Mathieu van der Poel crashes out and Puck Pieterse suffers ill-timed puncture in European racing opener
Where to begin with this weekend’s XC racing…from Jolanda Neff back on the podium in the XCC (short-track) on Saturday, to Christopher Blevins‘s last-lap recovery from a dropped chain, it’s been a jam-packed weekend of racing in the Czech Republic.
Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck was the big name in the men’s racing, returning for his first MTB World Cup since 2023. And in the women’s race, the World Champion Puck Pieterse (also of Alpecin-Deceuninck) was on the start line for her first MTB World Cup of the season.
But did the big names deliver in Nové Město na Moravě? Let’s take a look…
How it went down in Nové Město na Moravě
Pieterse wins final sprint to open her 2025 MTB season
Beyond the obvious who won what talking points, we should probably address something else that everyone noticed at the startline of Nové Město…gravel tyres. The course being so fast and hard-packed, narrower tyres were seen on quite a few of the big names. What’s next, mountain bike tyres on gravel bikes? Oh wait…
Now onto the racing. In the elite women’s race, the main group whittled down after 5 laps of intense racing which briefly saw Kate Courtney back at the front of the race, which we love to see. Jolanda Neff also showed off her technical abilities, creating gaps on the descents until the last lap when the group stretched and resulted in a bunch sprint.
One of the things we love about XCC racing, and particularly this weekend, is that you just don’t know who’s going to win until the last couple hundred metres. And on Saturday, it was a very strong Puck Pieterse that took her first MTB win of the year. Evie Richards finished close behind in second, just edging out Linda Indergrand.
Elite women results:
- Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
- Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing – Pirelli) +00:00:00
- Linda Indergrand (Liv Factory Racing) +00:00:00
- Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon) +00:00:00
- Jolanda Neff (Cannondale Factory Racing) +00:00:00
Blevins outsprints the rest to keep his winning tally going
Who’s idea was it to put the start-finish straight into a block headwind? A genius, that’s who. The impact of the headwind played a big part of the race tactics, as each lap it wore down the front runners. With the headwind leading into tight corners before the crucial climb, suffering was on the cards if you wanted to be in the right position to launch an attack.
Luca Schwarzbauer decided to take the race by its horns and lead from the start, but never gained much space between the front groups. It came down to the penultimate lap for some action, with Filippo Colombo powering up the climb taking 28 riders with him before a big crash on one of the berms took out several contenders.
Victor Koretsky took matters into his own hands on the final lap, with Colombo and Schwarzbauer following suit. Christopher Blevins stuck with them too, despite dropping his chain over the jumps – maybe when his racing career ends he could set up a business as a mobile mechanic – as this loss of momentum didn’t stop Blevins coming round his teammate in the closing metres and taking the win.
Elite men results:
- Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing)
- Victor Koretsky (Specialized Factory Racing) +00:00:00
- Filippo Colombo (Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team) +00:00:01
- Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) +00:00:02
- Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) +00:00:03
Mitterwallner on the attack in the rock garden
Mitterwallner wins for Mondraker
If you had somewhere to be and could only watch the first half of the race, you’d probably have looked at it and thought it was pretty much a done deal. Puck Pieterse was powering away off the front, and looked like she was set to do the double on her first MTB World Cup weekend of the year.
Alas, it doesn’t always quite pan out that easily, does it? Pieterse’s lead was quickly diminished after she suffered a rear puncture. How demoralising it must have felt to see all her rivals overtaking her with some ease on the technical climb, as she nursed her bike to the pits, losing well over a minute in the process.
Despite battling through traffic she could only manage to finish 13th, just under 2 minutes behind eventual winner, Mona Mitterwallner.
Speaking of Mitterwallner, what a performance from her. The final few laps saw her and last-round winner Samara Maxwell break away from Candice Lill, Alessandra Keller and Rebecca Henderson. The two front-runners worked well together bringing it down to a final sprint, which saw Mitterwallner take the win, and Maxwell keep her lead in the overall competition.
Elite women results:
- Mona Mitterwallner (Mondraker Factory Racing XC)
- Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) +00:00:00
- Candice Lill +00:00:25
- Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon) +00:00:41
- Rebecca Henderson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) +00:00:48
MVDP’s return to MTB racing didn’t quite go as planned
Blevins dominates and keeps his series lead as MVDP crashes out
After spending his spring on the road, Mathieu van der Poel made his return to World Cup MTB racing this weekend for the first time since 2023. Sadly for him, it wasn’t a fairytale return as he crashed twice in the opening laps, resulting in a DNF from the Dutchman.
But the race didn’t stop because MVDP wasn’t there. In fact, it was pretty explosive – particularly in the closing laps. XCO winner Christopher Blevins looked like he was on a mission, perhaps having the possibility of being the first US male rider since Ned Overend in 1994 to win two XC races back to back on his mind. Or maybe he just wanted to get back in time to watch the Monaco Grand Prix.
The wall climb on the penultimate lap proved decisive as Blevins attacked from an already slimmed down group including teammate Victor Koretsky, Alan Hatherly, Lars Forster and Mathis Azzaro among others.
Although he managed brilliant comeback on the final lap, catching up to chaser Lars Forster, Koretsky had to settle for 4th. As Blevins sailed to victory, Koretsky, Forster and Azzaro battled in the sprint, with Azzaro edging out the others.
Elite men results:
- Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing)
- Mathis Azzaro (Origine Racing Division) +00:00:07
- Lars Forster (Thömus maxon) +00:00:07
- Victor Koretsky (Specialized Factory Racing) +00:00:07
- Fabio Püntener +00:00:23
The next XC World Cup is in Leogang, Austria between 5 and 8 June.