Round two of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, concluded with the Elite women's and men's races. Both races saw a change in the World Cup overall lead, with Tanja Zakelj (Unior Tools) winning her first ever elite World Cup and taking the overall lead in the women's category.
The women's race saw five riders break away from the rest of the field early on. Zakelj, World Cup leader Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol), Maja Wloszczowska (Giant Pro XC), Catharine Pendrel (Luna) and Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory) had pretty much decided what the podium would be by the end of the first lap, with only the placings to be battled over.
Engen was dropped by the other four, who stayed together until the fourth lap of the five lap race, when Lechner flatted. The Italian had a quick wheel change in the tech zone, but was caught by Engen, who eventually beat her for fourth. At the front, Zakelj attacked on the same fourth lap, dropping both Wloszczowska and Pendrel. Wloszczowska managed to claw her way back to Zakelj in the final kilometre, but then crashed in the last tight turn, enabling Zakelj to roll across the finish line and fully celebrate her first win.
"It feels amazing," said Zakelj. "I know what I achieved today was special. I had problems to stay with the leading group for the first few laps, but I stayed focussed and knew that on fourth lap I would make an attack. I just rode my race and didn't worry about Maja's race. I thought she might try to pass me on the climbs but I guess I was strong enough to stay in front. Then I was waiting for the sprint but Maja crashed, so I was able to achieve this awesome victory."
Zakelj and Wloszczowska are tied atop the standings with 400 points each; Zakelj gets the lead due to her win, with Lechner ten points behind.
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