Neff powers through mud to finish among the best at Namur World Cup

Former mountain bike world champion Jolanda Neff announced that she would be racing World Cup cyclo-cross with her new team Trek Factory Racing, and she finished an strong fifth place at the series' sixth round in Namur on Sunday. 

Neff started the Namur World Cup in the fifth row because she does not have enough points in cyclo-cross to start further ahead. Her start position didn't seem to affect her race, too much, however, as she quickly worked her way from near the back of the field to the front within the opening laps.

The riders faced a tough circuit that was covered with thick mud, making it a challenge for all competitors. Neff seemed to race through the mud almost effortlessly, and used her world-class mountain bike skills to tackle to technical sections.

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Neff caught up to the lead group, however Lucinda Brand (Sunweb) had already made her winning attack. Neff then finished fifth with just 36 seconds behind Brand. World Cup leader Marianne Vos (Waowdeals) was second, Annemarie Worst third and Nikki Brammeier (Mudiiita) was fourth.

It is not her first season racing cyclo-cross. In January, she was forced to end her cyclo-cross season early after a crash at Hoogerheide. She competed in Namur on Sunday, just days after arriving home from a training camp in New Zealand.

"I came back from a training camp in New Zealand only three days ago," Neff said. "So, finishing fifth here is great. I was able to profit from my mountain biking background. I struggled on the climbs but moved up on the technical sections."

— Jolanda Neff (@jolandaneff) December 22, 2018

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