LIVE RACE | Women’s U23 XCO World Cup Nové Město | UCI Mountain Bike World Series

The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series returns live from Nové Město na Moravě in the Czech Republic. Watch the U23 riders battling live in what promises to be another unmissable race.

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The UCI Mountain Bike World Series unites mountain bike’s major formats under a single brand for the first time. The new UCI Mountain Bike World Series includes the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for Cross-country Olympic (XCO), Cross-country Short Track (XCC), Cross-country Marathon (XCM), Downhill (DHI), Enduro (EDR) and E-enduro (E-EDR).

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[Music] for some under 23 Cross Country Olympic distance [Music] racing under 23 women set to get us underway Ladi here in the Czech Republic give us our first look at this full cross country Olympic circuit 19° Celsius out there it did dump R perfectly in time for the start of the cross country Marathon World Cup first round here today for them getting off the line but the sun is out Karina sck for KTM ticks to the front row Marin L Pit Stop racing team from Canada also gets ready to open her European for the season and there will be a lot of noise the wholeway around for this young woman hu hoping for a home winner Emily Johnson second at r two and Arisha really fought like a lion for that second place as well can you one better today big Big Field here Valentina corvy she the Luca Schwarz power likes to fight from the front always combative always in amongst at corvy again Monroe track Factory R and [Music] pelli former US national champion the British national champion Ellen McLean H great short track yes to from the Brit can she back it up this [Music] afternoon Isabella hren has a real chance of doing waira B and R also become specialist in this season is doing the double can’t she take her first cross country Olympic win we are getting ready to go racing here at the UCI World Cup cross country Olympic third round for the other 23 women my name is Rick mccaran joining me in the booth for this one ole back in seale Ole one of the biggest Fields we’ve seen in a long time and there’s Talent kab bom there Talent up and down it yeah what we saw is a big trip for L the Riders to get to Brazil and and the under 23 rank slightly less funded than the elite so a few Riders missed it and this is like the first big one where we got a full field and it’s stacked top to finish and we didn’t Asel a homegrown Ellen M how great rid in the short track they were both missing from Brazil and we saw yesterday a crash from Kira V in the race as well who won the first two rounds as she was on the back foot in AC cross country the short track so she’s got their move number 17 on the start line today so some work to do well they’re getting ready to go under starter orders you know the drill by now the right lights will go red to begin with and they will then go and we will get our first Glimpse at one of the most famous circuits in Cross Country [Music] racing lights go red and it’s green for go in [Music] noar Al mle H Sprints off the line and is going to lead them into the track for the first time the British Rider National Champion great start from her corvey in the GRE in the pink excuse me and blue along Sider good start as well for Marin low as well the young Canadian Rider number 82 on the start yeah big Big Field here so the head out onto the start Loop just to narrow the numbers down before they head into the really tight confines off the track here in NOA Namar and for the favorites is a really scary start L this and it’s wide for a long time let’s have a replay of the start Ollie talk us through this one yeah and we see mle how this clipped in straight away big start Mar L up the outside Kira B already having a good start she’s having start on the third row but already up to that top 10 yeah this is your first under 23 women’s cross country of the Year importantly to stress how dominant Kira bom has been undefeated until last night short track whenever Isabella hren got the better of her and the rest off the field so for the first time this season question marks hanging over kirab bomb and it’s Monroe just leading around that top Corner anesty as well so we saw anesty normally having slow starts in these races great climber and was always coming back finishing the French champ on nestly and the French national champions Jersey at the front on a full suspension bike for the first time this year we saw her in Brazil with the hard tail and sort of feared for her at times especially our with the fix seat post as well on a hard tail yeah it’s not be gone back to 1990 but anesty as well yeah it got a some appreciative appreciative nods from our our good friend and colleague Bart Brenin in the booth he put a stick in it he put a stick in that fork in a heartbeat get a full thing locked out so but on this circuit an SD back on the full suspension bike and this circuit the characteristics of it once we come off this start L we’re into a lap and it’s so many of the sections really big Roots big rocks that is another Meo in the woods row at the front to this one as well for track huge on the start luk we have a kind of draggy Forest track climb then they do this quick fast but is still wide double track still gives the chance for Riders to move up and down and see Kira bom there in the leader Jersey having dropped back a little bit on that start Loop the scary thing is is it’s there’s T to move up it means that people can come up probably take some risks these wide bars on the handle bar it means that they’re wider than their elbow so on unlike a rope bike the chance of getting caught up up and coming down pretty high we saw that in the short track we saw that in the elite short track I was just about to say really I mean it’s an old Maxum that we’ve used a lot already this year but safest place to be in a cross country race is right at the front of it when you get down in the pack you’re you’re liable to have someone else’s crash happening around you yeah we always say it’s that start Loop you’re not going to win the race but there’s a good chance of losing it and none more so than on in no well oneste looking really strong at the front of this one there is Holly Bova at the front as well should be roared on by the local fans check Rider yeah and there’s a bit of an impact going back you know two Riders not necessarily going down but tangling handlebars stopping and then it sends a ripple all the way down the bunch and if you’re kind of stuck just behind that you end up losing 20 30 seconds a handful of places last check winner here was the man himself yaroslav kavy 2015 2011 9 UCI World Cup win cross country World Champs and Olympic gold to his name so check fans and we see Isabella homegrown the winner of yesterday’s short track already hitting the front now she just settled in off that start hitting the front toall Rider last year’s Junior world champion she’s one of these uh multi multiat phenoms as well isn’t she unbelievable yeah World cross champion and juniors uh mountain bike and then also yeah top 10 in the road race as well so no slid multi- discipline yeah see kirom the leader overall winner the first four rounds in the two short tracks and two cross countries in Brazil but not the best to start so far mle Howard as well just back probably a little bit further back than she would like that win from Isabella hren the the woman out front at the minute Canada’s first female win since Katherine pendrel monan 2016 you got to go back to at World Cup level ell McLean H just going backwards slightly in the pack and another Rider who wasn’t in Brazil the Swiss Rider in while just sitting there at the moment number 34 on the plate so that’s her current UCI ranking and um but do a giving Chase in second place at the moment and here we go this is NOA mes narave proper isn’t it look at those roots everywhere a carpet of routs so after the start leic the Forest Road for the first bit and then we’re into these multi lines his big drop downs this section so so fast we were walking a track last night during practice Yeah the speed it was the junior Riders who were wrecking when we walking yesterday unbelievable the speed they were in those jumps at not scared but HR not scared of these climbs at the minute this circuit OE it’s really I mean it sounds obvious but it’s straight up straight down the hallway around isn’t it it’s still little Punchy climbs little Punchy descents so intense you know all the climbs as well and because they’re so rooting it they’re big Roots as well and big rocks hr’s often running but not necessarily slower if she can stay clear of the traffic and that’s why I’ve I mean once upon a time I’ve done a couple of laps of this place and that is the thing I find about it is that one little mistake somewhere on the pedals you’re off so this section here here it’s so steep but the roots and rocks are big and they’re like little steps everywhere and if you lose a momentum then the wheel slips you lose traction and then you’re off and then you lose 5 six met to the rider in front and what happens is characteristics of the course here at another Mesto we’ve got really steep climb like we’ve got now turn a corner and then we’re spom straight down again and during the circuit we’ve got kind of six of these steep climbs six descent and it’s just non stop there’s no chance to recovery other than that big start finish straight so we jump on the Drone for the first time Isabella hren this section I you always have to caveat it great great funer ride not necessarily Theus yeah and yesterday we had a lot of rain on course in the morning and that was probably the most