Ella MacPhee wound up just outside of cross-country short track (XCC) podium contention in Pal Arinsal, Andorra: fourth in a time of 21 minutes and 32 seconds.
Instead, Katharina Sadnik broke through for her inaugural U23 World Cup gold medal. The Austrian rider (20:59) was neck-and-neck with Valentina Corvi down the final stretch, but just out-sprinted her Italian opponent (21:00) at the finish. Sina Van Thiel of Germany collected bronze nearly half a minute behind the leaders (21:28).
Sadnik tops the women's U23 overall ranking with 511 points. MacPhee occupies second (407), an impressive effort for one who admits to being more proficient in the longer cross-country Olympic (XCO) discipline. Corvi's compatriot Sara Cortinovis is third (352).
"So happy about today!" MacPhee wrote on her Instagram account. "Back to fighting in the top [five] and feeling the good feelings!"
The men's U23 XCC race proved to be a more hotly-contested affair, with Finn Treudler finding separation late. The Swiss athlete had a disappointing start, but clawed his way back from 12th (20:15) to emerge victorious over Denmark's runner-up Heby Gustav Pedersen (20:17) and his own countryman Nicolas Halter in third (20:17).
Treudler’s third consecutive win solidifies his lead spot in the overall (589), with Pedersen (468) and Rens Teunissen Van Manen (410) well back.
"Racing at altitude is so different for the body. The lungs are burning so bad after the race," Treudler said in a press release. "I’m happy with my effort today. I didn’t burn too many matches and I still took the win, so I’m happy. I messed up my start so I was a bit far back, but I knew that the race would be so hard that I could move up in the last part. In two weeks, I have to defend my European championship, which is a big goal, and then I’m off for some rest before the big goal of Worlds at home."
For more results from Pal Arinsal, click here.
