Gegenheimer wins eliminator at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup

The men's final at round 4 of the UCI Eliminator World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, was filled with drama, including a crash that took two riders out of contention, enabling Simon Gegenheimer to win the second eliminator of his career. Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya), despite crashing, took over the leader's jersey from world champion Paul van der Ploeg (Giant), who did not make the final .

Surprisingly, this was the first time that Mont-Sainte-Anne had hosted an eliminator and, in true MSA fashion, they made it tough, with a long opening climb, BMX descent and then a pumptrack section before the sprint to the finish.

Gegenheimer and Mels were joined in the final by Catriel Andres Soto (MMR Bikes), the fastest qualifier, and defending World Cup champion Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott). Federspiel went to the front early in the final race, but went down after his front wheel washed out, effectively bringing the race to a halt, as the three following riders tried to get by Federspiel and he attempted to get going again. In the confusion, Federspiel's saddle got tangled with Mels' rear wheel, and by the time they had sorted it out the other two were long gone, with Gegnheimer winning the sprint.

"It was a really hard final," said Gegenheimer. "Last year I won the final round in Hafjell [Norway], and it is an amazing feeling to win again. But it will be hard to get back into the race for the overall title, since the beginning of the season did not go well for me. So I think the series is over for me, but I will fight for some more wins."

Mels now leads the overall standings with 127 points, followed by van der Ploeg at 118 and Federspiel at 105.

Elite men eliminator finals

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#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
2Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team
3Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya
4Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
5Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team
6Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)
7Samuel Tremblay (Can)
8Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi)
9Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team
10Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
11Leandre Bouchard (Can)
12Nicolas Lüthi (Swi)
13Gregor Raggl (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
14Antoine Caron (Can)
15Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi)
16Payson Mcelveen (USA)
17Ryan Standish (USA)
18Christian Pfäffle (Ger)
19Andrew L'Esperance (Can)
20Mitchell Bailey (Can)
21Luciano Caraccioli (Arg)
22Christian Helmig (Lux)
23Dario Alejandro Gasco (Arg)
24Guy Niv (Isr)
25Steffen Thum (Ger)
26Mathew Waghorn (NZl)
27Patricio Andres Campbell Vilches (Chi)
28Daniel B Serrano Martinez (PuR)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men eliminator World Cup Standings
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya
2Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)
3Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
4Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
5Samuel Gaze (NZl)
6Miha Halzer (Slo)
7Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team
8Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team
9Leandre Bouchard (Can)
10Patrick Lüthi (Swi)
11Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls
12Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team
13Marek Konwa (Pol) Betch.nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team
14Julian Schelb (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team
15Gregor Raggl (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
16Heiko Gutmann (Ger)
17Krystof Bogar (Cze) Betch.nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team
18Samuel Tremblay (Can)
19Elia Silvestri (Ita)
20Philip Buys (RSA)
21Kevin Miquel (Fra)
22Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi)
23Matthias Wengelin (Swe)
24Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus XC Team
25Roger Jenny (Swi)
26Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
27Andy Eyring (Ger)
28Shaun Lewis (Aus)
29Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team
30Nicolas Lüthi (Swi)
31Lehvi Braam (Ned)
32Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team
33Tristan Ward (Aus)
34Antoine Caron (Can)
35Stefan Peter (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team
36Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team
37Borys Goral (Pol)
38Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi)
39Miguel Martinez (Fra) Tropix-Frm
40Steffen Thum (Ger)
41Payson Mcelveen (USA)

 

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