Powered by Outside

[UPDATED] Elite XCC Highlights, Results & Overall Standings from the Crans Montana XC World Cup 2024

Jun 22, 2024
by Ed Spratt  
photo

Elite Race Highlights





After the U23 racers got between the tape yesterday it's the turn of the Elites to go all-out for the fifth XCC race of 2024 with 20 minutes of flat-out racing. Offering a very different challenge to the grass loop in Val di Sole the loose and muddy steeps in Crans Montana made the XCC race closer to a shorter XCO event than usual.

Puck Pieterse secures back-to-back XCC wins as she goes fastest in Switzerland. After forming a part of the leading group throughout the race Pieterse answered a last-lap attack from Anne Tauber to lead into the singletrack as she mastered the conditions to cross the line four seconds ahead of Alessandra Keller. Tauber ended the race in third with Loana Lecomte fourth and Gwendalyn Gibson returning to the podium after a big crash at round one in Brazil.

Tom Pidcock rides back from last place on lap one to take the win in Crans Montana after an incredible show of strength. Pidcock started his race with a slipped pedal before a crash and a near miss on the slippery descents left him fighting back from last place. Across the next five laps, Pidcock would prove why he is amongst the world's best on and off the road as he rode through the pack to secure the in by two seconds. Julian Schelb rode a great race to take 2nd before Luca Braidot six seconds back in third.

Check out the results below.


Race Results


Elite Women:

1st. Puck Pieterse: 19:03
2nd. Alessandra Keller: 19:07 // (+4 )
3rd. Anne Tauber: 19:07 // (+4 )
4th. Loana Lecomte: 19:11 // (+8 )
5th. Gwendalyn Gibson: 19:36 // (+33 )


Elite Men:

1st. Tom Pidcock: 19:31
2nd. Julian Schelb: 19:33 // (+2 )
3rd. Luca Braidot: 19:37 // (+6 )
4th. Christopher Blevins: 19:40 // (+9 )
5th. Maximilian Brandl: 19:41 // (+10 )


Full Results


Elite Women:


Elite Men:



Overall Standings


Elite Women:


Elite Men:




Posted In:
Racing and Events Results XC Racing Crans Montana World Cup Xc 2024 World Cup XC


Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,251 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
Review: Giant Trance X Advanced - Not Your Parents' Volvo
44154 views
[UPDATED] Elite XCO Results & Overall Standings from the Crans Montana XC World Cup 2024
40721 views
Pinkbike Poll: Are XC Courses Getting Too Gnarly?
39792 views
OneUp Announces New Hubs
38165 views
Welcome to the 2024 Downhill Field Test
37367 views
DH Field Test: Intense M1 - For Your Gnarliest Trails
35510 views
First Look: Garbaruk's Aluminum Enduro Crankset
33107 views
First Ride: Magura Relaunch the Gustav Pro Brakes
33044 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

90 Comments
  • 80 7
 So much for a harder course separating the real mtbers from the roadies pretending to mtb. Will people finally acknowledge that Pidcock is the real deal or are we in for more excuses?
  • 27 0
 It beggars belief that people on here still call him a 'roadie'; he's been riding off-road since he was a kid, it just comes natural to him.
A proper roadie rides nothing but road.
  • 21 1
 Can't say I have ever heard any say Pidcock is not the real deal. If he rode MTB full time he would absolutely dominate. And if MVP rode MTB full time he'd be right there with him ahead of all the other current full time Pro MTB Men.
  • 7 1
 @Starch-Anton: I think a lot of people, myself included, don't know the backgrounds of folks like Pidcock. Media call him a road rider so people jump on that.
  • 25 5
 Funnily enough his road palmares are actually not that impressive. I think he’s won 5 races total on the road, and while they are solid (Strade Bianche, Alp d’Huez stage at the Tour, Amstel Gold), his MTB and ‘cross palmares are on paper more remarkable.

He’s tried to ride for GC at a few big road stage races (see e.g. the new Unchained series on Netflix on last year’s tour) and sometimes makes into the top 10. WT roadies might consider him an MTBer pretending to ride on the road…
  • 7 1
 @Drew-O: The man is the real deal, watching the highlights he's noticeably more committed in the gnar than any of the other riders.

