In round 2 of the men's eliminator World Cup competition in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, a number of the favourites exited early or suffered mechanical problems, opening the door for some relatively unknown riders to shine. Raphaël Gagne (Canadian National), fourth in round one, did not qualify for the final 32 riders. World champion Ralph Näf (BMC) crashed in his first heat and did not finish. Thomas Litscher (Multivan Merida) false started in the quarter-final round and was relegated. Round 1 winner and World Cup leader Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott) while sprinting in his semi-final round, had a mechanical with his rear derailleur and had to settle for fifth.
The men's final had only one rider from the previous round's final - Slovenia's Miha Halzer, who qualified first and looked to be the favourite in the final. Halzer was joined by Gallagher, and two German riders, Christian Pfäffle and Simon Gegenheimer. Halzer went out early with a broken chain, followed by Gegenheimer with a flat tire. This left Gallagher and Pfäffle to sprint, and the British rider Gallagher played it smart, staying behind his rival until the final 150 metres, before coming around to win by a bike length.
"Going into the final race I knew I would be on the podium," said Gallagher. "But after Halzer and Gegenheimer had mechanicals, I knew first was possible. So when Christian went to the front, I got on his wheel and then came around at the end. I think maybe he went out to early. I always knew I had a good sprint; I used to do downhill."
Federspiel leads the men's standings after two rounds with 80 points, followed by Gallagher and Pfäffle, both with 60 points.
Elite men eliminator full results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kenta Gallagher (GBr) Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team |
| 2 | Christian Pfäffle (Ger) |
| 3 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) |
| 4 | Miha Halzer (Slo) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 5 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
| 6 | Stefan Peter (Swi) Strubi MTB Kader |
| 7 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) |
| 8 | Fabien Canal (Fra) Asptt Definitive Tec |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 9 | Thibault Geneste (Fra) Newcycling |
| 10 | Andy Eyring (Ger) |
| 11 | Martin Gluth (Ger) |
| 12 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) |
| 13 | Philip Buys (RSA) |
| 14 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls |
| 15 | Erik Groen (Ned) Feenstra Felt Powered By Kenda |
| 16 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 17 | Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya |
| 18 | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) |
| 19 | Rens De Bruijn (Ned) SBJ Bike Team |
| 20 | Jan Fojtik (Cze) |
| 21 | Jeroen van Eck* (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team |
| 22 | Adria Noguera Soldevila (Spa) |
| 23 | Urban Ferencak (Slo) Calcit Bike Team |
| 24 | Lubomir Vojka (Cze) |
| 25 | Patrick Luthi (Swi) |
| 26 | Martino Fruet (Ita) |
| 27 | Leandre Bouchard (Can) Canadian National Team |
| 28 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) |
| 29 | Milan Spesny (Cze) |
| 30 | Kevin van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team |
| 31 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Goldwurst-Power / Stöckli |
| DNF | Ralph Näf (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team |
Elite men eliminator World Cup standings after round 2
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 80 | pts |
| 2 | Kenta Gallagher* (GBr) Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team | 60 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Christian Pfäffle* (Ger) | 60 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Miha Halzer (Slo) | 55 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | 44 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 41 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 25 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Stefan Peter* (Swi) Strübi MTB Kader | 20 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Thibault Geneste* (Fra) Newcycling | 20 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | 20 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 18 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) | 16 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Mirco Widmer (Swi) Giant Dealerteams | 16 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Fabien Canal (Fra) ASPTT Definitive Tec | 15 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Lehvi° Braam (Ned) Netherlands | 12 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Martin Gluth* (Ger) | 8 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Jan Nesvadba* (Cze) | 6 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Titouan Perrin Ganier* (Fra) Focus/Rotor/Coaching-System.Fr | 6 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 4 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) | 4 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls | 3 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Fabrice Mels* (Bel) Salcano Alanya | 3 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Erik Groen (Ned) Feenstra Felt Powered By Kenda | 2 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
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