XCC Photo Epic: Nove Mesto XC World Cup 2024 – Pinkbike

The first riders to go between the tape on the flat-out and slick course were the U23 riders. Riley Amos continued his undefeated 2024 season while the women’s race saw a new winner as Isabella Holmgren was unrivalled crossing the line nine seconds ahead of anyone else.

After 19 minutes of dramatic racing, Alessandra Keller takes her first XCC win of 2024 in a dominant show of strength. Across the seven laps of racing the short course format created some incredible racing for the elite women as the pace was high and the mixed track conditions provided a real challenge. Pauline Ferrand Prevot and Haley Batten rode close to the race winner but they couldn’t match a final sprint from Keller as she crossed the line a second ahead.

The elite men’s short track action saw a repeat of the round two results as the Specialized team pairing of Victor Koretzky and Christopher Blevins secured the top two positions. With all of the top three racers on the same second, it couldn’t have been much closer after the eight-lap race as Koretky had the legs to out-sprint Blevins and Thomas Litsher to kick off his weekend with a top podium position.

With the new schedule riders only have a day to recover after a big short track effort for the main event where they will take on the full unrelenting Nove Mesto course.