If Pidcock can show up, make everyone else look soft, and push the rest of the field to step up from a bike-handling perspective I'm here for it. These gnarlier tracks make for way more entertaining racing.
  • 3 2
 He has a bmx background
  • 6 1
 @als802: Pidcock won World CX a year that Matt and Wout didn't want to race in Arkansas, and he finishes right behind them nearly every time all winter.

He'd dominate if he went full-time MTB, but he'd have trouble if Matt did, too. Pogacar races CX now and then, too. There are a lot of blinders on here.
  • 5 0
 imo, the long asphalt climb and finish should suits roadies very well
  • 3 0
 He looks so small compared to most everyone else.
Tom Pidcock
Height 5′ 7″, Weight 128 lbs

Mathieu van der Poel
6′ 0″, Weight 165 lbs

Nino Schurter
Height 5′ 8″, Weight 150 lbs
  • 11 0
 @Drew-O: Considering the level at the pro Tour, and the races he's one, his short (Pro with Ineos 2021), unfocused, road career has been nothing short of remarkable. Only once in a generation talents like Evenpoel have more wins. To say his road palmares is "not that impressive" is completely ridiculous!

And your comment about "road tour roadies might consider him an MTBer"!? Ever watched WVA not give him any rope in the final kms of a race? I think not.
  • 1 7
flag Fill-Freakin FL (Jun 22, 2024 at 15:17) (Below Threshold)
 Not that I can be bothered to watch more than the highlights, so I don't show where he made up the time, but I do see a heck of a lot of road on this course. Sure there's gnar, but as a percentage of time, it's a small fraction of the course - the riders just need to be able to stay on their bike for the MTB bits - the race is won on the road and the climbs.
  • 3 2
 I'm calling it now, one day Pidcock will be the GOAT of BIKE.
  • 2 0
 Love him or hate him as a person - people are definitely divided - he is an absolute machine. Who else can win xc race and a Le tour stage. Quite an accomplishment
  • 2 1
 @enduroNZ: he is absolutely super talented.

Too bad he also seems like a complete dooosh
  • 1 0
 @toowheeler: He’s currently ranked 10th in the WT among riders 24 (his age) or less. Solid, but not “remarkable” in my view. And you note yourself that his road career has been unfocused; that’s what I mean by roadies considering him a MTB/CX rider who sometimes rides road too. Compare to (e.g.) Jorgensen, Ayuso, Rodriguez or De Lie, all of whom are his age or younger and all have more impressive road palmares IMO.
  • 1 0
 @Drew-O: De Lie has like 2 big wins.
  • 1 0
 @strawberryjams: Per PCS, De Lie has 23 wins, Pidcock has 5. Sure lots of De Lie's are minor Belgian one-days, and no doubt Pidcock's wins at Strade, Amstel and on Alp d'Huez are more impressive. But De Lie is also 2 years younger, and just beat Phillipsen, van Aert and Merlier to win the Belgian championship. If I were building a fantasy team for road racing I'd take De Lie over Pidders any day.
  • 2 0
 @Drew-O: Calling winning Strade Bianche, a stage of the tour and Amstel Gold "Noth that impressive" is insane!"
  • 19 2
 Congrats to Pidcock for his new Olympic title
  • 6 0
 I don't follow road or cross racing, are the riders really that much more fit than XC MTB riders, or is Pidcock an anomaly? Really impressive to see him ride from the back to first. He makes passes so easily when others are just riding in groups.
  • 15 0
 Yes
  • 9 5
 Pidcock is an anomaly. He has won races because of his descending abilities.
  • 12 4
 world tour cyclists are elite athletes that put WAY more time in the saddle than your average pro MTBer. No offense to the MTB XC pros out there, but if theyre not putting in 300 mile weeks and doing altitude camps every couple months, then they will straight up just not have comparable fitness. And Tom Pidcocks not even nearly the strongest roadie either....imagine Pogacar on an XC bike doing nearly 7w/kg for an hour
  • 2 3
 @Sscottt: I think he's a solid classics and day race rider. He's got a lot of work to do if he wants to be on a world tour podium though.
  • 14 0
 The money is better on the road so if you got serious talent you're more likely to head in that direction. Pidcock is one of the best classic riders in the pro peloton so it isnt like your average rider in the peloton could come in and smoke the field the way pidcock is. Plus it also helps that XC courses fit his power profile really well.
  • 6 6
 @Ironchefjon: 6th at Tour d Suisse isn't a crap result. He's from Yorkshire so if he wants to win TdF he bloody well will.
  • 4 4
 @singletrackjamaica: thanks for the laugh
  • 4 1
 He is considered a prodigious talent on the road
  • 3 0
 @Ironchefjon: Pidcock has won Strade Bianchi, Amstel Gold, and the Alp D'huez stage of the TdF. Probably other podiums too
  • 4 4
 @elbandido77: I'm not saying he's a bad cyclist, but there are levels to the game, and grand tours are an entirely different beast. He is not on the same fitness level as the top GC guys specializing in the grand tours. His best finish was 13th last year in the TdF. certainly nothing to scoff at, but he's got work to do if he has GC aspirations.
  • 1 0
 Boff
  • 3 2
 @Ironchefjon: He’s only been riding the tour for a couple of years, so it’s nonsense to say he’s not a potential GC contender. It took Geraint and Wiggins years before they were able to win.
  • 3 1
 @Jprestidge: hence me saying he's got work to do....???
  • 3 9
flag Jprestidge FL (Jun 22, 2024 at 8:27) (Below Threshold)
 @Ironchefjon: Pogacar wouldn’t last two minutes on a technical MTB course though, and neither would most of the roadies who finished ahead of Pidcock in the TDF.
  • 7 3
 @Ironchefjon: Comparing apples to oranges, mate... XC has very different requirements compared to road. Just because you've got the endurance to do 6w/kg for an hour doesn't mean you've got the explosivity and power required for top-level XC racing. An "average" pro roadie would get smoked in Elite XC. Pidcock and MvdP are very much anomalies and not at all the norm.
  • 1 0
 So what are the mtb racers doing instead of riding for fitness? I see Kate on her insta in the gym a lot for example. Is there going to be a shift in training coming for the mtb field?

