In a slightly frantic morning of racing in Andorra, new cross country world champions emerged from the dust, taking charge and taking the rainbow jerseys for the rest of this year and into next.
Canadians thrived in the high-elevation Pal Arinsal venue, with Isabella Holmgren winning another world championship title, Emilly Johnston joining her on the podium and Cole Punchard riding into a top 10 finish. Under-23 men
The under-23 men were the first riders on course Sunday in a weather-adjusted schedule. Bjorn Riley and Riley Amos have dominated this category all year for the U.S.A. and, off the start Bjorn Riley was up there again. That would not last, though. Instead, France’s Luca Martin moved through the U.S. racers to take the lead, and his first under-23 world championship title. Dario Lillo of Switzerland takes silver and Tobias Lillelund of Denmark bronze.
Cole Punchard led the Canadian effort with a fantastic sixth-place finish. The Ontario racers finishes just two seconds behind the fading Riley. It’s a huge result for Punchard, who has showed steady progress through the under-23 field all year. Zorak Paille followed in 28th, Owen Clark 30th, Noah Ramsay 35th and Ian Ackert 43rd. Elite and under-23 women: double rainbows for Holmgren
In an … interesting move from the UCI, the under-23 women’s and elite women’s field lined up on the startline together, though results were to be separated. The combined field was intended to give some room to compress the day’s racing schedule to avoid looming lightening […]
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