Samara “Sammie” Maxwell, a mountain biker from New Zealand, has won the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country race. The race took place in Pal Arinsal, Andorra last weekend.
Racing in her first year at the top elite level, she overcame two crashes and a flat tire to secure the win.
Maxwell, from Taupō, New Zealand, had a strong start but fell twice while riding over dangerous rocks. She also lost time when her rear tire got a puncture and needed changing. Still, she fought back to the front each time and passed her rivals in a final push on the last lap.
She finished just nine seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Alessandra Keller. Jenny Rissveds from Sweden came in third. Maxwell said winning took everything she had, and that she “can’t believe it.”
Maxwell rode the two fastest laps of the race, the first and the last. Now, she leads the overall World Cup standings by 445 points, with four races left in the season.
The next race will be held in three weeks in Haute-Savoie, France. There, riders will compete in downhill, cross-country, and enduro events.
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