Petter Fagerhaug won the men’s under-23 race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Stellenbosch today.
The Norwegian completed the six-lap race in 1:18:23, beating New Zealander Ben Oliver and Frenchman Neilo Perrin Ganier into second and third respectively.
Petter Fagerhaug pictured winning the men’s under-23 race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Stellenbosch today. Photo: Full Stop Communications
The fourth-seeded Oliver took the lead early on, with first-seeded Fagerhaug and fifth-seeded Simon Andreassen from Denmark following.
The top three remained the same heading into the second lap. South Africa’s Julian Jessop was in 27th, with compatriot Wessel Botha in 30th.
Fagerhaug took the lead in the third lap, with Oliver languishing in second. Perrin Ganier overtook Andreassen into third.
The top three remained the same heading into the fourth lap. Andreassen dropped to fifth, as Belgium Pierre de Froidmont moved up.
Fagerhaug built up a sizeable lead of 52 seconds over Oliver on the fifth lap. Perrin Ganier was a further 20 seconds behind in third.
Botha moved up to 18th at that point, with Jessop jumping up to 22nd.
On the sixth lap, Fagerhaug built a comprehensive two-minute lead over Oliver and managed to come out on top comprehensively in the end.
Wessel Botha was the highest-placed South African – he finished in 19th.
“I didn’t have the best start – there was a crash right in front of me on the first hill, which had set me back a bit,” he told In the Bunch.
“The other riders were consistently fast throughout the race. It was my first world cup, so I didn’t have any expectations. I just wanted to ride as hard as I can. I’m happy about the result.”
Jessop finished just two places behind him in 21st.
View more results below.
Men U23
1. Petter Fagerhaug (Norway) 1:18:23
2. Ben Oliver (New Zealand) 1:19:29
3. Pierre de Froidmont (Belgium) 1:20:17
4. Simon Andreassen (Denmark) 1:20:53
5. Pierre de Froidmont (Belgium) 1:21:01
6. Maximilian Brandl (Belgium) 1:21:21
7. Martin Siggerud (Norway) 1:21:41
8. Filippo Colombo (Switzerland) 1:21:51
9. Jonas Lindberg (Denmark) 1:21:54
10. Axel Zingle (France) 1:22:07
