🌎 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series
🇨🇭 Lenzerheide, Switzerland (4th round)
Following the U23 category rounds, it was time for the elite women!
From the gun, Ronja Blöchlinger immediately hit the front, carving out a lead of a few seconds after just a few minutes, followed by Rissveds, Frei, Stigger, and Blunk. Pieterse dictated the pace in the opening stages but later began dropping back, while Alessandra Keller suffered a crash that caused mechanical issues, costing her a significant amount of time.
Blöchlinger’s leadership did not last long, however. By the next lap, World Champion Rissveds upped the pace, distancing all her rivals in the chasing group to catch and pass the race leader. From that moment on, the World Champion began a solo masterclass in pursuit of another victory! On the same lap, Blunk suffered a puncture, losing her provisional third place.
At the mid-race point, the top two positions remained unchanged, while the battle for third featured a group with the two Specialized riders, Frei and Stigger, alongside Koller and Blunk.
The bell lap began with Rissveds having the victory in the bag and Blöchlinger comfortably in second. The battle for the final podium spot remained wide open; Nicole Koller had dropped off, replaced by the Italian champion Martina Berta. In the end, there was no contest, as Savilia Blunk distanced all her rivals, pulling within 10 seconds of second place, but it was too little, too late.
Rissveds took the win, Blöchlinger finished second, repeating her Friday XCC performance, and Blunk completed the podium ahead of the Specialized duo, Frei and Stigger.
Rissveds extends her lead in the standings over Sina Frei, who drops to -177 points, while Stigger sits at -335 points.