The Queen stage of the Crocodile Trophy ended in a two-up sprint between race leader Urs Huber (Team Bulls) and second placed Sebastien Carabin (Merida Wallonie-Vojo Mag). For the second stage running it was Huber that came up trumps, keeping his position at the top of the overall standings. Carabin kept him at close quarters and remains in touching distance with three stages to go.
"I knew the finish from last year and was in front at the deciding moment and then there was no passing me anymore. I did have a slight crash today, nothing serious, just a bit of lack of concentration," Huber said after the stage. "Today was hard, extremely long and windy at the end. It is also relatively hot and just long. The stage didn't have many vertical meters, but it was the length that was tough."
In the women’s competition, Alice Pirard extended her comfortable lead with another stage victory. Australian Ruth Corset jumped up to second overall with a strong performance, taking second on the day. Annemiek van Vleuten lost ground after missing a turn and adding an extra 20 kilometres onto her day. Despite that, she remains third in the overall standings.
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urs Huber (Swi) Team Bulls | 5:09:11 |
| 2 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Merida Wallonie-Vojo Mag | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Bas Peters (Ned) Mijnbadliv/Giant Offroad Team | 0:16:03 |
| 4 | Manuel Pliem (Aut) Team Ktm-Rad.Sport.Szene | 0:16:04 |
| 5 | Michiel Van Aelbroeck (Bel) Wmtb.Be | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | Stef De Louwere (Ned) Veco Cycling Team | 0:16:45 |
| 7 | Matthias Grick (Aut) Ktm Ebner Transporte Cycling Team Graz | 0:49:02 |
| 9 | Frédéric Ischard (Fra) Team Velochannel.Com | 1:03:58 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urs Huber (Swi) Team Bulls | 17:59:03 |
| 2 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Merida Wallonie-Vojo Mag | 0:01:41 |
| 3 | Michiel Van Aelbroeck (Bel) Wmtb.Be | 1:02:33 |
| 4 | Bas Peters (Ned) Mijnbadliv/Giant Offroad Team | 1:06:38 |
| 5 | Manuel Pliem (Aut) Team Ktm-Rad.Sport.Szene | 1:11:16 |
| 6 | Matthias Grick (Aut) Ktm Ebner Transporte Cycling Team Graz | 1:55:12 |
| 7 | Stef De Louwere (Ned) Veco Cycling Team | 2:22:55 |
| 8 | Frédéric Ischard (Fra) Team Velochannel.Com | 4:15:38 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice Pirard (Bel) Merida-Wallonie Mtb Team | 6:35:25 |
| 2 | Ruth Corset (Aus) | 0:00:16 |
| 3 | Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-AIS / Scott | 0:08:59 |
| 4 | Sarah Kaehler (Aus) Astute Financial Racing Team | 1:32:12 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice Pirard (Bel) Merida-Wallonie Mtb Team | 23:38:08 |
| 2 | Ruth Corset (Aus) | 1:17:11 |
| 3 | Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-AIS / Scott | 1:23:21 |
| 4 | Sarah Kaehler (Aus) Astute Financial Racing Team | 4:27:00 |
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'Losing a couple of seconds every corner was not nice, but Mathieu was the strongest, so we don't really have the feeling that we missed out on a title or anything'
