MTB World Cup 2023 – a real thriller at the end

The situation on Sunday, October 8, 2023, in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada, could hardly have been more exciting. On the Friday before, the Frenchman Jordan Sarrou caught up with the leader Nino Schurter in the classification with his 2nd place in the short track race and smelled morning air. If he were to win this race, like the race in the American Snowshoe a week before, he could dethrone Nino Schurter and call himself World Cup winner for the first time. And it was with this motivation that the Frenchman started. But you can plan however you want, in the end it's the course and performance in the race that decides. After rains hit the region, the ground was tough and heavy, sticky, muddy and slippery. And at least the start for the two favorites for overall victory got off to a slow start. Both fell behind at the start and soon found themselves in positions 41 (Sarrou) and 27 (Schurter). At the front, drivers like Schwarzbauer, Flückiger, Koretzky, Guerrini and Pidcock raced away. It was clear that it would be very difficult for both favorites. And now another candidate sensed morning air: Mathias Flückiger. The number 3 in the ranking suddenly had a real chance of winning the World Cup, because if he won the race and Schurter stayed behind, to the surprise of most people he would actually take the lead in the table and take home the trophy. Finally, Thomas Pidcock, Olympic champion and world champion, showed great ambition to win this race. The whole thing ended with the two having a tough fight for first position. Flückiger was even able to pull away from Pidcock, but then he had the misfortune of getting a flat tire, which forced him to change wheels in the tech zone. Now Flückiger's chances shrank considerably. Schurter, for his part, fought his way further and further up to 8th place. And Sarrou also caught up. Mathias Flückiger showed a very strong and courageous race - we really would have granted him the win, but Tom Pidcock probably wanted to crown the end of the season with a victory, which he succeeded in doing. Jordan Sarrou was able to catch up to 9th place, but for Nino Schurter a 14th final place was enough for overall victory in the 2023 World Cup.

For the women, things were already over before the race started. Dutchwoman Puck Pieterse led by a long way and wouldn't have even had to take part if she had been aiming for her first World Cup victory alone. With a lead of over 400 points over the day's winner and closest pursuer Loana Lecomte, the young season dominator is setting an exclamation mark. World champion Pauline Ferrand prévot was already absent from snowshoe. The world championship title was her goal this year and she got it. Jenny Rissveds, who had to struggle with a somewhat messed up season, caught up significantly with second place and moved up to 7th place in the table - certainly a conciliatory conclusion