The earlier start and cancellation of the junior finals enabled organisers to avoid predicted electrical storms.
Blewitt, the Cube Factory professional from Queenstown who turned 23 last week, moved into the top 10 on the elite women’s season rankings with a fourth placing in the final.
Her excellent run in the finals earned her the Hot Seat, holding on until she was edged out by the last three riders.
She is now in eighth place on the elite standings with her fourth in Andorra following two fifth placings at Val di Sole and Leogang and seventh in La Thuile.
Fellow New Zealand rider Sacha Earnest, in her first year in the elite ranks after world championship junior bronze medals in 2023 and 2024, was seventh for her best season finish after placing 10th in Loudenvielle.
The 19-year-old Trek Factory rider had a brilliant start, was fourth fastest in the midway mark, and finished just 0.7sec off a spot in the top five.
Pene bagged his best performance of the season, qualifying for the final in the 20th and final spot, before producing a stunning ride in the final, where he was eighth.
The MS Racing professional clocked the fastest speed in the final at 56.47kmh and was seventh fastest at the first time check.
It was his best world cup performance as an elite after storming on the scene as a world championship junior medallist, and his efforts in Andorra moved him inside the top 30 on season standings.
After a brilliant qualifying performance, Rotorua’s Lachlan Stevens-McNab made a major mistake on the top part of the course in the finals, dropping over 20sec getting back on track.
He recovered with competitive times over the bottom half of the course to finish 26th but he retains his place in the overall top 10 after six of the 10 rounds.
The high altitude of Andorra will test the cross-country riders who are in action on the final day of competition, before a three-week break leading to a busy round at Haute-Savoie, France, comprising round seven of 10 for both downhill and cross-country and the season finale for enduro.
— APL
