Sarrou top finisher for BMC in World XCO Championships: Ninth

In the colors of the French national team, Team BMC’s Jordan Sarrou finished ninth in the World XCO Championships in Andorra. Juri Zanotti crossed the line in 18th place.

Due to forecasted stormy weather, all categories started earlier than scheduled for the shorter-than-originally-intended XCO races. Early in the morning, Maxime L’Homme lined up, while Steffi Häberlin started a few hours later, together with the U23 women.

The Swiss U23 rider, who dreamed of a top-10 finish, ended up 14th, while Häberlin had to accept a 23rd place.

The two elite riders of Team BMC, Sarrou and Zanotti, were the last ones to get on the course at an altitude of 1,950 meters. The former French world champion managed to stay with the fastest riders for two laps, but ultimately had to settle for a spot in the top 10. Zanotti might have hoped for a slightly better result, but had to be content with 18th place.

Titouan Carod and Janis Baumann did not represent their countries in Andorra, as they are recovering from an injury and a virus respectively.

XCC

Earlier this weekend, on Friday evening, Team BMC’s Jordan Sarrou took "racing from the front" literally in the World XCC Championships, leading from the gun for 80% of the race but ultimately settling for fifth place. Häberlin finished 20th in Pal Arinsal’s Short Race.

The XC season is slowly coming to an end. There are just two World Cups left, overseas, in the USA and Canada, at the end of this month.