treacherous section some huge roots of really difficult angles as well and people were there trying to work out how to avoid things the best lines once you get into the the deeper trees uh it’s normally got pretty good grip but it’s the Ops and sections which uh which have far less grip you got a lot of experience around here say we’ve had big rain yesterday morning a touch this afternoon as we look at the slow-mo off on EST what are your what Your read on the conditions it looks pretty much perfect out there to my eyes yeah generally once it rains it get the roots get slippery really quickly in the open sections where they’ve deforested it that gets very slippery but then it dries so quickly so hey it’s generally pretty warm here at this time of year but also as well there’s so many trees they just suck up the water pretty quick so it’s you can see today we’ve had so much rain yesterday yesterday but it’s pretty much bone dry today which is makes the course ride so much better the the Rocks generally have pretty good grip when it’s wet but it’s the roots so we do have a bit of an update for you on as you see the big grand stand in the woods what a place to watch bike racing that is through the big rock garden we do have a bit of an update for you on the condition of Jenny RFS who crashed out off that Elite women’s short track race the team saying that they’re still undergoing assessments right now on Jenny and they’ll make the decision tomorrow and whether or not we see her in the cross country Olympic race but I mean that sounds reasonably positive versus uh straight away this is broken or that’s broken yeah I mean it was a big crash right over the handlebars wasn’t a little slide out she went straight at the front door and onto a hard surface as well so yeah it was a big one hopefully she’s all good so there is Hol grin leads us onto the start finish straight to finish off the start Loop looking like she’s getting a rush on as well Elena benw is behind her Olivia onesty behind her again then it’s Kira Bal there she is in your picture behind oneste in the red and white of the overall points leader yeah Kira Bor obviously the favorite for this race coming into it but a crash in a short track a bad start but she’s coming through strong and she really needs to I mean hung’s gone off on that start Loop you know coming in with a gap already bomb needs to you know she’s going to have to work hard to close that N9 seconds now but but she now it’s a now or never really she has to close it yeah we theorized about it at the time and uh we were right you know that was Cub’s first UCI World Cup win in marur in the short track thanks to kirab bomb so not a small victory by any means that Big Brand like Cube getting their first win great to see yeah and coming in with a factory Squad again you know the proper bits big Riders but focusing more on the U23 rank I think it’s a smart move developing Riders rather than buying in at the you know the kind of top 10 in the elite it’s a smart move but it’s going to take a lot more than a smart move to catch Isabella hren here today she is doing exactly what Sophie heavy pson did here last season and disappearing up the road on that number 32 bike so elen benoa 11 seconds back offer by our our timer in the bo oneste 16 seconds back in third bombs right with her there is benoa great R from what yeah yeah I last year best race was a 14th World Cup so you know sitting there in second place she’s definitely up to game coming into this year and obviously it’s an age related category so you get a chunk of riders every year that will go up um but to jump up from 14th to riding a second is is a big jump is one L tracks as well o isn’t it’s a bite Riders track yeah it’s where the technical can really the technically gifted can really really Shine That’s often why we see British Riders do well in the Czech Republic it’s the kind of stuff they’re used to riding it’s that sort of not necessarily brutally steep up or down but Roots lack of traction carrying speed we was saying yesterday it felt like we could be in you know Glen tress in in Scotland it was that mix of really routin natural stuff with some man-made and it takes a certain a skill a different skill set than maybe we had in AR rashio which was dry generally big jumps big features this is more like minute Tech techical you know it’s little little line choices it’s traction it’s a it’s a different Tech so here we have a chasing group then led by Monroe onest is in there Santos Sara covas the Italian for Santa Cruz Rock shocks pro team currently in seventh Valentin a cor’s St in 10th just behind the highest check Rider there is kirab Bomb the overall points leader undefeated in Brazil yeah the pace set by homr 25 seconds back to third CLE and B at the minute in a couple of riders we saw Gina Ki as well one of one of the great Riders from last year placed well in the early World Cups as well bad short track but she’s floating right there at the moment with you know 25th place already Heming over a minute this section here this little punch is absolutely pivotal to your whole lap kir bom off and running but this bit has never been as easy OE no it’s really really tough you go up a long clim you get no recovery you have one for track acoss you’ve got like a bike and a half L you before you’re up on there’s Alan McLean H in the British national champion Stripes sorry continue the only way to hit it is you when you hit the Forest Road just before it you have to do a full Sprint to hit it with momentum easier said than done cuz you already just done a really difficult climb before it see Gast all you want to do is recover but what you need to do is accelerate we such a tough section we’re back with the leader hongren 28 seconds clear of Elena benoa she’s going early all five laps the distance this one but she’s looking like it’s not like she’s attacking early it just looks like that’s her Pace she’s looking comfortable I mentioned it before it’s very much the the Sophie heavy pson as of the start of 2023 approach where at no point does it look like she’s hammering home any particular sector she’s just riding everything faster that’s her Pace she’s just yeah doing better than everybody else at the moment it’s very simple but we see the kit she’s in she’s in the not the Tre mountain bike kit but the the little Trek team so having been that multidiscipline Rider signing for two years out of Junior ranks for the for the world tour Roy big news as she heads on to what we call it earlier on the M of V one of the most oh heart spiking climbs in mountain biking that camera angle doesn’t do it justice it just goes on and on and on covered in routs yeah if I was comparing it to a road climb it’s like the cinberg in tour of Flanders you know it’s dead straight not on its own it’s not that bad but you just every time it’s Relentless and the every section of this climb is covered with roots that’s how steep it is and the Raider leaving your shot now back to the rider on the white helmet is 33 seconds Gap so that tells you something she is under the attention of Olivia aneste who is a great climber we know that from Brazil so maybe aneste can make the difference on these climbs but you saw a nesty end she just took a slightly bad line hit one of the bigger roots and it just completely sto took all the momentum away it’s one of the few places of the whole woop UCI Mountain Bike World Series where there is no right line no there is you look up from the bottom and it is just Roots everywhere and I say thankfully they have it’s relatively Dry still a bit of damp on the wolf but but you’ve got pretty good traction but you’ve got to remain seated the whole way up as well so you can’t get out the saddle and use that kind of turbo boost because of the the lack of grip you need to stay seated the whole way which makes it so tough and Santos couple of crashes in Brazil not the results she was hoping for she goes through your shot now in sixth place but up with the front of this race there is Elena benoir yeah great start for benan now this kind of group of what would call Favorites have come up to us she’s just got a hang in there great start then use that position just to hang in people like kir Monroe meanwhile back at the front hren making a break for [Music] it and further back 23rd now there’s two home GRS in the race so AA hrome her twin sister nonidentical Twi nonidentical twin sister back in 23rd at the moment and their brother uh gunar hren on the KMC rley Squad ofland B Brenin yeah pretty talented family of cyclist that lot pretty talented family of cyclist although we do know that gunar has worked as a barista in the past which may have bought himself a place onto that team as it result the Bartman likes the coffee but he’s got a good eye for mountain bike Talent as well the hungr seriously seriously fast Canadian family Isabella doing the business out the front of this one at the minute a few Riders just losing a bit of time at the moment Cory’s one 13 third in round two you put her you expect to be in this front group on that one but already a minute down back in 12th Place we just saw as well there is kirab Bomb then moving into second place so can kirab bomb get the magnets on and re in Isabella hren it’s a big ass but we are talking about the class off the field so far this season in Kabal I think it’s this lap at the moment is quite mentally a tough lap for kirom you know she’s gone from having it her own way and really been not Head and Shoulders above the other Riders but undefeated in Brazil in in four races see unless he just moving past her again so how much uh I mean we’re talking about very very young Riders OE is the experience there for them to form a group and share the share the effort and bring him back I think K here it’s 44 seconds