Rabensteiner and Looser win the XCM World Cup in Nove Mesto

The XCM World Cup 2024 has kicked off in Nove Mesto with the victory of Italian Fabian Rabensteiner in the men's race and Namibian Vera Looser in the women's race.

Fabian Rabensteiner and Vera Looser win the XCM World Cup in Nove Mesto 2024

The first of three races that will determine the XCM World Cup 2024 started in Nove Mesto with a tactical race where both the men's and women's events were decided in the final kilometers.

In the men's race, Fabian Rabensteiner, Alex Miller, Samuele Porro, and Marc Stutzmann formed a strong group that managed to build a significant lead over the rest in the second lap of the course. It was on the final climb when Italian Rabensteiner launched an attack that allowed him to first open a small gap and ultimately take the victory.

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Alex Miller managed to overtake Porro to take second place, with Stutzmann missing out on the podium in fourth place. This is how the race winner Fabian Rabensteiner explained it:

"We formed a perfect small group where we collaborated well, and then fought among ourselves." In the end, it required "a super hard attack, but I managed to win."

In the women's race, there was not as much cooperation, and although a leading group of six cyclists was still together in the second lap, it soon reduced to three with Vera Looser, Lejla Njemcevic, and Rosa van Doorn at the front.

First, Looser took advantage of a technical section to open a small gap with her front companions, but at least Njemcevic managed to reconnect with her. This back and forth lasted until the end, with Looser having to push herself to the limit to secure the victory with just a 2-second lead over Lejla Njemcevic in second and Rosa van Doorn, who closed the podium.

"I know I am quite good technically, and I knew my sprint was also good, so I just waited for that. Climbing through the root section, your legs are burning after five and a half hours of racing, but I managed to open a gap and flew. I just knew I had to keep pushing and bring it home."

The next event of the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Cup (XCM) will take place in Megève, Haute-Savoie, nestled in the heart of the southeastern French Alps, within the Mont Blanc massif, on the weekend of June 28-30, 2024.