Koretzky wins a crowded sprint and takes the victory in the XCO World Cup at Lake Placid

After a completely unpredictable race, Victor Koretzky won the XCO World Cup in Lake Placid in a massive sprint.

Victor Koretzky wins the XCO World Cup in Lake Placid

After Saturday's Short Track, an exciting race with many contenders for victory was expected. And that's how the XCO World Cup in Lake Placid was experienced.

The newly crowned XCO World Champion Alan Hatherly led from the first lap and was responsible for taking the lead in the race and starting to stretch the group of favorites.

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Alongside him were Victor Koretzky, Nino Schurter, Filippo Colombo, Martín Vidaurre, and many more. The group remained very numerous despite several changes of pace that did not result in any breakaways.

Chilean Martin Vidaurre suffered a hard fall in one of the rock gardens that, although initially seemed to have no consequences, forced him to abandon with signs of pain in one arm.

The race remained unusually compact until lap 4, when Hatherly suffered a puncture and Victor Koretzky took advantage to launch an attack that began to create gaps among the leaders.

Shortly after, in lap 6, Nino Schurter also suffered a puncture and was forced to stop. This took him out of the lead and relegated him to over 90 seconds behind.

The race was as unpredictable as expected. But far from being resolved, the final lap started again with 9 cyclists riding together. And once again, everything was decided in the final meters.

Frenchman Victor Koretzky won in a massive sprint that saw Alan Hatherly finish second and Filippo Colombo third.

Top 10 Men's Elite Results  XCO World Cup Lake Placid

1. Victor Koretzky - Specialized Factory Racing - 1:22:17
2. Alan Hatherly - Cannondale Factory Racing - +1 second
3. Filippo Colombo - Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team - +1 second
4. Marcel Guerrini - BIXS Performance Race Team - +1 second
5. Mathias Flückiger - Thömus Maxon - +3 seconds
6. Christopher Blevins - Specialized Factory Racing - +4 seconds
7. Luca Braidot - Santa Cruz Rockshox Pro Team - +6 seconds
8. David List - Lexware Mountainbike Team - +13 seconds 
9. Simon Andreassen - Cannondale Factory Racing - +17 seconds
10. Lars Forster - Thömus Maxon - +51 seconds