at the I think on this circuit it’s very difficult to ride as a group with those climbs that you know so technical you almost end up actually it’s a negative you end up almost riding into each other on the routes uh and there’s chance of taking a other out and on The Descent as well you go get such good a line it’s one of those circuits where actually being on your own and being able to see the track and ride your own lines is actually a benefit the only time it’s an advantage really you got that big long start finish straight where a group can work together and share the load well see Anna Santos trying to get back on to that group Leed for the time being by the overall points leader kab bomb on the cube bike interestingly as well saw number of the Riders on the front row it’s a sunny day for now here in the Czech Republic wearing clear lenses on the riding glasses because it’s very dappled light very tricky to see the roots in here it’s a tough one in here the the woods are so deep in parts and and as well and there’s quite a lot of depth changes as well so between the roots you’ve got some really big dips so it’s really hard through the light we look at this section as a classic example being able to pick out which route sections and they seeing they’re taking this slightly slower if down is a kind of easier be line on the right but I think it’s turning out to be faster as the conditions have changed yeah it’s kind of it’s a longer route but it’s one corner you can kind of hit and carry speed out kab bom really fast through the drops of this one yeah and these are these are relatively big jumps but it’s what you’re landing on you’re not Landing onto a smooth SL you’re Landing straight onto big routs so physically really hard and we’re talking about how Relentless this course is but you come down there to use your legs to absorb the jumps your upper body to absorb the roots and then as you come you come around the corner and you’re straight into this section as well which is a very physical course as well see Ben off and running here yeah multi line up here two completely different sections this what we saw last year particularly in the men’s race we had poock and deau fighting out for the win and it was down onto this climb and one picked one side one on the other and just went for it oh on just pausing thought she’s going to trials her way back up but the clipless pedal once you you twist your foot idle the pedal mechanism difficult to get a back in rem in the bike but kabong just cutting across the front of her we see this again good skills using the tree yes stallo didn’t she that’s the thing it’s you what you always talk about it’s better to get off the bike early keep the forward momentum than to stop moving all together and Ben did a good job with that she got off early ran a section jumped back on then she jumped off again and actually she’s managed to go from the back of the group to the front of the group using that tactic and just keeping that momentum keeping rolling what you don’t want to be doing is pausing and stopping like we saw in FD it just kills all your momentum and when you get going again a lot of talk in the legs yeah bomb and monoe then ride the section and get past B and on EST clean how on now recovering from a slightly bad start back up to 8 place for the Brit about minute behind and seeing whether she can make contact with this kind of big second group the top 10 covered by 1 minute 31 seconds chinska of Poland currently in 10th place so gives you an idea of the pace of Isabella hren out front she’s 47 seconds clear of second place Ben Wild on SD bomb [Music] Monroe and I think pretty good chance that we’ll see clean and Johnson as well just making contact with the back of this group again yeah Johnson’s in ninth at the minute just behind mle H so this one could come back together at least behind the leader but it’s going to take some doing to catch Isabella H here we see that climb and you see the difference of riding and walking but aneste as well she’s been when it hits the climb she’s straight to the front of this group putting on the pressure but on The Descent just not quite as fast as everybody else just losing the wheel now 3 4 seconds just in one descent you can see the amount of energy going through the bikes on that shot as well that is as all he says the whole way around here and they sure on one of these few asphalt sections the routs covering the whole place as they head through the jumps that form part of the short track course over the big bridge that we saw Charlie alridge clear during the elite man’s Race So Isabella hrum just going through that start 57 seconds seconds she found another 10 seconds in one split so theung she looks so strong in that short track she went off from the penultimate lap put the pressure down and no one could hold the wheel so he knew she had good form strong legs but 54 seconds in you know one and a half laps is that’s unheard of really and it’s a different mentally is it a different sport whenever you’re by yourself and you don’t have Riders around you is it more difficult to keep Focus or is it more relaxing that you I think when you’re when you’re on a good day you just lock in we saw ping for on proo at the last two World Championships you just went from the gun locked it in and then you just go into this metronomic almost like you’re doing hard practice lap and it’s quite relaxing you’re just ticking off the climbs ticking off the sections and I think when you’re on great form and you’ve got that real focused ability that day being on your own is amazing great place to be stress wise as well you know that you do have a bit of time in your pocket if you get a puncture or there’s a mechanical or you need to drop into the tech feed Zone you get sometimes where being in a group there’s this kind of synergy and everyone can work and bounce off each other but on a course like this other than this section they’re on now you go into the woods and it’s almost it’s more annoying than helpful you can see the dappled light there kirab migan Monroe coming through the woods there’s [Music] Beno tell you what benwa is winning in terms of racing their number out there 34 on the bike currently sitting in fourth in the race let say MRA having a good ride we saw in Brazil she had some good results but fourths and six but compared to what she was probably expecting going in that would have been slightly disappointing Monroe looking like she’s maybe just taking charge of this group away but up on the PA slightly to bring well try and attempt to bring everyone across there’s Cena fan for lexware you mentioned uh yesterday lexware and these European teams that maybe they only had one or two riders in Brazil we look back at the another group with McLean H in it third wheel Emily Johnson on the front of it yeah they you know they’re they’re finally here they’re in Europe they’ve got the full pit set up all the spares they can be a different sort of uh a different level of formidable yeah and it’s that getting into that team of of un generally U23 riders or younger Riders yeah it’s a really good place for be in that lexware team we see specializing generally in the younger and 23 rides that domestic German Riders they do a cracking job and quite often when they get the day right they can compete with the big Factory teams hren out front the gap’s 1 minute 10 now so another 10 seconds oh leader just off and running up the hill but you can see how quickly she was off the bike and still carrying Forward Motion so we have that large kind of group behind home gr of five rider six Riders now then there’s a second group back 20 seconds behind Emily Johnson M Clean Howard it’s where those groups can come back together I think there a reasonable chance this lap so hren leads bomb and Monroe but what a lead it is 1 minute 10 at the minute the number 32 bike of Canada’s Isabella hongren looking in perious out the front of this one there’s Anna Santos off and running two as well cour nois yeah would have been one of the pre-season favorites as well just based on experience in the Italian national Jersey she gone through your shot there night and Monique halter as well current European Champion she won that a couple of weeks ago over in Romania the Swiss Rider as well just coming through decent short track yesterday we just caught a glimpse of the second hren Twin Eva yeah up to 17th now through here is the leader onto the [Applause] wall That’s n on nasty at the front of this group but there’s a reasonable chance that hren will will have cleared the climb and got out of sight before the other Rises hit that and that mentally is a massive blow that’s a blow is you know that you know there’re a minute up the road that’s gone you know you it’s such a steep climb and it’s long straight it pulls the groups back together but if they’re out of sight that’s pretty demoralizing as a second group we have this bit of flowing single track just before we start that that main steep climb it’s just one of the fits of the course where you’re not necessarily recovering but you can just soft pedal a little bit and kind of just get ready for the big push up to the top here we go second and third place on and Monro onto the wall for the first time behind second time excuse me up two out of five 114 the Gap now [Music] huge Monroe saw her push really really hard and sh early doors and then go backwards hoping for a more consistent set of lap time [Music] today oh K bomb just making a mess of that one catching on the route yeah and holds up B on the process and here comes Anna Santos and I think this lap here of’s going to really have to show a mental strength so coming in leading overall won every race crashing the short track so morale might have been dented a bit and then at the