Unfortunate Crash Costs Lill XCO World Champs Podium
She missed the podium by four seconds.
Due to warnings of an approaching storm, the Women’s Elite Cross Country race was run simultaneously with the Women’s under 23, reduced by 1 lap.
Of the 60 riders, it was a strong start for Puck Pieterse, Alessandra Keller (SUI), Candice Lill (RSA) and the USA’s Sevilia Blunk and Hayley Batten, along with 2023 UCI World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA).
Evie Richards (GBR), winner of the XCC UCI world title, crashed on the first passage through the rock section.
Ferrand-Prévot dropped back as Blunk also faded. Pieterse fended off a challenge from Lill on lap 3, as the two went 30-seconds clear. Ultimately the 22-year-old Dutch woman went alone out front.
On the penultimate lap, Lill slid coming into the tech zone and a chasing Anne Terpstra closed in and passed her for a provisional Dutch 1-2. Loana Lecomte (FRA) was in fourth, followed by Martina Berta (ITA), and Richards.
Lill and Terpstra traded places on the final lap as Berta moved away from Lecomte and survived a scare in the final rock garden, reeling in Lill to take third. Lill finished fourth, just 4 seconds off the podium.
“It was all my own fault.”
“It’s easy for me to beat myself up about this. It was all my own fault. I tried to look behind me, lost focus for a second and next moment I was doing somersault’s with my bike. *Moral of the story: don’t look behind unless that’s where you want to go.”
“I cannot comprehend it yet!” said Pieterse. “I rode my own pace from the start. I thought I need to go all-in if I want to win this. And I kept pushing and apparently it was enough. I have my first Elite UCI World title and I’m just so happy.”
1. Puck Pieterse (NED), 1.09:41
2. Anne Terpstra (NED), +0:59
3. Martina Berta (ITA), +1:19.
4. Candice Lill (RSA), +1:23
Lill talks us through the crash
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