Lecomte takes the victory at the XCO World Cup in Lenzerheide

Lecomte takes the victory in the XCO World Cup in Lenzerheide after a lightning attack that took her completely away from her compatriot Ferrand-Prevot. The multi-champion suffered as a result of that change of pace and lost the position to Terpstra and Keller. The scare of the day was an accident involving Rocío del Alba, who was taken to hospital with what appears to be a broken collarbone.

Lecomte attacked to victory at the XCO World Cup in Lenzerheide

Frei, Pieterse, Berta and Rissveds were the first to put the wheel on the ground in Lenzerheide after taking the lead on the asphalt section. Ferrand-Prevot was not as fortunate and lost a few positions at the start.

Almost all the main candidates for victory were already visible in the start loop. At the start of the first full lap, up to ten riders —Lecomte, Ferrand Prevot, Richards, Keller, Pieterse, Frei, Terpstra, Tauber and Berta— formed the luxury group that opened the track.

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Difference stable in the first part of the race, with the pursuers Courtney and Henderson at about seven seconds. Time to analyze and measure risks. Just when the Argentinean María Apaza experienced a double dose of accidents: first after going off on a right-hand curve and shortly after a hard crash on a descent.

However, the worst fate befell Rocío del Alba at the start of the race. The rider from Móstoles was evacuated to the hospital for x-rays after suffering a hard blow to her left shoulder. Despite the scare, she was in good health and conscious. Later it was suggested that she might have broken her collarbone.

First hostilities in the lead with the French Lecomte and Ferrand-Prevot opening gap. The movement put the rest of the leaders on alert, who squeezed their quads a little more to get to their wheel.

The pace was up and Frei was the first to drop, although Tauber and Richards also dropped off moments later. The leaders continued to pedal ahead and Berta and Richards dropped out of the group, which consisted of Keller, Lecomte, Ferrand-Prevot and Terpstra.

With the fourth lap already started, the next to drop was Pieterse. The Swiss Thomus Maxon rider also flirted with being out but did not give in and returned to the fight.

The penultimate lap started with the five leaders leading the way as Pieterse crossed the finish line 7 seconds behind.

Ferrand-Prevot, who had opted to adopt a low profile, pulled a few watts out of the chamber and set an extra pace that only her compatriot Lecomte was able to keep up with. A few minutes later the gap to her fellow riders was already 9 seconds for Terpstra and 12 seconds for Keller.

The last pass through the finish line before the final lap and Terpstra managed to cut the gap to 5 seconds. Even so, the feeling was that the Dutchwoman would have a hard time to get into the fight for the victory.

Still on the asphalt section Lecomte attacked with a change of pace that left Ferrand-Prevot with no answer. The gap became even bigger soon after, when a faded Ferrand-Prevot lost second place to Terpstra.

Lecomte showed a great freshness that allowed her to savor the last part of the circuit with a lead that no one was able to cut. Terpstra finished second and Keller took third place from Ferrand-Prevot, who finished more than half a minute behind the leader.

Results XCO World Cup Lenzerheide 2023 - Women's

1. Loana Lecomte 1:24'41"
2. Anne Terpstra +18"
3. Alessandra Keller +32"
4. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot +39"
5. Puck Pieterse +54"
6. Evie Richards +1'18"
7. Mona Mitterwallner +1'45"
8. Jenny Rissveds +1'59"
9. Martina Berta +2'23"
10. Caroline Bohé +2'24"