back end of a minute 20 down now um that’s going to be a real tough one to swallow regroup yourself and Ando and actually start fighting for second having having started this weekend thinking that it was going to be possibly another win then just running the top as [Applause] well this is where we famously saw yaroslav kavi attack Nino shter 2015 Emily Johnson just getting ahead of that rest of the group trying to close the gap at 153 down now in seventh place two minutes Seventh Place the pace so far has been unbelievable C how now 11th just needs to get onto the back of that group going over the top Valentina Cory who started right at the front this 2 minutes 27 back in 13 that’s the damage being done by Isabella hren her twin sisters in 14 behind corvy and that’s Ellen McLean H heading towards the top off that Soul sap and [Music] clim oh [Music] [Applause] no vanel going down in the Rock Garden there nowhere soft to land in there looks like she did a good job though damage limitation wise [Music] yeah that big main Rock Garden you kind of got two lines that crisscross all the way down and if you’re on your line life’s generally pretty good but if it goes wrong it goes pretty majorly wrong big big features in there it looks like Monroe and nesty just getting a little bit of a gap on that climb now just before it we had like a big drop off it comes down there’s a small recovery section time to get a good drink and then we turn right and then we’ve got the switch back climb going back up again tough climbing on the corner as it gets really steep up to kind of 20 25% on the corners and then false flat again up to the top before we start the canelle not the canelle drops this year the check drops on the way down 11 in the past all you’re 11 in the past it’s ingrained in my brain yeah yeah Isabella hren then leads the way by 1 minute 15 on lap [Music] two and if you’re in if you’re in a team all are you telling your riders that are you that information I probably just focus on the position at this point not a time check you know I see I see so this two these two excuse me Monroe and onesty seem to have broken free of Kira bomb the series leader she’s 1 minute 32 back off the lead so yeah made that mistake and have to get off and run on the on the main climb it’s a Fickle sport isn’t it we arrived in here talking about who was going to have an answer for Kira B and Isabella home gr have one but it’s funny you have the first two rounds in Brazil were five weeks before this and there’s a long time to change your form you can be up you can be down and some Riders come into that first round of the year and that’s not necessarily A Bad Thing come in absolutely flying they’re at 100% of their best form but there’s nowhere to go so kind to hold that over the kind of European racing block we’ve got now is is really difficult so they’re coming they started at 100% they might drop to 95% for this block and then you’ve got other riders that are building condition through into June um and then so it’s a difficult one to hold your season we start in March and we got to get through till October so well we talked about it uh last season a lot with the the plight of Sophie heavy pson you know she she was the Isabella hungr last season she just rode away from everyone the whole start of the year and then had that it wasn’t even really a crashy on had a bit of a bubble at the UCI World Championships in Glen Tres and she was never the same Rider after it yeah and it’s like you never quite show I mean the two are combined but that mental physical thing were they physically not in a great place did they mentally crack a little bit or was it just that big combin which is the most common is is a combination of two but it’s holding that form together and you never quite know someone could back be ill in that period of time they could have had a huge training camp altitude so they might turn up here a bit underp bit fatigued from the training top five covered by by 1 minute 41 on lap two Isabella hren you see the split line Choice there Anna Santos and kirom with the number one their back Isabella hrun doing some damage early doors here Mar Mon’s off and running Monro is looking good though off the chasing pack yeah if you take home gr out the mix we’re back between kind of second and sixth the time gaps we would have expected to see or would see around here normally it’s just a HR just seems to be this extra class above at the [Music] moment it’s so tough this climb an Santos the Portuguese Rider with kirab bom bom moving quite slowly there o yeah and the way she’s getting on the bike it’s kind of labored yeah mentally physically a bit beaten up at the moment I think so I think she’s entitled take the personally they’re all taking a beating at the moment everyone is taking a beating at the hands of Isabella hongren here today yeah the way you saw Kira bomb getting on the bike there that didn’t look like someone that was attacking anymore they looks like somebody was just getting by her twin sister Eva hongren up to 14th now so she’s moving up in this race and she’s ahead off the preseason favorite Jin curri that move to viler Victoria Factory team for kri this off seon still looking like it’s yet to really pay off yeah so K if we looked at the pick of the bunch from 23 a lot of the ride I think the top four went up into seniors this year and she was that best of the rest so going into the first round you know was the favorite on paper but not didn’t have bad results out in Brazil but you know second in round one fourth in round two but you Kira Bourn was really really strong out there three laps to go for Isabella hren there and I can tell you the guy in the mot at the front of the race has had to get a regle on I think he’s just clocked close she is to him blasts her way through the tech feed Zone outside of our commentary Booth takes a bottle heads out for another lap and another presumably massive chunk of time with the rest of the field yeah so that Gap from hram back to Monroe at the moment on the timing screen looking like the 120 but I reckon the next time we get a split that’s jumped up again yeah she definitely does lose anytime the tech feeds and there is a little sort of left right left CH on the way out of it but it won have C much care of bom the UN clipping oh deploy the land anchor halfway through that rock section last thing you want to do yeah K I’m not happy at the moment she just can’t seem to find a rhm moly yeah and that’s his circuit you in a nutshell really once you’re in a good Rhythm you link all the sections together you don’t make a mistake on the climb and you you’re not throwing away any time when it starts to go wrong like we see Kira B now just struggling a bit she makes a mistake on the climbs young Clips you lose the group you make a mistake on the Rock Garden Monroe looks like she has broken free off on Esty here and EST just taking a gel yeah so this race will probably be kind of the hour and a quarter Mark or so so there’s enough time to burn through the sugar stores that you start with and and esti just having one of the energy Gils there most of the Riders will have a little bit of maybe carbohydrate drink or water or energy gel just to keep them going you don’t need loads in a race at about arac but just enough otherwise if you get it BR there’s enough time to to run through the stores and and slow on the last lap and it is a long start finish straight off the bridge here in the Visa Arena so plenty of opportunity to get a food get a feed and a bit of drink in number two bike of Emily Johnson’s crosses the line 2 minutes 3 seconds behind hren but the first time we’ve seen it or race is actually Monro just come back a bit from hongren that was floating in the 120s we’re back at 118 now so Monroe on a bit of a charge and it it be interesting to see whether HR slowing down or it’s actually Monroe getting faster and attacking the other Riders around her I’ve just clicked on the fastest LA Times in the booth and the the iPads had a meltdown and excuse flashing then the Isabella home gr at me so even it’s struggling now what will be interesting to see as well is that first lap of home versus the elite women tomorrow migan Monroe though 117 down now so 3 seconds have gone back towards the American maybe hren just settling into the the middle part of this race there she is mono yeah and I think it’ll work for her now that she’s in that Rhythm she’ll be happy I think mentally with that second position at the moment she can get into her pay Technically she’s very good so she can take her own pace on the times hit the downhill lines that she wants whereas anesti was almost getting in her way a bit they’re two different in abilities in their climbing and descending speed so there is the series overall points leader Kabal working away with Anna Santos currently fourth and fifth just inside the two-minute mark behind this woman and back onto that really steep Rocky second probably the hardest climb on the course this is it’s only a short section but it’s almost impossible to ride it’s traction free isn’t it even in the dry really fat flat F rocks that can’t get any purchase on but you need a real spike in power to be able to get the the drive to get over that section that’s why again that circuit’s tough the the fastest way from A to B is always a consistent power and this cored nesto it’s encouraging you to do these kind of spikes of power all the time they’re super fatiguing and also well if you do a spike of power you don’t have to follow that with some recovery there not it’s not magic you know I mentioned at the top of the show that it’s the 14th time we’ve been here and I think it’s Testament to how good a course it is here in the Visa Arena that you know if you look at some of the other courses