Following the excitement of Wednesday's Individual Sprint, followed by the Sprint Relay on Thursday, Team GB took to the hilly Kokořínsko forest for the Middle Race at World Cup Round 2.
Middle Distance
With sandstone details and many meters to climb, the British Team fought hard with Ralph Street leading the team home in the Middle in 20th place and Grace Molloy finishing 49th.
Ultimately, Tove Alexandersson (SWE) finished in first place in the Women's, after loosing some time on the first controls, finishing ahead of Simona Aebersold (SUI). In the Men's it was Austrian Jannis Bonek who took the win, taking his first ever World Cup title in the process. Behind him was Albin Ridefelt (SWE), with Matthias Kyburz (SUI) in third.
Results
| Men's Team | Women's Team |
|---|---|
| Ralph Street – 20th | Grace Molloy – 49th |
| Joshua Dudley – 63rd | Cecilie Andersen – 56th |
| Jonathan Crickmore – 64th | Laura King – 57th |
| Chris Smithard – 70th | Jo Shepherd – 63rd |
| Nathan Lawson – 85th | Chloe Potter – 86th |
| Peter Molloy – 104th | Rachel Brown – 98th |
Long Distance
The competition concluded on Sunday with the Men and Women's Long Distance race. With heavy rainfall and the steep slopes, it was a tough race for all competitors, but reigning World Cup Champions Tove Alexandersson (SWE) and Kasper Fosser (NOR) looked to be well on their way to defending their titles taking the win in their respective classes.
The British Team found the challenging conditions and steep climbs tough with only Ralph Street finishing inside the top 50.
There was a lot of climbing on the course. For the Women– 9.4km, with 720 metres to climb, and for the Men – 12.9km with 990m to climb. Despite this, Alexandersson, although not having a flawless race, never looked like she was in danger of being beaten. Simona Aebersold (SUI) secured 2nd place 2.39 minutes behind.
In the Mens race, Kasper Fosser (NOR) and Matthias Kyburz (SUI) were battling for Gold, but after a mistake at control 19 which costed time, it was Fosser who stood on podium 1.
Results
| Men's Team | Women's Team |
|---|---|
| Ralph Street – 40th | Grace Molloy – 60th |
| Chris Smithard – 60th | Jo Shepherd – 66th |
| Peter Molloy – 74th | Cecilie Andersen – 69th |
| Jonathan Crickmore – 83rd | Rachel Brown – 78th |
| Joshua Dudley – 93rd | Laura King – 88th |
| Nathan Lawson – 101st | Chloe Potter – 92nd |
The team will now turn their focus to the Sprint disciplines, and after such strong performances from the Men's team in particular (with five of the team finishing inside the top 25), their confidence should be high as they work towards the World Cup Final and European Championships at the beginning of October.
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Images: With special thanks to Robert Lines for providing these images.
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