Men Junior 20”: Riera’s masterclass
Spain’s Marti Riera – who had already won gold in the team event on Wednesday - delighted the home crowd by qualifying first in the Junior Men 20” semi-final. His 700 points were more than 100 points clear of Switzerland's Loris Gonzalez (590 points), who qualified second. Italy’s Diego Crescenzi finished third.
In the final, Riera went on to deliver a masterclass in poise, agility and guile as he reeled off five consistent rounds of 60, 60, 50, 50 and 60 points respectively, to win with 280 points. Gonzalez secured silver thanks to 200 points, just 10 ahead of Spain’s Nil Benitez.
Men Junior 26”: Cegarra’s consistency rewarded
In the Men Junior 26”, the final looked like it would be a battle between France’s Charles Chibaudel, the Czech Republic’s Tomas Veprek and Spain’s Daniel Cegarra, who topped the semi-finals with 440, 440 and 430 points respectively, which was 100 points more than the next rider, Andrej Galovic (SVK).
And so it proved – to a degree – as Cegarra joined Riera in adding to his team gold from day one with an event-winning effort of 220 points. A final run of 50 points hammered home his advantage, beating Veprek by 70 points. Veprek’s compatriot Vojtech Kalas won bronze with 130 points. Chibaudel couldn’t reproduce his form of earlier in the day, finishing fourth.
Women Elite: Barón stuns four-time UCI World Champion
The semi-finals of the Women Elite went the way it has for years and years with Germany’s Nina Reichenbach, UCI World Champion in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, qualifying in first with 690 points. However, Spain’s Vera Barón wouldn’t let Reichenbach have the chance to relax in the final: the silver medallist from the event in Chengdu (China) in 2019, when it was part of the UCI Urban World Championships, qualified just 40 points back with 650 points. France’s Manon Basseville qualified third with 540 points.
With the home crowd fully behind 17-year-old Barón, the final proved a tense, exciting affair. It was reminiscent of the Salzburg leg of the UCI World Cup back in 2019 when a 15-year-old Barón stunned all by collecting 270 points from a possible 300 to clinch gold. That day, Reichenbach had to settle for second. And the German had to settle for a rare second place again as Barón’s 50-point fourth run gave her the edge, leading 220 points to Reichenbach’s 190 points. Come the finish, Baron took an emotional victory by 270 points versus Reichenbach’s 250 points. Basseville won bronze.
“I feel incredible, I don’t really believe it,” Baron said afterwards after hugging her brother and waving to her home fans. “It’s been an amazing atmosphere; I could hear everyone screaming. I’m so happy.”
Men Elite 26”: Britain’s Carthy prevents Spanish clean sweep
The Men Elite 26” competition looked a formality as Great Britain’s Jack Carthy made the final with a massive 760 points. The three-time UCI World Champion looked hell bent on regaining the crown he lost to Spain’s Sergi Llongueras back in 2019 when he had to settle for bronze. Last year’s postponement due to the pandemic seemed to make Carthy more motivated than ever as he stormed the qualifiers. France’s Nicolas Vallée, who won silver in 2019, qualified second with 570 points. Spain’s Julen Sáenz de Ormijana sat third with 540 points.
As expected, Carthy’s incredible consistency saw him carve out an impressive 160 points at the halfway stage. That was 40 points ahead of the next-best rider, Vincent Hermance of France. The final run proved a procession for Carthy as his 270-point total dwarfed the competition. Carthy had won his fourth Men Elite 26” title. But it wasn’t Hermance who took silver. He had to be content with bronze after Sáenz de Ormijana’s final-round 60-pointer matched Hermance’s 210 total: but the Spaniard won courtesy of being the only one of the two to register a 60-point run in the final. Still, Hermance couldn’t be too hard on himself after experiencing three punctures in the final.
Men Elite 20”: Conejos heads Spanish podium
In the last event of the 2021 UCI Trials World Championships, it looked to be a three-way Spanish battle between home riders Borja Conejos (770 points), Eloi Palau (740 points) and Alejandro Montalvo (730 points) who were 140 points clear of fourth-best qualifier Thomas Pechhacker (AUT, 590 points).
Come the final, it looked like Palau would take gold, as he headed into the final run with 190 points. Could Palau do it? Many will remember that in 2019 Palau suffered hand and eye wounds after accidentally setting off a WWII bomb in the Italian Dolomites when riding with Sergi Llongueras. In Vic this weekend, both proved they were fighting fit and in world-class form. Unfortunately, the fairytale ending didn’t happen: Palau had to be content with bronze after a 10-point final round.
So, it was Montalvo who looked set for gold with 240 points. That was until Conejos enjoyed a fantastic 60-point final run to win Spain’s first Men Elite 20” title since Abel Mustieles Garcia in 2017. “I am World Champion,” a delighted Conejos said after the race. “My concentration was good, I did my best in every section and I really hit that last section. I am delighted.”