from 14 years ago they look ated now they wouldn’t provide this quality of racing but this place it’s well K and it’s relatively unchanged I wrode the first event here in 2011 and it hasn’t changed a lot since they added a couple of Rock Gardens but the the actual course design is unchanged in what 14 appearances now pretty much you can see the kin on EST spinning there on her way up this really tricky little section Monroe starting the Gaper I 15 seconds the section that Monroe’s on now is really tough you go over that big Shimano clim the Steep Rock section and then you have to get on and it drags all the way to the top and that’s the difference if you’ve got good power we see anesty now riding really well you can change down through the gears here keep the momentum and kind of attack this false flap when you struggling a bit the Temptation is to stay in the same gear and just roll and then that’s where five six seconds can go every time there’s the leader Isabelle hr’s on the wall 1 minute 21 so it has gone back out by 4 seconds [Music] now oh it is such a brutally tough piece of [Music] track all the co bells in the world aren’t getting you up there any quicker but the fans support on here is good there’s a rider both sides it gets so loud so [Music] noisy we will we will see that place four or five deep in Spectators come the elite races tomorrow the nice about this circuit as well as it kind of zigzags up and down the hill or winds around the hill so that section there with the steepest climb is is also really close to the the big rock garden section so you’ll see fans can watch it in both parts so they all run from one section to the other across the course and Czech FS normally pretty pretty Rowdy they’ll be doing well to be rder than the Polish downhill fans last weekend in scwa but they will give them a run for their money so hren leads Away now by 1 minute 17 from migan Monro then Olivia on Esty then kirab then Anna Santos your top five covered by two minutes here is the battle for second and third currently being won by that woman Madigan Monroe yeah Monroe Tru Factory Rider doing a great job today riding smooth well quite a controlled race it’s so easy as well I think when someone like hrun rocks up and sets the pace from the gun is not to try and follow the risk is you go and follow and you go too deep into the red and then you have a really bad lap actually it’s acknowledging that that person’s going faster than you and just knocking back to your own pace and I think that’s somethingone maybe that Kira bomb suffered with she felt like she had to go with uh with HR I think that was the right thing to do but it then it pays off for the slow lap on Esty big wide [Music] bars here of bomb Emily Johnson riding her way across to these two now so I wonder if Johnson can either catch a left or just go straight past yeah Johnson’s done a great job she’s closed kind of 30 seconds on this last lap back to this point got back onto the back of kir Bowman Santos absolute fighter Johnson yeah for Johnson third in round one so great start to the season so the highest play check Rider shrena and 22nd we did think that we would see more of hola towards the front of this one but it’s not been the case [Music] sadly go the German Rider as well fifth at European champs two weeks ago as well are we going to see y there we go shensa crosses the timeing split to give us a three minute spread in the top [Music] 10 row just looking smooth this is a section where you can just drop your heels recover a little bit it’s rough but it’s not crazy rough this big drop off though that is a that is hard on the quads hard on rims as well yeah that’s where we saw Eevee Richards flat last year just as you come off if you go slightly offline there’s a couple of little Rim dingers that can pinch the tire air pops out most these tires they’re not running an inner tube here but running a a tubeless Setter so Tire pops on almost like a car tire would onto the rim and then there’s a a latex sealant just to seal things and fix occasional puncher but if you hit things hard enough it’s enough to break that seal and then causes a flat of sorts and we can just see the chaos and that little pinch and oh that is Gregor zisa coming a Cropper polish Rider tipping over just getting stalled out by the riders in front of her I think the top over clipped in M monoo heading towards the second Tech Zone coming into the top 10 as well y Scher as well started 56 on the grid so working her way up into the top 10 so the number board you’ll have will be their current world ranking so normally as a racer you think if you’re ahead of your board you’re having a great day so 56th up into seventh that kind of shows what a great right that is 1 minute 22 then between hren and Monro 1 minute 49 between hren and third place on SD kab bombs 2 minutes 12 back sentences you never thought you’d hear yourself say at the start of the year it just shows as well how tough this circuit is and what shows how tough it is as well is even Isabella hren is forced to to run a couple of these sections they’re so Steep and and The Roots and maybe some of them are still a bit wet from yesterday’s rain yeah back with the leader little dappled spots of slightly Slicker dirt just where the sunlight hasn’t been able to hit it thanks to the tree cover but hren hasn’t look back she’s 1 minute 23 ahead of the second place M Monroe two TR lead him the [Music] way and just as H Crest is top now drop a post down to get that seat post out the way pop it back into the frame and then drop down heels down picking the line just coming down into H this is a bit the section that goes super rutted super roty when it was wet yesterday but now a little easier to ride a big drop in onto this Forest track Isabella hren yesterday he was about that for you all it’s joined an exclusive Club of people who have won their first UCI World Cup in noo Namar that includes Tom pedco Lana LM Henrik aini Simon Andreas and one Matthew Vanderpool not a bad Club to be in not a bad Club to be in there is Madan Monro second place currently on the number four bike just to see the back end just skating across a big route there and that’s all it takes on this in this it just host that proves how slick things still are you caught with that route the one that’s the little sniper Roots at 45° and that’s it bang Wheels out if you catch one of those on one of the downhills then yeah on the front wheel that’s bad times hren Monroe on SD bom Santos your top five 2 minutes 17 covering them battle for fource between bom and Santos really the closest at the front of this race currently as the Drone picks up Madan [Music] Monroe and then she tips it into this really fast as absolutely no time to recover and you can see just how brutally chattery this track is in the Czech Republic yeah it’s very physical circuit upper body as well the big roots to drop offs as well every time time is that press up power and you see when Ryder gets offline hits a big divot Big R and they have to go into almost a bench press position just to try and save things a bit during the race the amount of kind of press UPS you’ll have to do is in the hundreds so it’s a the gym work paying off well out front Isabella hungr looking like she is Barely Breathing heavily oh nasty just looking like she’d to get a bit of panic breaking done there the bike was starting to run away from her yeah you see the difference between anesti and Monroe Monroe able to let the bike roll over those routes technically a little bit better so she’s almost going more recovery and going faster at the same time and estd a bit stiffer on the bike super fast on the climbs but on the descents and and previously in the first two rounds running a a hard tail bike so any suspension on the front this week finally she’s managed to get herself thoughted with a full sus Spike yeah she still has that little uh trinket hanging off the saddle though I do wonder what that is I would assume it can’t be that valuable if it’s hanging off the back of a saddle but maybe little good luck charm well it’s working for today currently in third CLE Olivia on EST trinks Factory team for Monro doing a good ride just piecing together these bits of course making it’s all a bit of a puzzle around another Meo and it’s just getting the pieces in the right place six at the second round in Arisha for migan monu Isabella hren looking like she’s breathing a bit heavier now but she does have 1 minute and 29 seconds to play with so Monroe just taken down an energy gel two laps to go they take about 10 minutes or so for those gels to start working so bit of fuel for that last 20 minutes yeah and well she might need it as well temperatur starting to rise here the wind has just dropped a little bit from earlier on this afternoon when I said that all at the top of the show it really did hose it down for the start of the marathon world cup yeah it’s got his first round here later cross country marant they’re out currently beating way across the Czech Countryside but since then it’s kind of stabilized and got quite hot again yeah once the Sun comes out now it starts going from that kind of 18 to 22 and once you’re in this effort if you’re on one of the longer climbs and the sun’s on your back then you’ll know about it pretty quickly it’s not into the kind of ice vest that we have we seeing in in Brazil but it was H it was cool enough earlier on for Josh Carlon and I to eat our lunch outside in direct sunlight so that gives you an idea Johnson just trying looks bit of dirt on the back of the Jersey there and on the arm so Emily Johnson maybe had a crash somewhere around the lap she’s currently 2 minutes 32 down in sixth place M mon looking super strong good Gap ahead of anesti now they were together not that long ago now 30 seconds