On the second day of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Canberra, Australia, Chloe Forsman and Jill Behlen were the top US finishers in the U23 and Junior Womens’ Cross-Country events. Forsman, from Tuscon, AZ, finished 15th, 7 minutes and 23 seconds behind the U23 winner, Poland’s Aleksandra Dawidowicz. Behlen, a resident of Boulder, was 16th in the Junior class, trailing France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot by 8 minutes and 17 seconds.

According to race reports, the cross-country course was extremely technical and challenging for all riders. A full lap is 6.47 km, with the U23 women completing 4 laps and the Juniors completing 3.

The US was also represented by Amy Dombrowski (U23) and Essence Barton (Junior), both finishing 18th. It was a strong showing by the American women, suggesting that there’s great potential for future Elite class performances.

On the first day of the World Championships, the US finished 12th in the team relay, 3 minutes and 52 seconds behind first place finisher Italy. The US team was composed of riders Heather Irmiger, Russell Finsterwald, Colin Cares, and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski.

Tomorrow’s schedule includes the mens’ 20″ trials semi-finals, mens’ and womens’ 4-cross qualifiers, and the mens’ Junior Cross-country events.

Check in tomorrow evening for a summary of the day’s events!