Federspiel, Indergand take first gold medals

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On Tuesday, in Vallnord, Andorra, Daniel Federspiel (Austria) finally got the one title missing from his collection - Eliminator world champion. Winner of multiple World Cups, the World Cup overall title and the European title, Federspiel had previously missed out on the rainbow stripes, and he was ecstatic with his win.

The men's field had possibly the greatest depth in the short history of the discipline, with all of the previous world champions on hand - Ralph Naef (Switzerland), Paul van der Ploeg (Australia) and defending champion Fabrice Mels (Belgium). None of them would make the final, showing how strong the competition has become.

32 men qualified for head-to-head racing after a time trial earlier in the day. Starting with the eighth-finals, they raced in heats of four riders at a time, with the top-two moving on to the next round, until there were only four left to race for the final. It was critical on the 900 metre circuit to get the front position before a series of zig-zag turns leading into a singletrack wooded section. A steep climb out of the woods onto the finishing straight left a final opportunity for a fast finisher to possibly move up before the line.

Competition was unexpectedly put on hold for over an hour when the main generator blew after just one quarter final heat. It powered the television broadcast, timing, announcement system and the pits, and everything was shut down while a new generator was rushed into position.

Once competition resumed, there was another short hold, after van der Ploeg went out in a serious crash, hitting a tree. The Australian was taken out on a backboard and then airlifted to hospital. There is no word yet on his condition.

In the final, Federspiel was joined by Samuel Gaze (New Zealand), Simon Gegenheimer (Germany) and Kevin Miquel (France). The Austrian sprinted to the front in the first 100 metres and rode away from the field by the time they hit the singletrack. Behind, Gegenheimer moved into second place, but was challenged in the final sprint by Gaze, who passed him for silver with a bike throw at the line.

"This was my goal the last three years," said an ecstatic Federspiel, "and now my dream comes true. I am so happy. This was one of my best races. I am just so happy. For the final my plan was that I ride in front, so I can choose my own lines. This was my favourite type of finish line, at more than 150 metres. Now I have reached my goal., I have all the titles in this discipline. I am really happy."

"No [the power outage] did not bother me. For every athlete it was the same. It let me relax a little bit more."

Swiss domination in women's Eliminator

Switzerland opened the 2015 Mountain Bike World Championships with a win in Vallnord, Andorra, when last year's silver medalist, Linda Indergand, stepped up to the top step of the podium. Norway's Ingrid Boe Jacobsen spoiled a Swiss 1-2 when she just nipped defending champion Kathrin Stirnemann at the line.

16 women qualified for head-to-head racing after a time trial earlier in the day and dominated the subsequent heats, taking three of the four positions for the final - Indergand, Stirnemann and Ramona Forchini, with Boe Jacobsen grabbing the last spot. In the final, Indergand took the lead into the first corner and opened a sizable gap up the final climb, to cruise to the line. Boe Jacobsen's final 100 metre sprint just put her in front of Stirnemann for the silver medal.

"It felt like I was flying," stated Indergand, "but it was a really tough one. The start was really hard, and then it's overwhelming me now. Really crazy. Three Swiss in the final and that's great. For the sprint you really have some luck, and today was my lucky day. This time I have a bit more luck [after finishing second last year]."  

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