Puck Pieterse and Christopher Blevins secured victories in their elite short track races during the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Nové Město Na Moravě, Czechia. Pieterse overcame a challenging start and a strong finish to claim first place, ending Evie Richards' undefeated streak. Blevins narrowly defeated teammate Victor Koretzky, securing his third consecutive win in the series despite challenges like a dropped chain. Both races highlighted strategic positioning and adaptability to changing conditions, including a strong headwind complicating the finish straight.
"It was a blast. My start was not so good, so the first two laps it took me a while to move up. Luckily, on the road section, because of the headwind, the peloton came to a standstill. I could move up and not leave the top three," Pieterse said.
"It was a bit different [to road racing] with the wide bars because now you are touching literally everybody if you want to move up. Apart from that, I used my race-smart a bit by staying in the wheels on the parts where it was necessary."
Blevins crossed the line just ahead of teammate and World Champion Victor Koretzky... becoming the first rider to win the opening three UCI XCC World Cup rounds.
Despite the victory, Blevins' race didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped, after suffering a dropped chain, which complicated his performance.
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