Chelva 2026 Internationals as it’s called is happening in Spain this weekend. The women’s field looks even more stacked than the Super Cup last weekend. Jennie Rissveds is starting her season here, along with Neff, Henderson and the U.S. riders as well. Should be a great race.
These early races are very important to teams and riders. Without a certain number of points from racing early in the year, the chances of getting a spot in the Short Track races in Korea are nil. They need to race, and doing so at these higher tier races really helps. While it’s cool to see who’s hot this time of year, it doesn’t always translate to the World Cups. Many, many times I’ve seen racers killing it at every pre season race only to finish mid pack at the first few world cups. It will be a bit odd not seeing Samara Maxwell this season at all though. She was just so consistently at the front.
These early races are very important to teams and riders. Without a certain number of points from racing early in the year, the chances of getting a spot in the Short Track races in Korea are nil. They need to race, and doing so at these higher tier races really helps. While it’s cool to see who’s hot this time of year, it doesn’t always translate to the World Cups. Many, many times I’ve seen racers killing it at every pre season race only to finish mid pack at the first few world cups. It will be a bit odd not seeing Samara Maxwell this season at all though. She was just so consistently at the front.
