SA’s Lill Makes History with First XCO Podium
SA's Alan Hatherley finished second in the Elite Men's race.
South African cross-country mountain bikers are on fire at the moment!
South African Candice Lill achieved a historic third place at the ladies elite race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series on Sunday in Val de Sole, Trentino, her first-ever World Cup podium. Lill rode consistently out of her socks to finish third behind Pauline Ferrand Prevot and Puck Pieterse. What is even more impressive is the fact that she rides as a privateer without the support of a factory racing team. This achievement has undoubtedly put her on the map as a potential medalist in Paris.
Her XCO podium finish comes after finishing fourth in the short-track event on Friday.
Lill couldn’t have been happier with her own result. “It’s been a long time coming for me,” she said. “Today feels really triumphant for me and all the people who believed in me.”
The 32-year-old Lill has now moved up to sixth on the World Cup rankings.
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In the men’s race, South African Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) finished a strong second behind Nino Schurter. He was the only rider able to keep up with Schurter’s pace until lap five, where Schurter attacked through the feed zone to get a bit of a gap which he maintained until the finish. Having finished second before in Lenzerheide in 2023, this is Hatherly’s best finish of 2024.
He is now ranked third in the overall standings.
Hatherly: “It was quite a wild one. The crucial point was when Nino went when I was in the feedzone taking a bottle. At that point I thought I’d ride at my own steady pace and get back. It ended up being a time trial – Nino versus me. Unfortunately I came off second best, but a close second. I’m really happy, at this point in the season with the [Olympic] Games not far away.”
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Elite Women Results:
1st. Pauline Ferrand Prevot: 1:21:04
2nd. Puck Pieterse: 1:21:54 // (+50)
3rd. Candice Lill: 1:22:17 // (+1:13)
4th. Loana Lecomte: 1:22:43 // (+1:39)
5th. Savilia Blunk: 1:22:54 // (+1:50)
Elite Men Results:
1st. Nino Schurter: 1:18:25
2nd. Alan Hatherly: 1:18:32 // (+7)
3rd. Mathis Azzaro: 1:19:11 // (+46)
4th. Luca Braidot: 1:19:11 // (+46)
5th. Filippo Colombo: 1:19:11 // (+46)
Click here for the full results.
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