Litscher claims men's sprint eliminator

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Before the opening ceremony of the UCI Cross Country World Cup, professional riders competed Friday evening in the Pro Sprint Eliminator in front of thousands of spectators through the streets of Pickering.

The Pro Eliminator saw the top 16 women and top 32 men from a time trial run of the sub-two minute circuit go into 4-Cross style four rider heats to compete for a top prize of 1000 Euros ($1500). The circuit took riders around narrow streets, through a single person wide path between houses, into a church cemetery (!) and through someone's backyard before a final lung-busting uphill sprint to the finish.

Thomas Litscher (MIG Bike Team) took the men's title ahead of Manuel Fumic (Cannondale) and Ralph Näf (Multivan-Merida), with Eva Lechner (Colnago Arrehini Sudtirol) easily winning the women's final over teammate Nathalie Schneitter and Katerina Nash (Luna).