Once again, Luke started in the XCC (Cross-Country Short Track) on Thursday night, 15 June, this time in 35th position out of 40 riders. Forced to weave his way forward through the field, he made an excellent start and managed to pull himself right up to 20th across the finish line. This would give him a third row start for Sunday's XCO race, which is a great advantage in a field of 118 strong, talented riders. Well done, Luke!
Sunday 18 June’s XCO started with a blistering loop, but Luke rode with the confidence he gained from Thursday's battle and maintained his position. The field was strung out, which allowed Luke to tuck in behind wheels and use slipstreams to conserve his energy, while slowly moving forward one position at a time.
The final two laps saw non-stop attacks with much swapping of places, resulting in many position changes. Luke held his pace and came across the line in an incredible 14th place overall – 27 seconds off the top 10 and only two minutes and 24 seconds behind the winner.
Luke really enjoys Leogang in Austria for the rough technical descents – demonstrated by his achievement at Junior World Champs in 2020, where he came 9th on the same course, albeit a much wetter and muddier one that year!
It has been a tough few years adjusting to u/23 after missing the 2021 season and playing catch-up for during 2022, but Luke’s team says he is finally back to where he wants to be, racing on the world stage and with a top 10 finish at World Champs in his sights…
To date, this is the best South African result for an u/23 rider at a World Cup since Alan Hatherly won World Champs in 2018.