Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France accomplished an incredible feat on Saturday in winning the Elite women's Cross-country world title in Vallnord, Andorra. The young rider now holds, concurrently, four world titles across three cycling disciplines: Team Relay and Cross-country in Mountain Bike, the Elite Road title and the Elite Cyclo-cross title.
After a week of rain, the skies finally cleared for the Elite races, however, the damage had been done, leaving the forested sections heavily soaked, muddy and treacherous. Almost every rider crashed at some point, and the women's race ran to nearly two hours - 20 minutes longer then normal.
World Cup champion Jolanda Neff (Switzerland), always a fast starter, jumped into the lead on the first climb, but the steep climbs, combined with almost 2000 metres of altitude, saw her fade quickly and drop out of contention.
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Ferrand-Prevot and defending world champion Catharine Pendrel (Canada) moved to the front, initially joined by Yana Belomoina (Ukraine) and Maja Wloszczowska (Poland). When Ferrand-Prevot laid down a blistering second lap, she was away on her own, and would stay away until the finish line.
Pendrel moved into second, holding that spot until the end of the fourth lap, when she was joined by Wloszczowska, Irina Kalentyeva (Russia) and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway), with Belomoina coming up quickly from behind. When Kalentyeva attacked, Pendrel tried to follow, but was fading, and caught by Belomoina in the sixth and final lap, leaving the Russian with the silver medal and the Ukrainian with bronze.
"Well, I gave it everything," stated Ferrand-Prevot. "With the altitude, the climb and the slippery downhill it was so hard. I really gave it everything because I wanted this title. I want to say a big thank you to French staff and French Federation because they believed in me and that was a really big help."
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