The first round of the cross country UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, held in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, served notice that riders are entering the season in top form, with the elite men averaging over 20 kilometre per hour for their 31.8-kilometre race.
In the elite men's cross country race, the top three finishers in the 2010 World Cup standings finished in exactly that order, with Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) beating rival Julien Absalon (Orbea) of France by a meager 16 seconds, with Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) of the Czech Republic in third at 1:07. World Champion Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida Mountain Bike Team) and Marco Aurelio Fontana (Cannondale Factory Racing) claimed the final two podium spots.
Constant rivals Schurter and Absalon rode away from the rest of the field, with Kulhavy only able to hold on for the first half of the race before the duo dropped him. Absalon had the power on the climbs, but it was in the all important technical sections where Schurter held the advantage.
In the Treehouse rock garden section, Schurter was noticeably smoother, and it was here on lap five of the six-lap race that the Swiss rider made his move.
"Again, it was a great fight between Julien and me," said Schurter. "We are so close, but I was a little faster in the technical section and was able to get a gap, which I could hold to the finish line. I could see that he was coming back a bit on the climbs on the last lap, but it was just enough to hold on. It is always special to win against Julien."
Schurter entered the last lap 20 seconds ahead of Absalon, a gap which shrunk to only a handful of seconds by the top of the climb before he was able to open it again to finish 16 seconds ahead.
"I expected Nino would do well," said Absalon. "This track suited him very well, and I was having trouble with the rocky section each time. On lap five, I didn't crash, but I hit a tree and lost some time. And after that, we were both going full gas, so there was no chance to catch him."
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 1:34:50 |
| 2 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea | 0:00:16 |
| 3 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 0:01:07 |
| 4 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:01:15 |
| 5 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:01:46 |
| 6 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:01:48 |
| 7 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea | 0:01:51 |
| 8 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 0:01:54 |
| 9 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf-Trek Racing | 0:02:33 |
| 10 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 0:02:36 |
| 11 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 0:02:45 |
| 12 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-Suntour-Peisey Vallandry | 0:02:57 |
| 13 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 0:03:08 |
| 14 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:03:11 |
| 15 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:03:30 |
| 16 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Giant Italia Team | 0:03:45 |
| 17 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team | 0:03:53 |
| 18 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf-Trek Racing | 0:04:08 |
| 19 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 0:04:22 |
| 20 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:04:47 |
| 21 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team | 0:05:11 |
| 22 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:05:32 |
| 23 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team | 0:05:36 |
| 24 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) | 0:05:44 |
| 25 | Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:05:56 |
| 26 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR-Suntour | 0:05:59 |
| 27 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | |
| 28 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 0:06:06 |
| 29 | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:06:14 |
| 30 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 0:06:34 |
| 31 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea | 0:06:53 |
| 32 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:07:06 |
| 33 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) | 0:07:18 |
| 34 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 0:07:28 |
| 35 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:07:37 |
| 36 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team | 0:07:51 |
| 37 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Trek | 0:07:52 |
| 38 | Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:08:08 |
| 39 | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 0:08:20 |
| 40 | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | 0:08:23 |
| 41 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG-2 Professional MTB Team | |
| 42 | Andras Parti (Hun) Euro One-Cube MTB Team | 0:08:27 |
| 43 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta-Corratec | 0:08:29 |
| 44 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys-Evenza Team | |
| 45 | Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 0:08:30 |
| 46 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:08:34 |
| 47 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | |
| 48 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 0:09:02 |
| 49 | Pascal Meyer (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 0:09:03 |
| 50 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 0:09:26 |
| 51 | Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:09:41 |
| 52 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 0:09:58 |
| 53 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:10:07 |
| 54 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru-Trek | 0:10:13 |
| 55 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) | |
| 56 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:10:22 |
| 57 | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:10:24 |
| 58 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 0:10:45 |
| 59 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 0:11:02 |
| 60 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 0:11:13 |
| 61 | Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:11:18 |
| 62 | Rene Tann (Ger) | 0:11:48 |
| 63 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team | 0:12:03 |
| 64 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:12:20 |
| 65 | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team | 0:12:22 |
| 66 | Matthias Leisling (Ger) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:12:23 |
| 67 | Ben Henderson (Aus) | 0:12:29 |
| 68 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 0:12:33 |
| 69 | Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) Elettroveneta-Corratec | 0:12:42 |
| 70 | Adam Morka (Can) | 0:13:10 |
| 71 | Matthys Beukes (RSA) | 0:13:41 |
| 72 | Martin Loo (Est) Infotre - Bi&Esse- Leecougan | 0:14:02 |
| 73 | Torsten Marx (Ger) | 0:14:14 |
| 74 | Evgeniy Pechenin (Rus) Forward-Udmurtia | 0:14:25 |
