Buchanan defends rainbow jersey in elite women's four cross

Racing under the lights in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada, Australia's Caroline Buchanan defended her world championship title in the elite women's four cross on Friday night. She held off the charge from two Czech challengers: Jana Horakova and Romana Labounkova. Katy Curd (Great Britain) finished fourth.

Buchanan qualified fastest and appeared to easily breeze through the rounds all the way to the finals.

"This year's win feels just as good," said Buchanan. "I still got butterflies in my stomach beforehand. Last year I had more home crowd support, and I knew the track wouldn't be as good for me this year, so I had to get out in front and then I knew I'd be ok."

Buchanan, still only 19, figured out that she had to get to the rock garden first to ensure a win. A tenacious Horakova pushed Buchanan all the way to the line in the finals.

"For me, I saw the chance at the rock garden," said Horakova, "but then I had to chose the second lane on the rocky section, so Caroline was in front of me. I was hoping in the last corner that it was still possible."

The track didn't have much passing, and the start proved very important.

Labounkova and Horakova made a happy pair of Czech riders on the podium. "It's always good when we both have medals," said Labounkova. The Czechs have been a powerhouse in both elite men's and women's racing all season.

Katy Curd (Great Britain) finished fourth in her first time racing four cross at Worlds. "It was a sick fast track. You were coming into some of the corners and it was hard to see with this limited light. Though that was the same for everyone."

World Cup overall champion Anita Molcik was eliminated in the semi-finals after getting passed and being unable to find a line back around.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Big Final
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Caroline Buchanan (Australia)
2Jana Horakova (Czech Republic)
3Romana Labounkova (Czech Republic)
4Katy Curd (Great Britain)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Small Final
#Rider Name (Country) Team
5Luana Maria De Souza Oliveira (Brazil)
6Anita Molcik (Austria)
7Sarsha Huntington (Australia)
8Fionn Griffiths (Great Britain)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
1/4 Finals
#Rider Name (Country) Team
9Anne Laplante (Canada)
10Anneke Beerten (Netherlands)
11Neza Knez (Slovenia)
12Lucia Oetjen (Switzerland)
13Joanna Petterson (South Africa)
14Steffi Marth (Germany)
15Angelika Hohenwarter (Austria)
16Neven Steinmetz (United States Of America)

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

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.

Latest on Cyclingnews