For this 9th and last round of the 2022 World Cup, just one week after the World Championships, the KTM Vittoria Team goes to Val di Sole, in Italy. For Léna Gérault and Mathis Guay, the objective is to get points and end this season without any breakage.

In the province of Trentino, the riders experienced a hot weekend, on a dusty and very changing course after each passage. These complicated track conditions did not help the riders who had to be very lucid throughout the races to avoid mechanical problems and crashes. Léna Gérault and Mathis Guay managed to get out of the ruts and improve their ranking in the overall World Cup standings!

Léna Gérault, overall world cup ranking : 12th XCO / 14th XCC

XCC : On a very technical course, perhaps one of the most demanding of the season, Léna got off to a good start but, as always on this short race, the pace was crazy. The successive attacks at the front only accelerate things, the placement is determining, the slightest mistake is eliminatory. The cumulative fatigue of the last few weeks is intense, Léna gives it her all, relaunches, hangs on, but the top 10 is getting further away. With power, she managed to cross the line in 17th place, ensuring her a 3rd row start on Sunday for the XCO.

 Thanks to her consistency and two top 10 finishes (Léogang & Mont St Anne), she finished this season in 14th place in the overall ranking of the Short Track World Cup in the Elite Women category.

XCO : Léna Gérault starts in the 3rd row on this 4km XCO circuit, composed of a very technical first part and a second part on which she has to try to recover… Not easy when the performance of a day is at stake but also the general ranking of a season. The start is very fast, she tries to get a good position but on this rough Val di Sole course she has to be careful. In spite of all the precautions, Léna attacks and finds herself twice on the ground, the falls are almost inevitable. Luckily, there were no physical or mechanical problems and she was able to start again. Léna fights to stay in the top 20 but her legs burn under this heat. Her determination allows her to take a 21st place on this too challenging course. 

It is in 12th position in the overall World Cup ranking that she ends this 2022 season.

Mathis Guay, 5th overall in the U23 World cup!

This course, both technical and physical, could have suited our Aix-en-Provence native, but the end of the season was not what he had hoped for. While his form had been growing throughout the year, Mathis felt a significant fatigue in the last few weeks, which did not allow him to fully exploit his capacities. The Val di Sole course is ideal when you are in very good shape, the slightest failure or a lesser state of freshness is paid for in cash. He hung on throughout this last World Cup round but didn’t manage to stay with the groups at the front and ended up in 30th position. We will remember the experience he gained, perhaps allowing him to fine-tune his preparation for 2023 and in particular to apprehend the end of the season in a different way.

Overall Mathis had a very good season in 2022 as he finished 5th in the overall World Cup ranking in the U23 category, behind the recent world champion Simone Avondetto.

The gallery

Photos : Ulysse Daessle – Met Helmets

“The season ends with this Italian round in Val di Sole, and for the first year of the KTM Vittoria Team’s existence, we are satisfied with the performance of the riders, their commitment and the way they express themselves. With their character and their desire to surpass themselves, they have gained experience and perfectly illustrate our modo, who dares win!“

Jérôme Dericbourg – Team Manager

next step on the french Cup of levens, from 23 to 25 september – Stay tuned !

Kévin Laporte | 04-09-2022