Breakthrough for Isla Short - Top 20 in Leogang
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UCI World Cup in Leogang, Austria
In Salzburgerland on Thursday, everything still looked like a dry, perhaps even too hot race on the following day.
Overnight, a storm swept over the track and changed the conditions significantly. Deep, technical descents paired with grueling uphill climbs promised a thrilling race weekend.
Short Track
In the Short Track, Anne Terpstra of the GHOST Factory Racing Team coped the conditions best.
She fought with Briton Evie Richards for the podium in the final straight, but was beaten by just under a second and ended up in fourth place.
Caroline Bohé had a tough day, but fought her way through bravely and still secured a starting position in row three for the Olympic distance with 18th place.
Isla Short and Nicole Koller both did not start in the short race distance.
Cross Country Olympic
On Sunday, the long distance was just around the corner. Conditions were completely different from those in the short track: dry, dusty trail and hot temperatures put the athletes under pressure.
Unfortunately, the measure of all things on this race weekend was Puck Pieterse (Alpecin), who was impossible to pass. Anne Terpstra achieved the best result of the GHOST Factory Racing Team with 8th place.
But Isla Short was the happiest of all, the young Scot rewarded her hard work of the last weeks and achieved her first top 20 result for us.
Caroline Bohé followed Isla directly in 21st place, but was not so happy with her race.
You can find the race highlights here.
Outlook
The overall ranking is as follows: after three of nine races Anne Terpstra is in 4th place (237 points behind the first-placed), Caroline Bohé in 12th followed by Isla Short in 41st and Nicole Koller in 46th.
The GFRT is still in 3rd place in the team ranking, within striking distance of the first two places.
The race continues in Val di Sole, Italy, in just over two weeks. Here in Trentino on the first weekend in July we can expect a hot and demanding race with many technical sections. You can find out if and where the race will be broadcast on the UCI IG channel.