Valentina Höll and Lachlan Stevens-McNab set the fastest times in the downhill qualifiers, ahead of tomorrow’s finals, which will focus all the World Cup action in the Fontanals de Pal area.

The 11th edition of the UCI MTB World Cup in Pal Arinsal kicked off today with the excitement of the Cross-country Short Track (XCC) finals and the downhill (DHI) qualifiers. American Bjorn Riley and Swedish rider Jenny Rissveds, who resides in Andorra, were the first to reach the top of the podium in Pal, while Paul Schehl took victory in the men’s U23 race, in which Spain’s Thibaut François finished second. Meanwhile, Valentina Corvi dominated the women’s U23 event. In downhill, Lachlan Stevens-McNab and Valentina Höll posted the best times. All of this took place on a day marked by a great cycling atmosphere in Pal Arinsal, which, despite the rain, gathered numerous cycling fans for the first major event of the WHOOP UCI MTB World Series.

Riley springs a surprise with his first Elite victory

The men’s Cross-country Short Track in Pal Arinsal ended with Bjorn Riley’s unexpected win in a race decided in the final meters. A large group of riders stayed together for virtually the entire event, contested over ten laps. It wasn’t until the last lap that gaps started to open. Riley launched his attack in the penultimate corner and showed strength in the final sprint to claim his first win in the Elite XCC category with a time of 20’54’’.

“It’s crazy. Right now I don’t feel anything, but I know that in a few hours, when I try to sleep, it’ll hit me and I’ll have trouble sleeping. It’s incredible,” said the American.

Adrien Boichis battled with Riley for victory all the way to the sprint, but couldn’t overtake him and finished second (+1’’), while the defending XCC World Cup champion, Christopher Blevins, started strong but faded to finish third (+3’’), with Luca Martin in fourth place (+6’’).

In the overall XCC standings, Boichis now has 960 points and overtakes Matthis Azzaro (844 points), who was forced to abandon today and couldn’t add points, while Martin is in third with 840 points.

Rissveds gets her first win in Andorra

Jenny Rissveds claimed her first victory of the weekend on a circuit where she had never before won the short track. The race featured a lead group of nine riders for much of the competition. Not until two laps remained did the group start to break up, and on the last lap, Rissveds upped the pace to open a small gap over her rivals, enough to secure victory.

“I’d never done well in short track here in Andorra. Even though I live here, the altitude always gets to me, but today I felt great. The rain that fell before the race helped because it was quite dusty, and it left the circuit in really good condition. I like it when the organizers let us compete on natural terrain like we had today,” Rissveds explained.

The Swede completed the nine laps of the women’s race in 21’50’’, the same time as Austrian Laura Stigger and Swiss Ronja Blöchlinger, who finished second and third, respectively, after a tight sprint between the two.

In the overall XCC standings, Rissveds has closed the gap to Sina Frei, who suffered a minor slide during the race and lost several positions to finish eighth. Even so, the Swiss rider keeps the overall lead with 1,080 points, despite Rissveds’ two consecutive victories, which put her second with 1,050 points. Stigger and Nicole Koller share third place with 828 points.

Schehl outpaces François and Corvi dominates XCC U23

The first races of the day in Pal Arinsal were in the U23 category. In the men’s event, German Paul Schehl beat Spaniard Thibaut François Baudry after an intense duel that lasted all ten laps. Only an attack in the final lap allowed Schehl to open up a slight lead to take the win with a final time of 20’45’’.

François crossed the line just two seconds later to take a well-earned second, while Swiss Nicolas Halter (+9’’) rounded out the podium. Fellow Spaniard Hugo Franco finished a notable seventh (+27’’).

In the WHOOP UCI MTB World Series U23 XCC standings, Schehl extends his lead and reaches 705 points, while François stays second with 565 points and Halter sits third with 440 points.

The women’s race had a clear leader: Italian Valentina Corvi. With an attack when four laps remained of the scheduled eight for the U23 category, she pulled away solo to claim another win in 19’29’’. Norwegian Lisa Kristine Jorde (+14’’) and Canadian Rafaelle Carrier (+16’’) were second and third, respectively, while Spain’s Marta Cano finished twelfth (+51’’).

In the overall XCC standings, Corvi leads with 581 points, ahead of Dutch rider Bloeme Kalis, fifth today and second overall with 460 points. Jorde is third with 429 points.

DHI Qualifiers

Lachlan Stevens-McNab and Valentina Höll were the fastest in the downhill qualifiers, in which the majority of the favorites managed to secure spots in the finals.

In the men’s category, the New Zealander set the best time after completing the descent from the peak of Cubil to the finish in Fontanals in 2:46.100. Charlie Hatton was one of the big names who missed out on the final, while Spaniard and Andorra resident Ángel Suárez managed to qualify for tomorrow’s main event via Q2.

In the women’s standings, Höll once again showed her dominance with the fastest time of 3:15.147. A major absence in the finals will be Myriam Nicole, who was injured during training yesterday and could not take part in qualifying. Meanwhile, riders like Anna Newkirk, Valentina Roa, and Nina Hoffmann had to rely on Q2 to secure their places in the finals.

Saturday schedule

Tomorrow’s action in the UCI MTB World Cup at Pal Arinsal will be concentrated in the Fontanals area with the downhill finals, starting at 11:00 am with the junior women’s race, followed by the junior men’s final (11:30 am). The Elite finals are scheduled for 12:30 pm (women) and 1:40 pm (men).

The races can be watched live by streaming on digital platforms HBO Max, Eurosport, and MTBWS TV, and in Andorra via RTVA.