Rissveds wins women's eliminator at Hafjell World Cup
Engen clinches World Cup overall title
The final round of the eliminator series at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Hafjell, Norway, offered some of the most exciting racing of the season, with multiple lead changes in almost every race. While neither of the World Cup leaders won their respective final, each won the overall title, with Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory) taking the women's title and Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott) the men's.
The tough circuit started with a steep climb before traversing the ski slopes and then taking the riders through a series of BMX jumps. From here they dropped into a rock garden, went up another short and steep climb, and then dropped down to the final finishing straight.
Engen was joined in the women's final by her closest rival Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike), who was only 10 points behind Engen. A win by Stirnemann would vault her into the lead and the title. Also joining the two series leaders in the final were Jenny Rissveds (Swedish National) and Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol).
Rissveds, the winner of round two at Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, took an early lead and did not relinquish it. Engen was battling to stay in front of Stirnemann until her rival ran out of power on the climb, and from that point just cruised in, to finish third behind Lechner.
Rissveds was overjoyed with her second win of the season, "It was really, really tough. It was a crazy course with an incredible uphill at the beginning. and then the jumps, after the jumps it was crazy. I was so tired, it felt like I had bad legs from the beginning. It was crazy. It is incredible (to win), amazing. After I messed up the world championships, it feels really good."
Engen decided to play it a little cautious after almost crashing out in the first round. "It's so crazy. If you would have asked me after the first heat, I was like 'I don't know if I want to go hard today'. I messed up in a jump and lost a tooth. But I have been training too hard all season to give up on the finish line, so it's just not me. But I felt like the hardest part was the semi-final. It was crazy."
"And in the final I decided to be before Kathrin (Stirnemann) because I really wanted to have the World (Cup) win. When she disappeared I was so shocked, I had expected a fight on the finish line. When she was not there I was 'what do I do now?' I just rode safely down so I wouldn't mess up."
Engen took the overall title with 220 points, followed by Stirnemann at 205 points and Rissveds with 170.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jenny Rissveds* (Swe) | 60 | pts |
2 | Eva Lechner (Ita) Team Colnago Sudtirol | 40 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 30 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team | 25 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Jolanda Neff* (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team | 20 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 18 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing Xc | 16 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Linda Indergand* (Swi) Strübi MTB Kader | 14 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Andrea Waldis* (Swi) Team Colnago Sudtirol | 12 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Ingrid Sofie Jacobsen* (Nor) | 10 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Mariske Strauss* (RSA) Orange Monkey Pro Team | 8 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Heidi Rosasen Sandsto (Nor) Team Giant/United Bakeries | 6 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Kajsa Snihs (Swe) | 4 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Cindy Montambault (Can) | 3 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) | 2 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Angelica Edvardsson (Swe) | 1 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Team Colnago Sudtirol | Row 16 - Cell 2 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Meda Petrusauskaite° (Ltu) | Row 17 - Cell 2 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Ramona Forchini* (Swi) Strübi MTB Kader | Row 18 - Cell 2 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Oksana Rybakova (Rus) | Row 19 - Cell 2 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) | Row 20 - Cell 2 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Lena Putz* (Ger) Muskelkater Genesis Team | Row 21 - Cell 2 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Erin Huck (USA) | Row 22 - Cell 2 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Dina Gordiuk° (Ukr) Cycling Club Roma MTB Team | Row 23 - Cell 2 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Jasmin Kansikas* (Fin) Medilaser-Specialized MTB-Team | Row 24 - Cell 2 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
DNS | Anne Terpstra* (Ned) Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team | Row 25 - Cell 2 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) | 220 | pts |
2 | Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) | 205 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Jenny Rissveds* (Swe) | 170 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Jolanda Neff* (Swi) | 96 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Linda Indergand* (Swi) | 84 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
9 | Eva Lechner (Ita) | 77 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
6 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) | 76 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
7 | Ingrid Sofie Jacobsen* (Nor) | 49 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
8 | Anne Terpstra* (Ned) | 38 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) | 34 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Cécile Ravanel (Fra) | 25 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) | 22 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Anna Oberparleiter (Ita) | 22 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
15 | Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) | 22 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
14 | Katerina Nash (Cze) | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Pauline Ferrand Prevot* (Fra) | 18 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
16 | Lea Davison (USA) | 16 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
17 | Georgia Gould (USA) | 16 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
18 | Andréanne Pichette (Can) | 16 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
19 | Ramona Forchini* (Swi) | 16 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
20 | Katrin Leumann (Swi) | 14 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
21 | Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau* (Can) | 14 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
21 | Andrea Waldis* (Swi) | 12 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
21 | Mariske Strauss* (RSA) | 8 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
22 | Ann Berglund (Swe) | 8 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
23 | Alessia Bulleri (Ita) | 8 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
24 | Elvira Khayrullina (Rus) | 7 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
24 | Heidi Rosasen Sandsto (Nor) | 6 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
25 | Oksana Rybakova (Rus) | 6 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
26 | Lena Putz* (Ger) | 6 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
26 | Kajsa Snihs (Swe) | 4 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
26 | Cindy Montambault (Can) | 3 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
27 | Pauline Pajot (Fra) | 3 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
27 | Angelica Edvardsson (Swe) | 1 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
28 | Blaza Klemencic (Slo) | 1 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
29 | Laura Turpijn (Ned) | 1 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
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