Pogacar and other top roadies have the power in spades but not the skill is that what's going on?
  • 3 0
 @Ironchefjon: I get a sense that he may not have the patience and focus to be a great GC rider. Most of those guys build their whole season around a grand tour, and actually riding for GC requires never having a bad day and avoiding crashes and gaps even on sprint stages where you’re not in any way trying for a result. Pidcock may have a bit to much “f$%& it let’s give it a whack and see what happens” to him to thrive on GC. But I think he’s going to try at the Tour this year, so we’ll see.
  • 6 1
 @Leven:

If I remember correctly, Nino’s salary is $400k.

Several WT riders are making 8 figures.
  • 2 0
 @Drew-O: agreed 100%. He can get it if he wants it, but he lacks focus. He's all over the place with MTB and riding all the monuments and classics....very interested to see how INEOS positions him this year
  • 6 0
 @hllclmbr: Not quite, Pog is the highest paid on an estimated 6 million euros per year. More that that with endorsements I’m sure. But the point is correct, there are probably dozens of WT pros who make more than the undisputed GOAT of MTB.

Sam Gaze has raced on the road a fair amount for Alpecin, he even did the Vuelta last year. (Dropped out after a week due to illness.) He’s never had a major result on the road though. I think the metabolic requirements are just really different; threshold for 90 min with repeated VO2 surges vs. 4-6 hours including multiple 20-60 minute limit efforts.
  • 5 0
 @Muscovir: I second this. Pidcock and MVP have to be something else for sure, even with their CX background I've seen riders with the most impressive CX & Road Palmarés try MTB and fail miserably, names: no other than Marianne Vos & Anna Van der Breggen. At their peak.
Now who's going to come and tell me those two don't have superior fitness and more than enough technical abilities, having won CX/Road World Titles? Yet, they came and they failed, they didn't even sniff a podium.
MTB is a different kind of beast, and Pidcock, MVP and (as world titles also say) PFP are not only in a completely different category of a rider (absolute all rounders) but also have the superior fitness and winning thirst that separate world champions from the rest.
  • 4 1
 @Drew-O: that’s because roadies have proper sponsors and are not reliant on bike manufacturers for sponsorship. Look at the top world teams and the bike supplier is way down the sponsor list
  • 1 1
 @Sscottt: what like Alpe Duez in the tdf, yeah that's some downhill.
  • 3 3
 It’s nothing to do with training. Pidcock, like MvdP, is a total anomaly. I’ve been watching road and MTB for 35 years and not seen anything like them. Genetic anomalies combined with natural talent. Nino is the best ever at XCO so to just rock up and ride away is completely ridiculous.
  • 1 2
 @KingPooPing: her training team has failed her. Kate hasn’t podiumed in years. She needs more time on the road and less in the gym
  • 4 1
 @PaulFarley: He crossed a multi minute gap from the main peleton to the breakaway group on a descent before the Alpe D’huez climb. The victory was possible because he could do that.

