07 Aug MANTECÓN IN THE XCM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Sergio Mantecón, ISB Sport ambassador with the Scott Cala Bandida Team, has been one of the three selected by the Real Federación Española de Ciclismo to compete in the XCM World Championship and has shown to be in a great moment.
On Sunday, August 6, 2023, the XCM World Championship 2023 was held in Glasgow and Sergio Mantecón was one of the three selected by the Spanish National Team to compete in the race along with Meritxell Figueras and Roberto Bou. The spectacular course of 96.5 kilometers and 3,200 meters of elevation gain of Glentress Forest became even more complicated because of the mud and rain, which made this race a real XCM World Championship.
Sergio Mantecón was in a great moment after his recent victories in the XCM Spanish Championship and Colina Triste. Since the pre-race training, Mantecón felt strong and with very good feelings, which was reflected in the first kilometers of the race. Our bandido remained for much of the race in the leading group until a very technical area made him stay behind. But an incredible final comeback made him cross the finish line in P17 and with the feeling that he had enough legs to go even higher.
“A bit bittersweet feeling because I think I had very good legs. From the beginning I was very well placed in the lead to avoid the cuts, but in a technical area I was caught by the cut and I was in no man’s land for 20 kilometers all alone. Finally I was caught by the group behind where I was able to catch some air and in the end I had legs and I went back as far as I could. The races are like that, I felt very well but the result did not reflect it. In a world championship a small mistake can leave you behind. I gave it my all, which is the important thing.” – Sergio Mantecón.
Congratulations to Sergio and his teammates for their incredible performance in this World Cup. Now it’s time to go back home to recover and think about the next goal, let’s keep going!