sprint for the line.
