Chalk up a second straight World Cup win for Florencia Espiñeira.
Five days after taking the 2024 season opener in Finale Ligure, Italy, the Chilean-born Whistlerite prevailed again (38:50.081) in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. Tracy Moseley pulled up second for Great Britain (39:00.040) and third went to France's Laura Charles (39:33.218).
“It feels great. It’s a good start for the season," said Espiñeira in a press release. "I’m relieved and happy to continue like this. It was very tight all the time. At the point where I thought I had a nice cushion of time, Tracy smoked me back and it all went down to the last stage. I was all or nothing for it."
Although Moseley edged Stage One by about three seconds, Espiñeira responded by winning six out of the eight remaining stages, finishing second in the other two, and holding the lead from Stage Three onward.
Meanwhile, Slawomir Lukasik gave local Polish fans a reason to cheer with his gold medal effort among men (33:16.060). Portuguese rider José Borges found enough speed for silver (33:39.619) and Ryan Gilchrist returned Australia to the podium with bronze (33:47.384) despite having to replace a tire midway through the contest.
“It feels amazing," Lukasik told reporters. "I’m stoked about this weekend. I didn’t feel any pressure or expectation, it was just having fun and riding fast. It was a nice day. It’s amazing racing at home and [have] a lot of people cheering me on."
A quick start in the first three stages helped Lukasik build an unassailable lead on the field.
Full results are available here.
