The first World Cup race of the season took place in beautiful Mairiporã, Brazil. With the XCC and the XCO races taking place back-to-back there was little time to recuperate. Hot, humid, and dusty conditions were made up for by the passionate fans who clearly love the sport and cheered enthusiastically for every rider. The XCC course was fast and tough. Luke was caught a few times on the first lap but dug deep and pulled one out of the bag for a top 20 finish.
The following day, Luke’s 19th place finish in the XCC gave him a decent start position for the XCO. This would prove to be a distinct advantage with a gruelling first section and a chaotic first lap. Designed to be physical, the course threw out its fair share of thrills and spills. Luke’s Cube Factory Racing teammate, Finn Treudler, finished 3rd and Luke finished 5th in a triumphant post-injury return to top-level racing.