A Banger in Brazil

The famous red soil of southern Brazil set the stage for a dramatic finish at the Elite Men’s WHOOP UCI XCO World Cup race in Araxá today. Cannondale Factory Racing riders Simon Andreassen and Alan Hatherly battled their way to the podium in first and third, respectively – in a final lap they’ll likely never forget.

On lap seven out of nine, a pack of seven riders was out in front, swarming swiftly and steadily around the varied course: technical sections of rocks and roots, stretches of fast sweepers, rapid descents peppered with air-worthy doubles and tabletops. They took A-lines, B-lines, even C-lines, interweaving as they fought for position. It was, so far, anybody’s race.

Then came the move from Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing). On the main climb about halfway through the lap, he threw down the power. The rest of the group responded momentarily before settling back into a rhythm as a sixsome. Was Koretzky too strong today? Or were they counting on him running out of steam?

The eighth lap began with Koretzky around ten seconds up on P2. By now, two riders had faded, leaving four fighting ostensibly for second, including Andreassen and Hatherly.

Then, some foreshadowing: Koretzky’s stalled in a tight turn on one climbing section, losing rear wheel traction and dabbing a foot down. He’d finish the penultimate lap still in first, but he gave back precious seconds, and no longer looked invincible.

Andreassen, Hatherly, Jordan Sarrou (BMC), and Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM) shortly followed. Minutes into the final lap, Colombo charged, but couldn’t shake the other three. Instead of joining Koretzky making two up front, all five riders were now tightening up again, with Koretzky commanding a shrinking lead.

Until he wasn’t. Whether it was a derailleur malfunction, or a poorly-timed shift – we don’t know – but in an instant, mid-climb, Koretzky was off his bike, pulling his chain off his bottom bracket and back onto the chainring, as the four chasers flew past. Colombo now led the charge, Andreassen right behind, as Koretzky scrambled back onto the bike to chase.

As one of the final descents began over those tabletops and doubles, Andreassen must have been smiling inside. He’s notoriously fast in those sections, and probably knew Colombo would struggle to hold him off. Nipping at his wheel, Andreassen patiently waited for the right moment – or, realistically, the right second – to make his move.

And it came in spectacular fashion: in mid-air, with Colombo hesitating, Andreassen surged ahead, literally flying past him over one of the doubles. By the bottom of the short descent, he was firmly in the lead of the race, his heart rate at 174bpm. Hatherly chased in third. Sarrou fourth. But Koretzky was making up time.

With only a few hundred meters to go, the group had bunched, and the pace grew frantic. Even the cameras seemed to have trouble keeping track of the action. Koretzky jumped up to third, putting heavy pressure on Colombo and Andreassen. Hatherly and Sarrou were right behind them.

Andreassen became only the third Danish rider in history to win an Elite Olympic-distance cross-country World Cup race. After two years of frustration, it was his first major win for CFR. “I’ll take a moment to soak in it,” he said in a post-race interview. “I’m so thankful for all the belief and support that I’ve had. I’m super proud of going through the process and putting myself in a place where I enjoy riding and racing my bike again. I lost a little belief in myself, and I always had someone that kept believing in me."

Simon Andreassen now sits in second place overall in the 2024 World Cup XC rankings, with Alan Hatherly in seventh.