Soto wins his first eliminator World Cup in Windham

Catriel Andres Soto (MMR Bikes Pro Team) won his first eliminator World Cup on Friday evening in Windham, New York. The Argentinian rider beat Simon Gegenheimer, Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya) and Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott Racing Team) in the Big Final.

"This is my first time on the top step of the podium and I can't believe it," Soto told Cyclingnews while still catching his breath.

Soto, who was also the fastest qualifier of the day, surged to the front early in the heat and held off a tenacious Gegenheimer for the win.

"I had good legs for the final, but this course was hard. It was the same final four as last week and while the others have more experience in finals, this was only my second time this year in an eliminator World Cup final."

World Cup leader Mels was in second place, but Gegenheimer got around him. Still, it was enough for Mels to finish third and defend his lead in the overall World Cup series.

Geigenheimer said, "Last week I won, but this was good, too. The first half of the season was not good for me. The goal for me was to catch up in the standings in Canada last weekend and here in the US this weekend, and it's been going well."

Mels said, "I had some bad luck and hit the back wheel of Soto just before a very technical point. I had to clip out with one foot and Simon came through. I tried to follow and sprint as fast as possible, but they were stronger today.

"But I keep the leader's jersey with one more World Cup to go, so I'm happy. It's looking good for the overall."

Federspiel rolled in for fourth place.

Current eliminator World Champion Paul van der Ploeg earned the final spot on the podium by winning the Small Final.

"I was 21st in the qualifying time trial and it wasn't confidence-inspiring to be 10 seconds slower than everyone else. Each heat, I'd hold my position and try to stay in the top two. I was just a bit too far back for the final kick over the hill in the semi-final, and the rider in front of me sat up, and I couldn't get around him quick enough. But I managed to win the B final and get on the podium. Any day you're on a World Cup podium is a good day."

Van der Ploeg talked about the course. "It didn't ride well, but it was quite nice to race. It wasn't technically difficult, but it was physically difficult and there were a lot of tactics which made it fun. The race was much more tactical than I thought it would be."

Full Results

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Big Final
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team
2Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
3Fabrice Mels* (Bel) Salcano Alanya
4Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
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Small Final
#Rider Name (Country) Team
5Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)
6Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team
7Jeroen Van Eck* (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team
8Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team
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1/4 Finals
#Rider Name (Country) Team
9Andri Frischknecht* (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team
10Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi)
11Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
12Michal Lami (Svk)
13Christian Helmig (Lux)
14Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa)
15Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi)
16Gregor Raggl* (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
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1/8 Finals
#Rider Name (Country) Team
17Leandre Bouchard* (Can)
18Frantisek Lami* (Svk)
19Cole Oberman (USA)
20Samuel Tremblay* (Can)
21Steffen Thum (Ger)
22Dario Alejandro Gasco (Arg)
23Adrian Retief (NZl)
24Casey Williams* (USA)
25Christian Pfäffle* (Ger)
26Luciano Caraccioli (Arg)
27Andrew Watson (Can)
28Alexandre Vialle* (Can)
29Patricio Andres Campbell Vilches (Chi)
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Elite men eliminator World Cup standings with one round remaining
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Fabrice Mels* (Bel)157pts
2Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)138Row 1 - Cell 3
3Daniel Federspiel (Aut)130Row 2 - Cell 3
4Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)124Row 3 - Cell 3
5Catriel Andres Soto (Arg)114Row 4 - Cell 3
6Emil Lindgren (Swe)71Row 5 - Cell 3
7Samuel Gaze (NZl)64Row 6 - Cell 3
8Miha Halzer (Slo)63Row 7 - Cell 3
9Marcel Wildhaber (Swi)36Row 8 - Cell 3
10Leandre Bouchard* (Can)33Row 9 - Cell 3
11Patrick Lüthi* (Swi)30Row 10 - Cell 3
12Simon Stiebjahn (Ger)28Row 11 - Cell 3
13Gregor Raggl* (Aut)21Row 12 - Cell 3
14Marek Konwa (Pol)20Row 13 - Cell 3
15Julian Schelb (Ger)20Row 14 - Cell 3
16Heiko Gutmann (Ger)18Row 15 - Cell 3
17Krystof Bogar* (Cze)18Row 16 - Cell 3
18Simon Scheiber (Aut)18Row 17 - Cell 3
19Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi)17Row 18 - Cell 3
20Jeroen Van Eck* (Ned)16Row 19 - Cell 3
21Samuel Tremblay* (Can)16Row 20 - Cell 3
22Elia Silvestri (Ita)16Row 21 - Cell 3
23Philip Buys (RSA)16Row 22 - Cell 3
24Kevin Miquel (Fra)16Row 23 - Cell 3
25Matthias Wengelin (Swe)14Row 24 - Cell 3
26Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger)14Row 25 - Cell 3
27Andri Frischknecht* (Swi)12Row 26 - Cell 3
28Roger Jenny* (Swi)12Row 27 - Cell 3
29Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi)12Row 28 - Cell 3
30Andy Eyring (Ger)10Row 29 - Cell 3
31Shaun Lewis (Aus)10Row 30 - Cell 3
32Matthias Stirnemann (Swi)8Row 31 - Cell 3
33Michal Lami (Svk)6Row 32 - Cell 3
34Nicolas Lüthi (Swi)6Row 33 - Cell 3
35Lehvi Braam* (Ned)6Row 34 - Cell 3
36Fabian Giger (Swi)6Row 35 - Cell 3
37Christian Helmig (Lux)4Row 36 - Cell 3
38Tristan Ward (Aus)4Row 37 - Cell 3
39Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa)3Row 38 - Cell 3
40Antoine Caron (Can)3Row 39 - Cell 3
41Stefan Peter* (Swi)3Row 40 - Cell 3
42Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel)3Row 41 - Cell 3
43Borys Goral (Pol)3Row 42 - Cell 3
44Miguel Martinez (Fra)2Row 43 - Cell 3
45Steffen Thum (Ger)2Row 44 - Cell 3
46Payson Mcelveen (USA)1Row 45 - Cell 3

 

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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews.  She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.

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