Jenny Rissveds fulfills the predictions and is proclaimed XCO world champion in Valais

Rissveds wanted to give her all from the start, taking the lead right at the beginning of the race and starting the first of the seven laps on a completely dry circuit, where dust has been the main obstacle for the riders this Saturday. At the first pass through the finish line, the biker from the Canyon Collective team was leading a group consisting of Alessandra Keller, Samara Maxwell, Evie Richards, Puck Pieterse, and Martina Berta by 13".

Jenny Rissveds conquered her first Elite Cross-Country World Championship

The Swiss rider, the local favorite and winner of the Short Track title earlier this week, changed the pace on the climb of the second lap, pulling along the New Zealander Samara Maxwell, the current leader of the World Cup. This would bring together the top three riders in the overall MTB World Series standings at the front, although Richards and Pieterse would also reach the finish line ahead of Berta, who was closing in just a few seconds behind.

The most physical section of the third lap once again created gaps between the top six riders, the only ones still fighting for the three medals at that point. Rissveds continued to push at the front, after a crash without consequences for Keller. Once again, only the Swiss and Maxwell managed to keep up with the Scandinavian's pace. However, both of them, suffering but knowing how to pace themselves, the British rider and the Dutch rider, the defending champion, would rejoin the front just at the new pass through the finish line.

Jenny Rissveds always stuck to the plan

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Far from making her doubt, that accordion effect invited Rissveds to keep pushing a little harder each time she faced a new uphill section. In the surge of the fourth lap, only Keller was able to respond to her change of pace. The Oceanian rider, much more gradual, also caught up to them just past the halfway point of the World Championship. Although the Thomus rider took some turns at the front, it was Rissveds who almost always set the pace at the front of the competition, with Pieterse and Richards gradually falling behind the trio.

Like a sledgehammer, relentless, Rissveds attacked in the toughest part of the fifth lap, dropping both Keller and Maxwell this time. At the top of the climb, the Swedish rider had opened up a gap of over 10" to her two pursuers, with Puck Pieterse also starting to catch up, who lost precious time due to a puncture in the rear wheel. For the first time since the first lap, the Swedish rider had managed to make her two main rivals lose visual contact.

However, Maxwell, with better legs than her companion, took advantage of an easy section to overtake Keller and go solo in pursuit of Rissveds. Two laps from the end, the gap between them, with the Swiss rider once again close to the New Zealander, remained at 10 seconds. Evie Richards, fourth due to Pieterse's breakdown, was 27" behind.

From that point on, despite the effort and the fight of the duo, Rissveds was able to maintain a comfortable lead over the rest and complete the final part of the race without any mishaps to secure her first title as Elite World Cross-Country Champion. Maxwell, who broke away from her companion in the final part of the sixth lap, claimed the bronze medal while Alessandra Keller completed her good week in Valais with the bronze.

Elite Women's XCO World Championship Standings

1st Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) 1h21'35"
2nd Samara Maxwell (New Zealand) at 18"
3rd Alessandra Keller (Switzerland) at 56"
4th Evie Richards (United Kingdom) at 1'08"
5th Savilia Blunk (United States) at 1'46"
6th Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) at 2'01"
7th Martina Berta (Italy) at 2'21"
8th Ramona Forchini (Switzerland) at 2'33"
9th Nina Graf (Germany) at 2'44"
10th Nicole Koller (Switzerland) at 2'58"

Al the results at MTBDATA