A NOTE FROM ANDORRA
Thin air and high-speed racing at the Pal Arinsal, Andorra, XCC and XCO World Cup 2025.
Words: Zoe Cuthbert
Photo: Piper Albrecht
Two things made Andorra stand out from the other races: its high elevation making the air thinner, and the inspiring presence of the Misspent Summers Panda supplying riders with coffee and impossible trivia questions.
Short track racing was a mix of the close bunching seen in Nové Mesto and the stretched-out solo efforts of Leogang. The women’s XCC saw Alessandra Keller and Evie Richards – last year’s XCC World Champion at this venue – break away on the penultimate lap. Keller opened a gap on Richards in the final lap to take her first win of the season, showing she is back in fighting form after dealing with injuries in the off-season. Third went to Ronja Blöchlinger, with possibly the most impressive ride of any XCC – starting from the back row and finishing on her first elite World Cup podium.
The men’s short track was full of drama. Victor Koretzky snapped a chain on the penultimate lap, taking himself out and causing Nino Schurter to crash behind him. The win came down to a sprint between the undefeated Chris Blevins and first-year elite Luca Martin. A slight misjudgment by Blevins in the final corner led to Martin taking his first elite World Cup win. Before this race, Martin had not been in the top five of an elite World Cup, demonstrating just how competitive the racing is.
Sunday came along and brought the sound of marching bands and warm-up rollers with it. Rain the night before made the track slicker than expected, with riders reporting that ‘there were bodies flying out there.’ The U23 and Elite women seemed to get the worst of it before the sun dried out the track for the men’s races.
The elite women’s XCO was one of the most chaotic and exciting races we’ve seen. Every time a rider surged ahead, a crash or mechanical pulled them back into the bunch.
Blöchlinger led for the first few laps. While she’s no stranger to the front of U23 World Cups, this was her first time leading an elite race and she showed great confidence to finish in 8th, an XCO career best.
Winner of the last two World Cups, Puck Pieterse looked set to ride off the front again but was overthrown by a crash in a particularly cranky rock garden that had been taking riders out all race. She only lost 35 seconds in the crash and another 20 from a resulting mechanical, but it disrupted her race enough that she finished the race in 10th.
Series leader Sammie Maxwell faced challenges with three crashes and a wheel change but managed to claw her way back to the front group every time.
On the final lap, a lead group of four emerged. Maxwell and Jenny Rissveds broke away, but Rissveds couldn’t match Maxwell’s attack. Maxwell took her second World Cup win of the season, despite her setbacks. Behind her, Rissveds was caught by Keller, who finished in second, leaving Rissveds with third.
The men’s XCO saw a guest appearance from Tom Pidcock, road racing superstar and double Olympic gold medallist. Starting from the fourth row, he reached the front by lap two. Martin was the only rider able to follow until Pidcock attacked mid-race and opened a gap. Martin held the damage to 21 seconds despite suffering a flat and a slow wheel change. Third went to Charlie Aldridge who celebrated his best XCO result yet by riding over the finish line backwards.
There is now a seven-week break until the next World Cup. Many riders outside of Europe will go home while most Europeans have National and European Champs in this time.
