World Cup champion Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) confirmed her four cross World Cup title on the Planai ski slope in Schladming, Austria, on Saturday night.
Unlike the men's series, there were still three riders in contention for the overall win – Beerten, Fionn Griffiths (Norco) and American Jill Kintner. However, Griffiths crashed the day before at qualifying and could not race while Kintner crashed in her first round heat and did not finish. Therefore, Beerten won her third consecutive title without even racing.
Despite that, the women's race saw its own action, with Beerten only scrapping through the semi-final round in second place after a serious challenge from the Czech rider Romana Labounkova. In the final, up against Austrian favourite Anita Molcik (Yeti Fox Shox), British newcomer Katy Curd and Japan's Mio Suemasa, Beerten left nothing to chance, grabbing the hole shot and riding it to her third win of the season.
Griffiths and Kintner were tied for points and number of wins at two apiece, but Griffiths took second in the final overall standings by virtue of two second places (Kintner had none). An absent Melissa Buhl finished fourth.
"This is my third title in a row, and it probably means the most," said Beerten. "This year, everyone was here, everyone was racing, so it was the biggest challenge to win. After [Fionn Griffiths] crashed, everyone was congratulating me, but I had to keep telling myself, 'remain focussed'. I still wanted to win, and Labounkova gave me a pretty hard time in the semi-final."
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center |
| 2 | Anita Molcik (Aut) Yeti Fox Shox Racing Team |
| 3 | Katy Curd (GBr) |
| 4 | Mio Suemasa (Jpn) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 5 | Romana Labounkova (Cze) |
| 6 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center |
| 7 | Rachel Seydoux (Swi) |
| 8 | Lucia Oetjen (Swi) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 9 | Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) |
| 10 | Eva Castro Fernandez (Spa) |
| 11 | Tereza Votavova (Cze) |
| 12 | Neven Steinmetz (USA) |
| 13 | Laura Brethauer (Ger) |
| 14 | Stephanie Teltscher (Ger) |
| 15 | Neza Knez (Slo) |
| DNF | Jill Kintner (USA) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 70 | pts |
| 2 | Suspension Center | 50 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 50 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Team Sunn | 35 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Animal Commencal | 22 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | MS Evil Racing | 18 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain UK | 16 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team | 9 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center | 580 | pts |
| 2 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team | 400 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Jill Kintner (USA) | 400 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Melissa Buhl (USA) | 235 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Jana Horakova (Cze) | 205 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Caroline Buchanan (Aus) | 185 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Anita Molcik (Aut) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 125 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Romana Labounkova (Cze) | 120 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center | 110 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Joanna Petterson (RSA) | 90 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Mio Suemasa (Jpn) | 60 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Katy Curd (GBr) | 50 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Sarsha Huntington (Aus) | 30 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Rachel Seydoux (Swi) | 15 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Lucia Oetjen (Swi) | 15 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Eva Castro Fernandez (Spa) | 10 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Diana Marggraff (Ecu) | 5 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) | 5 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 305 | pts |
| 2 | Suspension Center | 300 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Team Sunn | 182 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 176 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | GT Bicycles | 174 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Animal Commencal | 168 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Norco World Team | 165 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Specialized Factory Racing | 109 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Rocky Mountain UK | 72 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | MS Evil Racing | 71 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 67 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team | 18 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Kenda Morewood | 9 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
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