Most top cyclocross riders are currently in Tábor, Czech Republic, for the first round of the World Cup, but there is also racing happening in the United States. In Hendersonville, North Carolina, the victory in the first round of the North Carolina Grand Prix went to a familiar name.
In the elite women’s race, Jolanda Neff was the star of the show. The now 32-year-old Swiss rider is primarily known as a top mountain biker—she became Olympic champion in Tokyo 2021 and was also world champion in cross-country four years earlier—but Neff has also made her mark in cyclocross.
She has previously been Swiss national champion in this discipline, placed sixth at the 2019 Cyclocross World Championships in Bogense, and has finished multiple times in the top 5 in World Cup cyclocross events. Perhaps her most notable achievement is winning the New Year's Day race in Baal on January 1, 2019, which remains her only victory in a stage race.
Beginning of a serious (or even bigger) cyclocross campaign?
In recent years, Neff has hardly raced in cyclocross and has not appeared at the very highest level of the sport, but this weekend she is back competing in two American C2 events. In the first round of the North Carolina Grand Prix, she outpaced local riders Lizzy Gunsalus and Lauren Zoerner.
Whether this signals that Neff will commit to a more extensive cyclocross campaign this winter remains unclear.
North Carolina Grand Prix - Day 1| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48:06 | |
| 2 | + 39 | |
| 3 | + 01:09 | |
| 4 | + 01:41 | |
| 5 | + 03:11 | |
| 6 | + 03:43 | |
| 7 | + 04:06 | |
| 8 | + 04:34 | |
| 9 | + 05:12 | |
| 10 | + 05:59 |