| 75 | Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling | 0:14:42 |
| 76 | Steffen Thum (Ger) | 0:14:59 |
| 77 | Magnus Darvell (Swe) | 0:15:21 |
| 78 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 0:15:56 |
| 79 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | -1 lap |
| 80 | Frank Schotman (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | |
| 81 | Christopher Maletz (Ger) | |
| 82 | Irjan Luttenberg (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | |
| 83 | Michael Broderick (USA) Kenda/Seven/No Tubes | |
| 84 | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
| 85 | Troy Wells (USA) | |
| 86 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 87 | Mattias Wengelin (Swe) | |
| 88 | Lee Williams (GBr) | |
| 89 | Bjorn Brems (Bel) Versluys-Evenza Team | |
| 90 | Renay Groustra (RSA) | |
| 91 | Oliver Munnik (RSA) | |
| 92 | Pierre Lebreton (Fra) BH-Suntour-Peisey Vallandry | |
| 93 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta-Corratec | -2 laps |
| 94 | Ben Melt Swanepoel (RSA) | |
| 95 | Alexey Medvedev (Rus) Elettroveneta-Corratec | |
| 96 | Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa) MTN Qhubeka | |
| 97 | Matthias Waldhart (Aut) | |
| 98 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | -3 laps |
| 99 | Jelmer Jubbega (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | |
| 100 | Christoph Soukup (Aut) | |
| 101 | Lee John (Zim) | |
| 102 | Martinus Esmeyer (RSA) | |
| 103 | Christopher Wolhuter (RSA) | -4 laps |
| 104 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
| DNF | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International | |
| DNF | Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | |
| DNF | Philip Buys (RSA) | |
| DNF | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) Gt Skoda Chamonix | |
| DNF | Adrian Brzozka (Pol) JBG-2 Professional MTB Team | |
| DNF | Brandon Stewart (RSA) | |
| DNF | Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam) | |
| DNF | Francois Theron (RSA) | |
| DNS | Max Knox (RSA) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 250 | pts |
| 2 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea | 200 | |
| 3 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 160 | |
| 4 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 150 | |
| 5 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 140 | |
| 6 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 130 | |
| 7 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea | 120 | |
| 8 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 110 | |
| 9 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf-Trek Racing | 100 | |
| 10 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 95 | |
| 11 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 90 | |
| 12 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-Suntour-Peisey Vallandry | 85 | |
| 13 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 80 | |
| 14 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 78 | |
| 15 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 76 | |
| 16 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Giant Italia Team | 74 | |
| 17 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team | 72 | |
| 18 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf-Trek Racing | 70 | |
| 19 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 68 | |
| 20 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 66 | |
| 21 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team | 64 | |
| 22 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 62 | |
| 23 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team | 60 | |
| 24 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) | 58 | |
| 25 | Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 56 | |
| 26 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR-Suntour | 54 | |
| 27 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 52 | |
| 28 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 50 | |
| 29 | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team Newcycling | 48 | |
| 30 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 46 | |
| 31 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea | 44 | |
| 32 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 42 | |
| 33 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) | 40 | |
| 34 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 38 | |
| 35 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 36 | |
| 36 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team | 34 | |
| 37 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Trek | 32 | |
| 38 | Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 30 | |
| 39 | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 29 | |
| 40 | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | 28 | |
| 41 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG-2 Professional MTB Team | 27 | |
| 42 | Andras Parti (Hun) Euro One-Cube MTB Team | 26 | |
| 43 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta-Corratec | 25 | |
| 44 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys-Evenza Team | 24 | |
| 45 | Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 23 | |
| 46 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 22 | |
| 47 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 21 | |
| 48 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 20 | |
| 49 | Pascal Meyer (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 19 | |
| 50 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 18 | |
| 51 | Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 17 | |
| 52 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 16 | |
| 53 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 15 | |
| 54 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru-Trek | 14 | |
| 55 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) | 13 | |
| 56 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 12 | |
| 57 | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | 11 | |
| 58 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 10 | |
| 59 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 9 | |
| 60 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 8 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Specialized Racing | 73 | pts |
| 2 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 71 | |
| 3 | Orbea | 59 | |
| 4 | Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 41 | |
| 5 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 41 | |
| 6 | Wildwolf-Trek Racing | 35 | |
| 7 | Trek World Racing | 25 | |
| 8 | TX Active Bianchi | 23 | |
| 9 | BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team | 22 | |
| 10 | BH-Suntour-Peisey Vallandry | 19 | |
| 11 | Giant Italia Team | 15 | |
| 12 | Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 12 | |
| 13 | Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team | 10 | |
| 14 | Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 6 | |
| 15 | Giant Swiss SR-Suntour | 5 | |
| 16 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 4 | |
| 17 | Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 3 | |
| 18 | Team Newcycling | 2 |
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