anesti just that second half of the circuit just struggles a little bit on the routy technical descent and whereas Monro you know got a good Pace now it’s kind of the riddle of cross country racing isn’t it you can you can be having a good day like migan Monroe clearly is but if it’s not enough to beat somebody else’s good day it’s not enough yeah you and it’s is this thing of just controlling the controll the BS and you know it’s almost you’re racing other people but to be honest you want to try and lock into your own performance and it’s focusing on your the process that you you plan to follow in advance the plan piecing together the circuit you see the leader pushing up through that little climb again asran there’s onesti getting caught by Anna Santos on the March now in fourth place number 13 on our bike yeah and and you can see Santos as well kind of attacking this climb rather than just rolling the gear round really you can see pulling with the handlebars quite a bit of [Music] intent kirom series leader about to get pass by Emily Johnston that pass for fifth place then and Johnson looking like she’s cracking on here B trying to stay with her really really tenacious Rider Johnston but again another little demoralizing blow for kir struggling to keep with hren after and then having been ped again now Johnson going past as well every time this happens in this racing the cross country you’re right on the edge of mentally cracking most of the time you you’re at your your threshold Point your everything your body is saying to slow down and you’re pushing to keep going and when you’re having a great day mentally you can just keep going going but if mentally you start doubting yourself or you start listening to the bit of your brain that’s saying just chill out slow down a bit take a break there is the leader Isabella hren b 17 from the short track yesterday going backwards out the top five here yeah and kabor to give her a ju she she had a crash yesterday in the short track had to chase back on she did hit the deck so you don’t have quite sure you know not anything broken but whenever you hit the de you never quite sleep so well that next night you can have some bruising some stiffness yeah you’re not going to be 100% the next day number 13 on the bike OFA Santos unlucky for some but it’s looking pretty good for her today we talked about this with Aaron Gwyn during the downhill last week Ollie as a racer oh bomb just slides out no grip there as a racer where were you in the number 13 happy enough to have it on or do you have it on upside down or I would just flip it cuz I thought that was a done deal but right okay what did Gwyn do Gwyn said he actually welcomed it because he thought that anything that other people thought was a disadvantage was an advantage for him which was a very Aaron gwy answer yeah he’s tougher than me yeah I’m better than me he’s done a better win in his time gwenny we see this bigger Rock section then pick a line through there deep in AR on lap four out of five Johnson gets it done that rock right in the middle of your screen the screen that is a rim Ender and as we get into the back of this race brain’s not working quite so well the arms are getting a little more fatigued the chance of going offline having a flat tire having a crash you in more than doubles and a Santos not unlike Emily Johnson looking better and better Santos currently ahead of Johnson by Just 4 seconds so two of them could well be about to come together yeah Emily Johnson really coming strong in this second half of the [Music] race Johnston on the pedals there’s second place and third place and fourth place in one shot [Music] of the extremely steep woop [Applause] claim it’s Monro from anesti from [Music] Santos Johnston pretty much back with Santos now is she going to go past her she does no sorry excuse me that was oh bit misleading camera angle I thought you managed to get the Portuguese Rider Des SP you can see that Santos has still got lots and lots of power the real wheel slid out then but she managed to maintain the momentum another couple of half pedal staks to get things going again see Fiona shibler in the blue helmet head towards heading towards K bom so we’re going to have a battle on our hands here between Anna Santos and Emily Johnston Santos doing a cracking ride you think the first two races her best result was 11 so 11th to Fourth big jump up but shra that’s the ride of the day so far from this front group 56 at the start up to seventh now big big jump Isabella hren is 1 minute and 50 seconds ahead of Madigan Monroe Johnson has gone past Anna Santos now so Johnson up in the fourth place can she get in the top three if we look back down outside that top 10 as well one of the favorites before the start junor kri 11th Place Valentina Cori Podium Rider in Brazil back in 12th mle Howell as well the Brit second in short track but at the moment back in 18th position I just think the the pace at the front being driven on by Isabella hren has just taking Everyone by surprise here Ollie yeah and I think a couple of people tried to follow and they as a result of following they just went bit too deep into the red and then it meant that they were just struggling a bit where someone like if we look at the right on screen em Johnson just sat back a bit stayed probably at her own pace and then is coming through in this second half really strong and always when we’re riding a cross country race I always used to think about it or rers a coach now is trying to break it down into three parts so that first part ideally you want to be riding fast but you want to feel like you’ve got plenty left in the tank so you’re one gear off the middle section part two you want to feel like you’re working hard but again you’ve still got a little bit more in the tank and then the third part that’s where you just do Max and you just get to the Finish but if in the first third you’re feeling like you’re at your maximum you got no chance of holding that [Music] pace wise words indeed GL back and still Emily Johnson rer on your screen now in fourth place there is your leader Isabella hren the Canadian in the colors of leadle Trek 1 minute 53 seconds ahead of tre Factory racing perelli Madigan Monroe she’s in amongst the back markers now as [Music] well yeah there was that time a lap ago when Monroe just took a couple of seconds out and I just for a second was thinking maybe maybe the tables are going to turn but it was very shortlived straight away again the Gap started going out so heading [Applause] towards and if you think riding well enough on The Descent I don’t think she’s she’s a little bit stiff on the bike but she’s doing enough to still hit all the main lines carry speed front end and back end breaking in unison there but hren holding the tiller straight just on that line it just drops over into the drop off just before it there’s two roots that are about 30° and they’re big chunky kind of python roots and they the ones that can just put the wheels out of line and when you get in the back end of the race you’re a bit stiffer on the bike you’re less able to adapt quickly what’s that uh you know the the eskimos have got how many words for snow M bikers have got probably double that for roots yeah this place has got every single one of them Dam it the most root strewn circuit I ever rode and I think out on the circuit definitely this year that’s yeah it’s kind of it’s like everywhere isn’t it you really want you either want it full wet or full dry in this place just the way the ground absorbs moisture and the way the sunlight breaks through it it’s never consider theway around I think when it’s like today almost perfect conditions for another masterer if it’s going to rain you don’t want it to be like it was yesterday Under full rain and it just gets so slippery and the Tire Choice becomes very difficult because in some section of the course you still want a lightly treaded tire that rolls well but then in a few sections of the course it starts becoming deep mud where you need a a more kind of aggressive tread pattern becomes really difficult Choice which for these XC riders that the the the Tire Choice is critical and it’s they can spend hours agonizing about which Tire to use and when it’s dry like this it’s quite a simple choice you put on an intermediate and off you go Olivia oneste thirdd Place one lap to go the final lap back in for Isabella hren is she going to get this leading margin out to the 2minute stage there’s third place Olivia oneste she’s 2 minutes 32 back bti on the moment heading away to her best race of the year so far career [Music] best first two rounds in Brazil Sixth and a fifth so for her to get third place today will be a cracking Improvement you can see 1 minute 508 n the difference between hren and [Music] Monroe going back to the back markers on that really steep Rocky climb hren though still looking Cool C and composed at the front I think she’s in that great position now nearly two minute Gap doesn’t need to take any risks can roll through the rock sections I mean she’ll be counting them down now you’ve got three four sections that are on the more difficult or the ones that could cause you a flat tire or chance of a crash all you’ve got to do now is just KCK them off you got a few climbs left to do few descents pick them off one by one Keep Calm yeah well this is definitely one of those days we’re going to look back on without any disrespect to her I’d say a lot of people in the the mountain bite World hadn’t heard the name Isabella homom before this weekend but they’re not going to forget in a hurry there second place Madan Monroe heading towards the start Finish Line to start her final lap what’s the Gap going to tell us 1 minute 56 SP 58 on the screen sorry but if we forget the time Gap