Jolanda Neff, I try not to write about her, I [sort of] swear! But she keeps on winning and keeps on doing so with large amounts of #Neffness. Which I believe translates into both “rad” and “Braaap” in Swiss [forgive me for my use of the word “rad”].
There’s not too much to say about Jolanda Neff’s win in Albstadt (race #2 in the UCI XCO race series). The gun went off, she attacked on the first climb, took the lead and never looked back, crossing the line ahead of Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå (Multivan Merida), who for the second consecutive week, finished second to Neff (although be it twenty-six seconds slower than last week).
The rest of the podium was as follows: Catharine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team)-who once gave me a high five–in 3rd, Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) in 4th and long time Soiled Chamois favorite Maja Włoszczowska (Kross Racing Team) in 5th. Well done ladies, looking forward to the next round which takes place on July 4th and 5th in the land of Neffness: Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
American Finishers Women (they’re gonna mess your mind):
9th Lea Davison (Specialized Racing)
23rd Erin Huck ( Scott-3Rox Racing)
26th Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team)
27th Chloe Woodruff (Stan’s NoTubes-Niner)
Congratulations to Kate Courtney (Specialized Factory Racing) for her 3rd place finish in the Women’s U23 race. USA! etc., etc., etc.,
Giving it and seeing it gone
The Men’s race was pretty much the opposite of the women’s race with Nino Schurter (Scott-Odlo) and Julien Absalon (BMC Mountainbike Racing Team) fighting neck and neck the entire race. Of course they were so far ahead of the pack at times it seemed like they were on a spirited group ride.
On the last downhill of the final lap Nino took a slight lead, put the hammer down and was flying down the decent. Given his power, all he had to do was not make a mistake and he would most likely take the win over Absalon. Well, he made a mistake; upon hitting a section of gravel at the bottom of the decent, he took the corner wide, washed out and went down. Absalon passed and despite Schurter’s best efforts, he could not catch Absalon in the final meters to the finish. Tough break for Nino, but I guess that’s racing. Absalon’s victory marked his 30th UCI XCO victory which really is some pretty amazing stuff.*
The rest of the podium had the big Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized Racing) 3rd, Florian Vogel (Focus XC Team) in 4th and Mathias “My brother was once on the front of XXC Magazine” Fluckiger (Stoeckli Pro Team) in 5th.
American Finishers Men (not sure if they mess your mind):