youtu.be/IKib2B4JWMI
  • 1 5
flag Sscottt (Jun 22, 2024 at 14:51) (Below Threshold)
 @Ironchefjon: he will never be a grand tour podium but week long races are in his range. He is very similar to Van Aert. What do we want to win today?
  • 5 0
 If you have the talent (VO2max, W/kg, Max Power, etc.) to be in the world Tour making $M you'd probably choose that over the salary of an XC MTBr. Very few XC riders are at that level. I'm certain that's a motivation for Pidcock to ride the road. Ineos isn't going to pay him to ride XC all year.
  • 7 0
 @hllclmbr: Pidcock is making just under $3 million a year. Sagan was making like $5 million, probably a lot more in endorsements.
He was junior MTB world champion. It’s not that they are “roadies”, it’s they are smart.
  • 3 4
 @hllclmbr: Caitlin Clark's salary is $80k - but she just signed a $28 million deal with Nike.
The real money for many of these sports heroes comes from schmoozing with corporations to persuade the riff-raff to eat, drink and wear over-priced crap
  • 8 0
 @BuntyHoven1: We most certainly have seen precedents to Pidcock & MvdP in the last 30 years: Michael Rasmussen, Cadel Evans, and Floyd Landis all raced and won on dirt & road, and they won more on the road than Pidcock to boot. What is admittedly an anomaly/novum is how WorldTour men's road teams are allowing riders in recent years to ride both road & MTB. In the past, you crossed over from the sideshow of MTB to big stage of road and never looked back.
  • 6 0
 @tigerfish50: Dude, that's just a silly comparison. The endorsement money of major league stick & ball sports is in a stratosphere not even visible from the MTB world, and is still a full decimal place (or three) above road cycling.
  • 1 1
 @Sscottt: I guarantee you he wins a grand tour in the future
  • 1 0
 @Jprestidge: And Pogacar won his TdF debut when he was 20... and Pidcock and Pogacar are basically the same age. Do you realistically see Pidcock beating Pogacar?
  • 2 0
 @jrfields: The fact that Pogacar is not yet physically peaked is crazy. And he’s the favorite for any race he lines up for, Classic, stage race or Grand Tour.

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Pidcock someday wins a grand tour. Probably not the TdF.
Sean Kelly started as a sprinter, evolved into a classics rider and eventually won the Vuelta, and multiple times at Paris Nice.
  • 2 0
 @powturn: Unfortunately 2 of those 3 were nailed for doping.
  • 1 0
 @hllclmbr: Pidcock is making 1m+
  • 1 0
 @LokiTheCat: Dude, don't be silly yourself. Until Clark's Nike deal, the endorsement $$$ of the WNBA were all too visible from the MTB world.
  • 4 0
 @ReformedRoadie: It wasn't just those 2 guys, then or now. From 1994 on, most top-level endurance sport was fueled by EPO. I know, I was racing in Europe in the early 90s and literally watched course record times at MTB marathons drop by 10-15% between the 1993 and 1994 iterations. Same guys, bikes, teams, & training, magically going 30-40mins faster on a 4-5 hour course one season to the next. If you've seen Icarus, there is little reason to believe anything has changed since Operacion Puerto other than strategic shifts to microdosing etc. The Genie is never going back in that bottle: since the PED breakthroughs of the 90s, if you want to win in professional endurance sport, you need to be on the same "medical program" as your competition.
  • 2 0
 @powturn: “Unfortunately 2 of those 3 were nailed for doping.”
I only stated facts. Cadel could certainly have been doped. He was never caught, to my knowledge.

