It’s the long-awaited race for the international XC circuit season kick off ! The first UCI Mercedes-Benz World Cup, in Petropolis, Brazil. In the heart of the Serra dos Órgãos forest a few dozen kilometers from Rio, Léna Gérault, Maxime Loret and Mathis Guay challenged the world’s best.

The KTM Vittoria Team has already acclimatized to the Brazilian tropical atmosphere thanks to the CIMTB last weekend, on the same track in Petropolis. The week of recovery between these two races made it possible to repair the injuries, both for the riders – thanks to our physiotherapist – and for the bikes – congratulations to our mechanic. The goal is to push the level of detail a little further and put luck on our side, because every second will count.

Léna Gérault from XCC to XCO

Léna takes the start of the XCC this Friday, on the wheel of reigning world champion Sina Frei. The position is ideal. But a general bungling prevented Léna from propelling herself to the front. It is falling behind and groups are forming at the front and it is difficult to make up time on this very fast course. It is a very dynamic race with many attacks at the front, the average speed flies away. Determined and in good shape, she comes back, gritted her teeth, and finished in 18th place, 3rd french, less than a minute from the head of the race. A result that reassures on the condition, especially after the heavy crash last weekend.

Let’s go for the XCO, with rather favorable weather conditions. Start on the 3rd row, in 18th place, from the XCC. A great start for Léna which allows her to scrape places from the start and to move up to 8th place at the end of the first lap. It avoids mistakes, especially in the tricky rocks. The gaps are widening, the atmosphere is heavy and hot, it is difficult to find oxygen. An error relegated her to 16th place. Hard to hold the wheels, the race is tiring. Léna completed this first World Cup with a promising 18th place, and 2nd French rider.

Mathis Guay, the combative !

He wants to do a great race, to do a big performance in this World Cup. With the U23, the level is higher and higher, the slightest mistake will be fatal. Unfortunately, the error comes faster than expected, from the start. The pedal is missing and the hopes of starting in front are shattered. Nothing is lost, we have seen that on this circuit anything can happen. So Mathis takes all the risks to come back, he engages, raises, perhaps a little too much, before falling at the end of the first lap. No apparent injury, but a headache seizes him. He hangs on and finishes this complicated race in 36th place. Admittedly, disappointed by the result, but with a remarkable fighting spirit!

Maxime Loret, in good shape!

While the sensation progresses from week to week, Maxime knows that this race will be exhausting, due to the requirement of the track and the level of the riders. Nobody wanted to miss this first world meeting. The tension is palpable on the starting line. Maxime starts in the middle of the peloton. He knows that the start will be decisive. Over-motivated, he comes out well, holds the wheels, overtakes and enjoys the moment even if legs are burning. It’s going strong, the competitors attack each other and he finds himself 31st halfway through the race. Unfortunately, cramps occur in lap 4, causing him to lose a few places. His group moved away, he pushes hard and managed to finish in 43rd position, in 1h34, a great performance!

Pictures : Keno Derleyn

“This stage in Brazil will benefit the Team! It’s nice to see that everyone is united, the riders and the staff pull each other up and even if they had ups and downs with some mechanical or physical glitches, we all know that it will be beneficial . We gain a lot of experience in these flagship events!”

Jérôme Dericbourg – Team Manager

Next step for Tatiana Tournut on the Junior Series of Guéret from April 15 to 17, 2022! For the rest of the team, it’s a restful weekend.

Kévin Laporte | 10-04-2022