The week’s fourth race and the back-to-back final event in the WES UCI E-MTB XC World Cup, was full of excitement at Spa-Francorchamps. The weather added an extra challenge this time, as rain accompanied the riders throughout the course.
However, in the Qualirace the rain stayed away during each rider’s lap, allowing Sofia Wiedenroth (Specialized) and Jérôme Gilloux (Lapierre Overvolt) to take the Raspini Pole Position.
With jackets and umbrellas up until the last minute, Race 2 kicked-off with a clean start, leaving the thrills for later.
Once again, Jeroen van Eck (GHOST Bikes Racing Team) claimed the Santero Holeshot for fourth time in a row, alongside the German World Champion, in the Women’s.
Double victory for Wiedenroth
Wiedenroth stepped on the podium’s top spot over the two days of racing, a flawless performance, as she shone in her brand-new rainbow jersey.
The German had some proper gap, leading today’s race with no need to look behind. Second place for Anna Spielmann (Haibike), consolidating her overall standings lead, followed by Solene Bouissou (Team Oise Organisation), rounding off the Belgian podium with a consistent pace.
A muddy battle
Mirko Tabacchi (Leynicese RDR Italia Factory Team) started in second and took the lead on lap 1, ahead of Ryf (Specialized) and Gilloux. When he seemed to break away from his pursuers, a branch got caught in his derailleur hanger causing troubles and further compounded by technical issues, eventually forcing him to a DNF.
On the fourth lap, the Frenchman took back the lead, but Ryf was hot on his heels, in his Swiss Champion jersey.
As the battle for first and second intensified, Lukas Dennda (Bergstrom Factory Racing Team) overtook van Eck, fixing an issue with his e-bike’s saddle.
With one lap to go, Ryf remained so close to Gilloux, as to overtake him, taking the lead and the victory after an extremely physically demanding race.
Gilloux had to settle for second place, while Dennda was full of joy after securing his first WES podium finish.
What’s next?
After back-to-back events in Bielstein and Spa, WES now looks forward to wrapping up the season in Monaco on October 5-6 with two races to go, 34 (Women) and 18 points (Men) between leader standings and the second one, leaving it all open for the World Cup Title.