this is a really good ride for madagan Monroe up into second place now yeah we’re thinking about the overall title so HRA missed the first two races which is going to be hard for her to catch up and with her other commitments on the road as well may may mean she’s not doing a full series from now on so for Monroe you’re starting to think about pulling points back from Kira bomb in the overall mon was six in ourish sh the last round so going better today and as well o confidently she’s she’s rid her own race hasn’t she yeah done own thing just like Emily Johnson now really mature races didn’t get flustered haven’t made big mistakes where you think kir hasn’t had that smooth race he’s been under a lot of pressure as the leader but not being able to follow hongren and has kind of paid the price for that with with some you know messy riding and then hemorrhaging quite a bit of time good performance in this woman as well Anna Santos nearly three minutes back in fifth place but the Portuguese right T time in Brazil looking much more like the rider the form suggested at the start of the year can hren get this climb in the last lap no again though off the bike [Music] early maintains momentum K ball the series leader acrosses the line in sixth place three minutes 19 back massive gaps and I think the risk is now she’s actually going to get caught by the by Fiona Sher as well maybe losing another spot in this next lap hren head down spinning the legs on this false flat the top of the clim that’s it she ticked off another one of these climes this lap dropping into the Rocks bike equipped you can see the little black box at top of the four the latest generation of rock shocks flight attendance suspension technology meaning that the bike adjusts to the Riders inputs what the suspension’s doing and I’m looking forward to seeing the lap times at the end of this one yeah there’s Ben crossing the line at eighth the rider in black with a white Helmet 4 minutes 14 back hen to step up from Juniors first year straight in with a performance like this in your first under 23 World Cup the number five on her bike then Valentina Cory crosses the line in 10th Place yeah Cory as well with third place in the last round dropping back into 10th 4 minutes 38 back that’s a tough [Music] one G Kori as well 13th now again not a great day but recovering from you know almost 25th in the first lap mon still looking strong yeah and again you saw then just as you Crest The Climb you can tell if a rider still got plenty of energy left as soon as it goes a little flatter they’re down through the gears accelerating when his Riders getting a little bit puffed out what happens is they just hit the top of the climb and they just sto they just roll the same gear they were in on the steeper section this is a key one for homr now we see her on that the mountain bike in copen BG two up 2 minutes and 4 seconds ahead of Madigan Monroe oh and there is that big steep knuckle just towards the end of it she manages to get around the rider’s left hand side of it it’s almost like a personal mission not to have to dab on this section but to be able to ride it o ell mle H Ellen mle H off knees dirty so that looks like a crash see the arms bandaged up as well walking but yeah sorry to see her out of the race having a great shot second in the short track yesterday [Applause] [Music] so that’s another big section for homr ticked off now yeah mle H officially marked as a dnf but up and moving and the Gap from homr to Monroe growing even more back to 208 now I think hr’s got another couple of laps in you know but on this on this kind of form it looks like she’s just rolling around quick practice laps as you say really interesting to see comparing her lap times when the elite women race tomorrow that’ll be one I’ll have a clean look at HR on the 32 [Music] bike blast her way into the 2024 UCI World Cup cross country season she’s going to do the double here in Nova meso narave yeah it’s definitely the fashion with the U23 Riders you see Riley Amos unbeaten so far this season doubling up in both the races in Brazil in the under 23 men Kira B doubling up in both the races in this category and I think H’s going to do the same again today very much the fashion and the 23s at the minute isn’t it the doubl hren through there safely 2 minutes 7 Seconds back to Second Place Madan Monroe then Olivia Esty holding firm in third place although gaps just clear it looks it looks always shortened on this climb but just dropping back down 25 seconds or so Monroe’s going to after to keep the pressure on and Esty looks like she should have enough in hands to stay out of the clutches of Emily Johnson baring any kind of disaster andna Santos is in fifth 3 minutes 10 seconds back but Johnson looks like she’s locked into an Esty now 15 seconds or so is easily closable in this next two3 of a la [Music] Isabella hren has been the class off the field by some margin here today 2 minutes 9 seconds as she heads into that second Tech Zone clapped on by the Tre mechanics yeah so the tech zones on course there’s two separate ones at this course another me though so the Riders can take a you know water bottle or energy gels so the battle for sixth and seventh is on kirom is now joined by Fiona shibler in the blue helmet B needs to keep sheer a bay here if only for her own mental strength she look at the the number board on sher’s bike yeah that will 56 that would crack me 56 roll past and I’d number one on and I think you got to hang in and we’re talking about the overall that’s another position that Kira bombs lost to Madigan Monroe in that fight for that red jersey well we mentioned how the fields were so much bigger here at the first big European race off the season K bomb just doing enough to keep feeling a shibler off bike Team solit turn behind her at the top last time up that climb [Music] long on the check drops HR yeah one main climb left to go one big descent with the roots it’s a proper nibbly climb this next one is when they swing left it’s never easy never mind five laps deep and you’ve got two completely separate lines you do one and you think oh that was horrible the other one’s going to be better and you do that one you find it’s is [Music] tough yeah homegrown good Cadence deciding just to hop up on this steepest bit last time she’ll have to see it for a [Music] while jumps back on for the final little punch at the top of it like we said before as well as being Junior py mountain bike also cyclocross champ as well so getting on on and off the bike at speed and ease is not going to be a problem I don’t think she’s had many problems out there today it’s been pretty cool pretty faultless [Music] performance meanwhile these two still scrapping for sixth place B and shibler yeah fair play for Kira bombb as well and that Rider comes up alongside you she was like she put a bit of fight in on this last lap I think there’s going to have to be a serious a serious debrief after this one for Kira B it’s not been a great weekend for the cube Factory racing Rider yeah it’s from here to the next race in b a few weeks so there is enough time to either recover from the crash that she had in the short track or get some training time in some extra races whatever you think you need to get your level back up again to try and compete with HR at R the fourth round you do have a little bit of time to do it when it’s backto back racing it’s so tough you just literally recover race recover race there’s nothing you can do really to change your Fitness or form just little section through here really is Val Sol and not nutshell fresh on lap one it’s a fast really fun bit of track but the more laps you do of it the more difficult it becomes yeah so many opportunities on the last lap just to make him a silly mistake and uh lose the front wheel on one of these roots hesty still looking like she’s charging here Monro and hesty have had great days it’s important not to take anything away from them I think for ND she’s probably had a look behind seeing Emily Johnson coming at speed and decided right I’ve got a crack on empty tank there is Johnson lands that first drop deep reminiscent of uh Eevee Richard here last year Richards Mia this weekend still recovering from a concussion injury but Isabella hren has been faultless in the visa she joins a club that holds the name Pitcock lot avancini Andreas and Matthew Vanderpool written large in it as a first time winner in noo Namar Isabella hren takes one of the most commanding cross country victories in recent history we wi night to see the Gap back to second place and we’re going to have to wait for a while o what a performance we saw it the short track as she kind of rode off on the penultimate lap that she clearly was in fantastic shape but to be junior world champion step up in your first World Cup and not just win but win by over 2 minutes that’s unbelievable performance and we’re not seeing the the Alexandra Keller on the floor struggling to breathe just yet from her she’s celebrating with the team yeah taking a bottle I think if she was forced to there’s a bit more left in the tank there really really long Isabella hren absolutely superar celebrates with the F some of M bike cross country’s hardest of Hardcore Die Hard fans they will appreciate a Ride Like That away here second third an hour and a quarter a winning race time on the longer side and I think she had that Gap early on and she just on the interview said it was really long but second place Madan Monroe smile already starting to spread across her face she knows that she’s ridden really well today Monroe through the jump line for the last time up and over the bridge and then just a long pedal down the start finish straight on the flap and Merc ly smooth assall of nov Namar what’s the clock going to tell us here