Alan Hatherly (South Africa) has won back-to-back World Championships at today's XCO race in Crans Montana. The South African had failed to win a World Cup all year but impressed when it mattered most, powering away from the field in the second lap to take his second world championship title in a row.
How it unfolded
Riders had been greeted to snow on the high peaks thanks to overnight rain, making the plentiful roots on the track slippery and treacherous. Midway through the first climb in the lap was a super technical root pinch that, with the rain, had now become even more of a challenge. There were two lines, a main direct line which was steep with large roots littered throughout or a wider line that was flatter but with three or four off-camber roots ready to catch people off guard. This would become a pivotal section for the race.
Newly crowned XCC (Short Track) World Champion Victor Koretzky (France) set the high pace early on the first climb of the lap leading the pack with Christopher Blevins (USA) hot on his wheel. The pack of favourites largely stayed together throughout the opening lap with the only casualty being Mathis Azzaro (France) falling victim to a flat tyre whilst sitting in third place. As he pulled aside, it allowed a small gap to open up to Koretzky and Blevins who completed lap number one ahead of the group of contenders.
Starting from the fifth row on the grid, the multi-disciplinary Mathieu Van der Poel (Netherlands) wasted no time in reaching the front of the race, closing the gap and tucking in behind Koretzky and Blevins. As Koretzky tackled what had been the decisive technical roots pinch all weekend, he lost traction, stalling out Blevins and Van der Poel. Hatherly had chosen the wider line through the section and saw the opportunity to put the hammer down quickly, distancing everyone as they all got stuck behind the running Frenchman.
Hatherly built a lead across the second lap to put fifteen seconds into the chase pack upon coming through into the third lap. Blevins led the chase pack into the third lap accompanied by Koretzky, Van der Poel, Luca Schatti (Switzerland), Luca Braidot (Italy), Mathias Fluckiger (Switzerland) and Simone Avendetto (Italy). On the root pinch climb, Van der Poel attacked the chase group with only Fluckiger able to immediately follow the big Dutchman. As Braidot closed down the gap, Fluckiger counter-attacked the group quickly, going clear in pursuit of Hatherly, who was now 24 seconds ahead.
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