Mountain biking | Léandre Bouchard, best Canadian on a “very tiring” day

Via Crans Montana in Switzerland, the Mountain Biking World Cup was dominated this weekend by the British Thomas Pidcock. Winner on the short course the day before, the reigning world champion won the Olympic solo cross-country on Sunday, while Léandre Bouchard recorded the best Canadian result in this race by finishing in 44th place.

Thomas Pidcock, who will be at the start of the Tour de France next week, had also triumphed in Nove Mesto, in the Czech Republic, a month earlier. Just like at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, he had the upper hand over the Swiss Mathias Flückiger on the new Crans Montana course. Muddy conditions caused several crashes on Sunday and the eventual winner was unable to escape.

The Ineos Grenadiers team rider took the lead on the second lap and, despite a crash, managed to stay in the lead as he extended his lead. Flückiger followed at a great distance, 1 minute and 10 seconds later, while the Italian Luca Braidot came third (2 minutes and 5 seconds).

“A very tiring day, I am exhausted, but happy at the same time! After a slight collision at the start, I managed to move up position by position. It was a lot of fun to find the best lines on a new course, it took us a bit out of our comfort zone,” said Léandre Bouchard, who was back on the circuit after missing the World Cup. Val di Sole, Italy.

His teammate at Foresco Holding Proco RL, Victor Verreault, was in 56th place. William Maltais-Pilote is in 86th place, while Raphaël Auclair, victim of a fall, did not finish the race.

“There was a lot of climbing and it was quite wide, and in certain parts the dirt got wet very quickly, so you had to find some balance. These are difficult conditions, but I like them,” said Bouchard. The day before he had finished 37th in the short track event reserved for the 40 best runners.

The women’s Olympic cross-country event was won on Sunday by France’s Loana Lecomte with a 46-second lead over Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller. The Dutch Puck Pieterse completed the podium.

Roxane Vermette and Léa Bouchard finished 48th and 53rd respectively. Ontarian Jennifer Jackson achieved the best Canadian result, placing 15th (6 minutes and 50 seconds).

Among the under-23s, Ophélie Grandmont was the 48th cyclist to cross the finish line, just under 15 minutes after winner Olivia Onesti from France.

The next World Cup will be played from July 4 to 7 in Les Gets, France.