And yes, I watched Icarus.
And anyone naive enough to think Dascula not reporting his whereabouts as an honest mistake doesn’t have a clue.
  • 5 0
 Seeing how they do so well managing negative splits (a little bit faster each lap until the last lap is the fastest) makes me feel like an idiot for how I race....
  • 6 2
 More excuses because... excuses are cheaper in a cost of living crisis. And a Pidcock is expensive.
  • 4 0
 Embedded page tabs for the full results? Oh hell yeah. Keep improving the website functionality please!
  • 1 1
 Bit of a random question, not related to the race but watching it. Hoping to find someone who is watching the racing (XC or DH) on MAX and using a Chromecast. Are you able to select the English commentary when casting, while watching the "secondary" streams?

There's always the main "elite" show (also shown on TV where available) and then separate "elite women" and "elite men" streams available. I'd prefer to watch the latter, as they don't have the host discussions, and instead focus on rider interviews, showing the full podium ceremonies etc. These work fine when watching on the computer (MAX website) or on the phone (Android app), but when switching to cast, there's no longer the English language option available in the list or it can not be clicked active.

I've talked about it with the MAX customer service and they said their technical team will look into it, but wanted to ask around in case someone else has had the same issue and managed to find a solution for it. Especially interested to hear from fellow Europeans, MAX only launched here a month ago and I'm wondering if they have some glitches in local language selections.
  • 4 0
 Pidcock was playing eye of the tiger in his head on repeat the whole race
  • 2 0
 any know what happened to being able to watch XCC on @flobikes and @flosports???? nothing aired in the app....
  • 1 0
 I’d love to know as well!!
  • 2 0
 its all on Max now. cycling is such a pain in the ass to watch, its ridiculous.
  • 3 0
 @Ironchefjon: that's for the US, Canada has been on flosports, have watched both xco and xcc all season until this race and last race. No issues with xco, just xcc, frustrating
  • 2 0
 @teleier: UCI should just do something good for once and release an affordable streaming service that covers ALL pro cycling races so we can stop futzing around with VPNs and 30 different apps.
  • 4 0
 Puck !!!
  • 2 0
 Real world SF!
  • 3 0
 For her second race back after injury, and real race, Gwen did incredible!
  • 3 1
 I wonder who "Vidaurre Kossmann Catalinalap 5" is
  • 2 0
 from last to first!! wow!!
  • 1 0
 Is Peter Sagan doing the Olympics?
  • 2 0
 No. He had an almost impossible task of moving Slovakia 18 places up the world rankings, but heart troubles meant he wasn't able to compete in almost any of his planned races. His last chance of an entry was one of the IOC discretionary places, but he was not awarded one of those.
  • 1 0
 Looks like PFP is skipping the rest of MTB races.
  • 2 0
 She's doing altitude training with her Ineos team. They said a while ago she would do only 2WC's since her place at the Olympics was pretty much in the bag.
  • 6 5
 Pidcock might be the greatest XC racer we have seen in 20 years.
  • 7 4
 Definitely the real GOAT, based on his results against the previous GOAT
  • 4 2
 no so much based on his overall palmares
  • 1 1
 @g-sewell: Lol
  • 3 0
 Be interesting to see what Pidcocks win % is in the xco races he has entered. Seems like he wins pretty much every time he starts (not so much in xcc as he often is starting at the back due to not doing many races). I'm sure based on win % he would need to be in the GOAT conversation
  • 4 0
 @Sxrxg: 6/10 in world cups.. 1st race he came from plate 100 to come 5th as well and could have won in snowshoe if no bike problems. overall in elite xc he has won 12/20 races

Interestingly, ...Nino didn't even win a world cup until his 6th season
  • 1 0
 Keller and Koretzky have been super consistent in XCC this year!
  • 3 4
 I like Mona Mitterwallner's middle name
  • 1 0
 What is it? If a joke than woosh on my end
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.051922
Mobile Version of Website