U.S. riders put on a good show at the Mountain Bike UCI World Cup over the weekend in Germany with Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif./Specialized) taking fourth in the U23 women’s race and Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt./Specialized Factory Racing) with eighth in the elite women’s contest.
At Saturday’s lone World Cup race at Albstadt, Germany, Courtney narrowly missed the podium, crossing fourth in 1:26:00 behind Sina Frei’s (SUI) winning run of 1:22:01, Evie Richards’ (GBR) 1:22:35 silver medal effort and Anne Tauber’s (NED) third-place 1:25:38 finish. Shayna Powless (Roseville, Calif./Liv Co-Factory Off-Road Team) also competed.
Courtney now leads the U23 women’s standings with 140 points.
Davison clocked a 1:36:18 on Sunday, 3:15 behind winner Annika Langvad’s (DEN) 1:33:03. Jenny Rissveds (SWE) earned silver in 1:34:28, while Catherine Pendrel (CAN) took bronze in 1:33:39.
Davison stands 11th in the elite women’s standings with 178 points, just 12 points shy of a top-10 ranking.
Chloe Woodruff (Prescott, Ariz./Stan’s No Tubes-Pivot) finished 22nd in 1:39:58, followed closely by Erin Huck (Boulder, Colo./SCOTT 3 ROX) in 1:40:06 for 24th.
Larissa Connors (Silverado, Calif./TWENTY16 Pro Cycling) took 33rd in 1:42:53, Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Luna Pro Team) crossed 36th in 1:43:10 and Evelyn Dong (Boulder, Colo./Sho-Air-Cannondale) placed 48th in 1:44:18, while Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Team KENDA-Intense) finished one lap back for 55th.
On the elite men’s side, Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo./Specialized Racing) led all Americans, finishing 33rd in1:34:33. Nino Schurter (SUI) took the win in 1:28:38, trailed by Julien Absalon (FRA) in 1:28:38 and Maxime Marotte (FRA) in 1:29:33.
Stephen Ettinger’s (Bellingham, Wash./Cascade Sport) 1:36:28 run was good for 45th, while Spencer Paxson (Bellingham, Wash./Kona Bicycles Factory Team) and Keegan Swenso (Park City, Utah/Cannondale-360fly p/b Sugoi) took 85th and 90th two laps back.
Thomas Sampson (Holderness, N.H./Vittoria-Yetti Cycles) and Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./SRAM-Troy Lee Designs Racing Team) finished three laps back, placing 113th and 120th, respectively.
Ettinger is the top-ranked American in the World Cup standings at 34th with 89 points.
Samuel Gaze (NZL) won the U23 men’s race in 1:19:23, pacing Titouan Carod (FRA) and Marcel Guerrini (SUI), who crossed in 1:20:00 and 1:21:00.
Tofor Lewis (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Giant Co-Factory Off-Road Team) finished three laps back in 121st, and Sam Weber (Green Bay, Wis.) and Luke Vrouwenvelder(Chapel Hills, N.C.) took 127th and 133rd four laps back.
Photo by UCI MTB World Cup