Historic sprint victory for Koretzky at the Albstadt World Cup

The first big event of the year did not disappoint and the Albstadt World Cup was better than any previous script would have predicted. After 6 laps in which absolutely everything happened, Victor Koretzky won the race in a historic sprint with Nino Schurter.

Victor Koretzky wins the 2021 Albstadt World Cup

As has been the norm in recent World Cups, Brazilian rider Avancini was once again the best starter and was the first to take the lead of the race, closely followed by KMC Orbea riders Koretzky and Milan Vader, with Van der Poel just behind controlling any movement.

The calmness was short-lived, as Van der Poel did not want to finish the initial loop without launching his first attack. A very hard uphill climb that the Dutchman made with little effort and with which he broke the initial group, only Avancini was able to close the gap before the start of lap 1.

Van der Poel's control seemed absolute with 6 laps to go, and we saw him accelerate and brake as he pleased and then look back to see how his rivals responded. Van der Poel and Avancini were leading the race by 9 seconds over a group led by Nino Schurter.

One of the big unknowns of the day was Briton Tom Pidcock, who started very late, behind in 90th position, and before the end of lap 1 was already in the leading group.

Before the start of lap 2, Van der Poel relaxed the race and allowed all the favourites to regroup again, handing over to Avancini. A move that favoured the British rider Pidcock after the enormous effort he made to climb more than 80 positions.

The next adventure was led by Czech rider Ondrej Cink and Nino Schurter on lap 2, both attacked and managed to take the lead with some advantage. But the surprises came from behind, Pidcock continued to make a comeback while Van der Poel inexplicably slipped behind in 10th position.

It seemed unbelievable, but we saw it at the start of lap 3. Tom Pidcock was leading the race after starting in 93rd position and this was his first elite World Cup.

The race continued to go off script and Mathias Fluckiger took the lead on lap 3 with Schurter and Koretzky on his wheel, and Tom Pidcock suffering in fourth position and trying to make contact with them. Van der Poel's power continued to fade, almost 50 seconds off the lead in 12th position, and we still didn't know what the situation was all about.

Fluckiger, Schurter and Victor Koretzky remained firm as the leading trio, Ondrej Cink was 4 seconds behind, while Anton Cooper and Tom Pidcock were 20 seconds away.

Lap 5 started with Fluckiger asking for the relay and none of the frontrunners looked comfortable taking the lead. Behind Pidcock was still holding on to fifth place and Van der Poel was trying to make a comeback that seemed impossible.

Bell, last lap and Mathias Fluckiger took advantage of the finishing line to tighten his shoes in what seemed like a declaration of intent. He didn't know yet that bad luck would befall him.

At the worst moment, Fluckiger suffered a problem with his telescopic seatpost that would not go up, and Nino Schurter took advantage of this to launch a hard attack that only Victor Koreztky could follow. Victory would be between them.

In a historic sprint Victor Koretzky beat Schurter to take his first World Cup victory. Mathias Fluckiger had to settle for third place, Ondrej Cink was fourth and Thomas Pidcock came in fifth. All of this in one of the highest level races in recent years.

Among the Spaniards, David Valero was first in 28th position followed by his team mate, Pablo Rodriguez in 38th position. Ismael Esteban finished in 46th position after an epic comeback from behind in 100th. Jofre Cullel came in 55th, Sergio Mantecón in 60th and Pau Romero in 109th.

Results Men 2021 Albstadt XCO World Cup

1. Victor Koretzky 1:20:23

2. Nino Schurter +0:02

3. Mathias Flueckiger +0:23

4. Ondrej Cink +0:25

5. Thomas Pidcock +0:29

6. Anton Cooper +0:30

7. Mathieu Van der Poel +1:13

8. Alan Hatherly +1:19

9. Thomas Griot +1:33

10. Henrique Avancini +2:05