The French cross-country sextet claimed the first gold medals and rainbow jerseys of the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, winning the cross-country team relay (XCR) in a time of 1:22:51.
The six riders – Mathis Azzaro (Men U23), Adrien Boichis (Men Junior), Léna Gérault (Women Elite), Tatiana Tournut (Women Junior), Line Burquier (Women Junior) and Jordan Sarrou (Men Elite) – beat the USA (+48sec) and Germany (+49sec) teams in a pulsating race that saw four different nations lead and seven different nations hold podium positions throughout its 24km distance.
It’s a record seventh XCR world title for France, having been previously tied on 6 each with Switzerland, who finished in 5th, behind Italy and ahead of Great Britain.
The 15 competing national teams are each comprised of six riders from different categories, who ride one 4km lap each for a team total of six laps. Under the warm sun in Val di Sole, 15 riders set off at 12.30 on the flat grass straight. Wearing number 1A-F were France, 2A-F Italy and 3A-F Switzerland.
A strong start from Italy saw them take the early lead with Luca Braidot (Men Elite) from Great Britain and Switzerland. At the first change-over, USA (Christopher Blevins, Men Elite) had nudged a narrow lead over Italy. A trio followed: the Czech Republic, Canada and Switzerland, with France (Mathis Azzaro, Men U23) pulling the chase group and the gap gradually narrowing to around 30-sec.
On Lap 2, Team USA’s Brayden Johnson (Men Junior) maintained a narrow lead over Czech rider, with France (Adrien Boichis, Men Junior) emerging in third and Switzerland fourth.
As the race approached the half-way stage, with 12km covered and three riders per team having ridden, USA held a slender lead over Sweden whose third rider, Hugo Sandin (Men U23), put in a huge ride.
The standings at the end of lap 3 were Sweden, 40:59; USA +18sec; France +35sec. The Czech, British and Swiss riders followed, and behind them the gaps were beginning to widen, but with a mixture of talented riders to follow it was still a wide-open race for the first rainbow jerseys of the UCI World Championships.
The Swedish lead was short-lived as the third handover saw the fourth riders emerge. USA’s Ruth Holcomb (Women U23) briefly resumed top spot before France’s Tatiana Tournut (Women Junior) took the wheel, developing a narrow advantage over the Swede Tilda Hylen (Women Junior), with Switzerland’s Women U23 rider Jacqueline Schneebeli closing in.
Addressing the penultimate circuit, after an hour of fast-paced riding, France’s Line Burquier (Women Junior) had a full minute’s lead at the first Intermediate check over Switzerland’s Noëlle Rüetschi (Women Junior), with the German and Czech riders in close attendance behind her. Ronja Eibl (Women U23) pushed Germany into 2nd, with Women Elite XCO 2018 UCI World Champion Kate Courtney bringing Team USA back into a medal spot.
Going into the sixth and final lap, reigning Men Elite XCO UCI World Champion Jordan Sarrou had a minute’s advantage for France over Germany’s Luca Schwarzbauer (Men Elite), USA’s Riley Amos (Men U23) and Italy’s Juri Zanotti (Men U23). The Swiss Alexandre Balmer (Men U23) started with a 1:40 deficit, which was a big ask from which to find a podium spot.
With Sarrou looking comfortable it became a battle for silver, which the Americans won by the narrowest of margins. The French sextet kept their nerve - and their balance - to take the win, defend their title and take to the stage where they paraded the week’s first rainbow jerseys
The excitement of the cross-country team relay sets the tone for the remaining four days of the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. With cross-country short track (XCC), E-mountain bike cross-country (E-MTB), four-cross (4X), cross-country Olympic (XCO) and downhill (DHI) to follow at Val di Sole, we’ll see UCI World Champions’ rainbow jerseys presented to the winners every day until Sunday 29 August.