The first World Cup titles of the 2011 season were awarded today in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, with the four cross competition. To absolutely no one's surprise, defending World Cup champion Jared Graves (Yeti Fox Shox) won the men's title without difficulty.
The key factor was to enter the first corner in the lead before hitting the rock garden, and Graves did that consistently through each of his four heats. If you were in front, you also missed the crashes that occurred behind, one of which took out world champion Tomas Slavik (RSP 4 Cross) in the second round.
Graves was joined in the Big Final by Michal Prokop (Specialized), Johannes Fischbach (Ghost) and Michal Marosi (RSP 4 Cross), but none of the others could match his speed out of the gate. Prokop fought off a late charge by Fischbach to take second.
"[My run] was pretty good," said Graves. "I hit the gate a bit on the final, a bit anxious to get going, so my start wasn't the best. I just concentrated on getting the power down. I knew all my lines, I was comfortable with them. It got a little sketchy on one of the jumps in the third straight.
"I'm really happy with this start of the season."
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team |
| 2 | Michal Prokop (Cze) |
| 3 | Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team |
| 4 | Michal Marosi (Cze) RSP 4 Cross Racing Team |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 5 | David Graf (Swi) |
| 6 | Kamil Tatarkovic (Cze) |
| 7 | Joost Wichman (Ned) RSP 4 Cross Racing Team |
| 8 | Roger Rinderknecht (Swi) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 9 | Guido Tschugg (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team |
| 10 | Scott Beaumont (GBr) |
| 11 | Quentin Derbier (Fra) |
| 12 | Scott Roberts (GBr) |
| 13 | Tomas Slavik (Cze) RSP 4 Cross Racing Team |
| 14 | Graeme Mudd (Aus) |
| 15 | Lukas Mechura (Cze) Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof |
| 16 | Jordan O'keeffe (RSA) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 17 | Premek Tejchman (Cze) |
| 18 | Petr Muhlhans (Cze) |
| 19 | Nico Seidel (Ger) |
| 20 | Petrik Brückner (Ger) |
| 21 | Tom Dowie (GBr) |
| 22 | Mark Milward (GBr) |
| 23 | Jérôme Leocadie (Fra) |
| 24 | Werner Muther (Swi) |
| 25 | Blake Carney (USA) |
| 26 | Michael Mechura (Cze) Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof |
| 27 | Steve Jackson (RSA) |
| 28 | Jarrod Jakubiak (USA) |
| 29 | Mirco Weiss (Swi) Scott 11 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 125 | pts |
| 2 | Michal Prokop (Cze) | 100 | |
| 3 | Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 75 | |
| 4 | Michal Marosi (Cze) RSP 4 Cross Racing Team | 60 | |
| 5 | David Graf (Swi) | 50 | |
| 6 | Kamil Tatarkovic (Cze) | 40 | |
| 7 | Joost Wichman (Ned) RSP 4 Cross Racing Team | 30 | |
| 8 | Roger Rinderknecht (Swi) | 25 | |
| 9 | Guido Tschugg (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 20 | |
| 10 | Scott Beaumont (GBr) | 17 | |
| 11 | Quentin Derbier (Fra) | 14 | |
| 12 | Scott Roberts (GBr) | 11 | |
| 13 | Tomas Slavik (Cze) RSP 4 Cross Racing Team | 8 | |
| 14 | Graeme Mudd (Aus) | 6 | |
| 15 | Lukas Mechura (Cze) Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof | 4 | |
| 16 | Jordan O'Keeffe (RSA) | 2 |
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