comes migan Monroe absolutely nothing to be ashamed about in that second place a superb ride from her all afternoon long Monroe crosses the line and it is going to be 2 minutes and 1 second 2 minutes 5 Seconds excuse me the margin of victory for is a fellow hren Olivia on EST the best we’ve seen a her so far this season across a full R distance French national champion right to celebrate that one as well great performance from her 224 back yeah and I think madagan Monroe Olivia and STD devest results of their season so far and I think they are really happy and they should be really happy with those performances two great rides today and but their overall hopes I think for Monroe as well with k for a little off thoughts I think that’s great for the her overall chances celebrates for the photographer Ross bell team photographer down there Here Comes Emily Johnson for track future racing another gutsy performance from Johnson up in the fourth place it’s definitely it’s coming for Johnston crosses the line just over 3 minutes back in fourth place yeah solid race for Johnson her best result so far this year she was a third place in round one that’s the good news story as well Anna Santos she was bitly disappointed with the performances she turned in in Brazil the number 13 play gets a top five at the UCI World Cup ahead of the overall points leader kirom no celebrations from B first time we’ve seen that in 2024 managed to hold off this woman Fiona shibler great ride from [Music] Sher forra as well first year in the under 23s as well so just going into that category so of time the Talon field absolutely stack just like it kind of feels like it is in every race in the whoop UCI M bite World Series at the minute here comes another really good news story Elina benoir at the front of this race through out and she is going to lead home Louisa Doberman in benw as well fair play she was the only Rider on that start Loop that to go with h everyone else just the White Flag where Isabella that was a fantastic performance your second amazing performance this weekend tell us how that felt uh out there today thank you um yeah it was definitely really really hard um I had a front row start which was really nice and helpful I think because there was a lot of um crashing I could just hear it behind me so yeah I was just trying to stay out of trouble and race my own race we had a bit of a rainstorm com in just before your race do you think that changed the track conditions at all out there um um I think it was the roots were definitely a bit more slippery um so I was making sure to be super cautious on the descents and then just give it my all on the climbs um so yeah I think it was a little bit more slippery than the first few days of pre-ride but nothing too bad since the rain stopped you had a great lead from the early laps almost a minute in the first two laps alone was that a strategy today to get out front early um I don’t think it was well yeah I didn’t really want to be caught up on the descents because I know that’s not always my strongest suit so I just tried to go as hard as as I could on the climbs and yeah maybe a bit too hard at the start but yeah it was worked out in the end so I’m happy with it it worked out great congratulations thank [Music] you it did work out it worked out perfectly for hren clapped on on the final lap clapped on the whole way round debut UCA cross country Olympic World Cup win for Isabella hren and Ollie if you’re little track that looks like a pretty good investment doesn’t it I mean we’re seeing this a lot more now the big teams grabbing Junior Talent whereas previously they they would normally take it from the end of own 23 racing but grabbing Junior early da and really getting involved in development and little Trek there taking the junior world and Cy cross and XC champion and yeah to come that first race and it’ be great if we see her in the rest of the series here we go then home from Monroe from Manesty from Johnson Santos three and a half minutes cover the top five bomb shibler Ben duberman and MC the top 10 covered by just under five minutes what a race from Isabella [Music] hren it doesn’t come much more d the [Music] thatp here are those lap comparisons and she did the damage on lap one and then look at those lap times 320 1320 1332 1334 1351 so she didn’t roll off slightly on the last lap it could have been more she definitely yeah she said she went off hard probably a bit too hard in that lap time show it you know normally you don’t want the lap times to drop off that much and she was actually hurting a bit great return to the podium after a difficult start to the season how how did that feel out there today it felt super good honestly I just went in with the plan to ride my own race and ride super smooth and confident and I was able to do that so I’m super happy with it I think it’s a great great way to kick off the European campaign how hard was it to maintain that patience at the early part of the race when it started to blow up out there I think it was it was a bit difficult just seeing Isabella go off the front and knowing I couldn’t quite hold that pace today but I think also just being able to I know what happened in Brazil when I went out a bit too hard so I learned my lesson that way and so I was able to rain it in a bit more today fantastic if it congratulations thank you very much well a young racer with a mature head in her shoulders Monroe knows that was a good one today yeah she did a great run like she said in the the clip with Josh then wanted to do her own pace and I think that’s showed she just backed off a little bit didn’t try and Chase down gr consistent lap times as well third place today fantastic effort tell us about how that played out for you yeah I’m so happy today uh the first podium in the World Cup of the season so I’m just super happy today of my shape and my body is better and better week after week so I’m so happy and uh uh I can looking forward for the for the rest of the season so for me today uh I just enjoy my day fantastic we enjoyed your race congratulations yeah thank [Music] you olivan Esty really really good as well today it’s great you see cracking race PB one but so happy as well third place jumping up from her results in the first two rounds so strong on the climbs and I think when we get to some of the more Alpine circuits later in the year B probably more like Le J we’re going to see her as a threat backed on by that French crowd Olivia on EST with her climbing capabilities could well be a big threat at that particular race there confirmation of the results hren Monroe on SD Johnson Santos top five bomb shibler benoa dman MC in the top [Music] 10 shinsa thepool in 11th corvy 12th kri 13th Cena fanel in there as well Marin L 28th we saw in the front row so things didn’t go herway today nor did they go the way of Sara covis just ahead of her in [Music] 27th see the other uh hold and sister he ever dropped a bit further back she was up around 17 for one stage finished just outside the top 30 but when you think again first year Junior first year under 23 as well that’s uh that’s still a solid result it just when you’ve been kind of out class to out shown by your sister yeah the homrs a fast family though sure they well versed in it third place though goes to Olivia on EST say she’s feeling better and better every time she races French national champion look good [Music] today PL more races to come this season Monroe m again [Music] Monroe really [Music] happy with that result we heard from her at the end there knows that that’s a good way to kick off the European [Music] races but cross country Olympic performances do not come any more dominant than what this woman produced Isabella hren announced her arrival on the big stage in the lightest way possible [Music] [Applause] [Music] huge win for hren Edam Monroe and [Music] onest yeah outstanding ride by H start to finish on the start Luke getting a gap and we didn’t I didn’t see him make a single mistake but she did it wasn’t on our shot she was absolutely super look like as you said all the she was doing fast practice laps that first lap though is where she did the damage blew him away so here’s how the overall stands look after that then Kira B still has the Jersey but her points lead down to 79 ahead of Emily Johnson and migan monu snapping at her heels as well just 89 points off her it is K on EST corvy Santos alvini Morgan Hova MC but those top three too close to mention and after the first two rounds I thought kir is just going to run away with this but it’s going to be a kick walk was yeah but we’re seeing today tables turned a little bit still in the lead but that Gap reduced quite a lot by Monroe and Johnson it’s cycling in general but it’s mountain biking in particular where it can just be so fickle you can be Top Of The World At One race and then just really struggling at the next and the last thing Kira bone will have thought about as she boarded that playing home from Brazil is that she’d be coming here to be beaten as convincingly as she was by Isabella hren so it’s turned out to be she has some time to regroup and retool now and crucially kir still has the overall points leaders jersey after that super South American Campion so [Music] B still top of the heat in the other 23 UCI World Cup cross country Olympic standings I mean far from a disaster for kir you know today it’s not what she would have hoped for but from an overall perspective that’s not a disastrous day far from a disaster but a question without any obvious answers next up cross country Olympic for the under 23 [Music] men well a fascinating under 23 women’s race won convincingly by a brand new Superstar will we see the same again in the 23 man’s race stay tuned to find out thanks for watching [Music] no