Rissveds wins final-lap thriller in La Thuile

Jenny Rissveds took a hard-fought victory with a powerful final-lap attack on Friday's opening stage of La Thuile 2026. The Swedish rider timed her effort to perfection on the dusty, technical course, sealing her first short track win of the season.

Sina Frei finished just one second behind in second place after a thrilling duel that went down to the final few hundred metres. Savilia Blunk rounded out the podium, crossing the line 16 seconds in arrears.

The race was a short, intense affair of eight laps around the sun-baked course in La Thuile. The pace was high from the start, with the field kicking up clouds of dust before hitting the first significant climb of 17 vertical metres.

An early selection saw a lead group of three form, containing Rissveds, Frei, and Alessandra Keller. The race was blown apart on the seventh lap by a huge attack from Rissveds on the main climb, which only Frei could follow.

Entering the final lap, Rissveds led Frei across the line. Frei launched an immediate counter to seize the lead, but the decisive moment came in a slow, rocky corner where she dabbed a foot, losing momentum and allowing Rissveds to open the winning gap she held to the line.

• Jenny Rissveds's victory was a masterclass in patience and power. She weathered Frei's attacks on the final lap and ruthlessly capitalised on the smallest of errors, proving that technical skill under fatigue is just as important as raw strength.
• Sina Frei will be disappointed to lose by such a small margin, but her performance was immense. Her tactical nous was on display when she took the lead on the final lap, and only a momentary lapse in a technical section cost her the win.
• The gap back to Savilia Blunk and Alessandra Keller in third and fourth showed that while they are strong, they lacked the explosive punch of the top two on the day. The attack from Rissveds on lap seven was simply on another level.
• For pre-race favourite Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), a ninth-place finish is likely below her own expectations. She was never in contention at the very front, suggesting she may have been caught out by the fast start or lacked the top-end speed required in the finale.