Intro:

Swiss pair Nino Schurter and Jolanda Neff were both victorious in Sunday's (2 August) cross-country event at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

Script:

The mountain bikers were in Quebec for the 25th edition of the Mont-Saint-Anne UCI World Cup on Sunday.

35-year-old Julien Absalon led the men's category - and by quite some distance - going into the Canadian leg of the circuit.

Immediately behind him in the standings was Nino Schurter and the rider from Switzerland pushed hard on the climbs as he pushed ahead of the Frenchman here in the early stages.

Absalon led the standings by over 180 points before Quebec, however Schurter's victory reduces the deficit by 50 points and the Frenchman was first to congratulate Schurter.

In the women's race, reigning champion Jolanda Neff emerged victorious after dominating throughout - despite a slight fall on a tricky descent.

Veteran rider Catharine Pendrel of Canada came second just behind Neff, and the pair sit in the same positions in the overall standings.

A surprise third was taken by France's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who is 35th in the current rankings.

The World Cup's next stop is in Windham, USA on the 8-9 August, before the ninth and final event in Val di Sole, Italy on 22-23 August.