Gaze claims eliminator World Cup in Cairns

New Zealand's Samuel Gaze, appearing in the first World Cup final of his career, took the men's title and the leader's jersey in the opening round of the eliminator World Cup, in Cairns, Australia. Gaze easily handled the muddy and wet conditions that had other riders crashing.

The technical 813-metre circuit was made even more difficult by the wet conditions, with riders sliding out in corners and on the roots as they desperately attempted to gain traction. The winning tactic proved to be getting the hole shot into the first corner before the climb. From there, it was a matter of avoiding mistakes in the downhill and keeping up the speed into the final long straightaway.

The men's competition saw a number of top contenders go out in the early rounds, a victim of crashes as they tried to push the limits in the muddy conditions. Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya), Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Focus XC) and Germany's Simon Gegenheimer all crashed out of competition.

Gaze rode from the front in each race, looking confident and in control. Joining him in the final were defending World Cup champion Daniel Federspiel (Oetztal Scott), world champion and Australian local Paul van der Ploeg and Emil Lindgren (Giant Pro XC).

Gaze got off to a very strong start, with van der Ploeg in second. Federspiel, usually a fast starter, hit the climb in fourth, but overtook Lindgren and then closed on van der Ploeg, when the world champion decided to take a slower line through the drop-off. While Gaze rolled across the finish with his hands in the air, Federspiel unleashed an explosive turn of speed in the final 100 metres to overtake van der Ploeg for second.

"I've been training for Nationals," said Gaze, "but I'm speechless; it's amazing to win. Australia and New Zealand have such a good relationship, so it's great to come over here with family and friends, and do well. It was hard out there; death by a thousand paper cuts. I knew how fast Daniel [Federspiel] was on that final straight, so I just had to go from the gun and give it everything I had. I'm just happy to come out on top."

Results

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#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Samuel Gaze (NZl)
2Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
3Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)
4Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro Xc Team
5Julian Schelb (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team
6Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
7Gregor Raggl (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team
8Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus Xc Team
9Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya
10Shaun Lewis (Aus)
11Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team
12Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro Xc Team
13Tristan Ward (Aus)
14Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team
15Steffen Thum (Ger)
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Elite men eliminator World Cup standings after round 1
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Samuel Gaze* (NZl)60pts
2Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team40Row 1 - Cell 3
3Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)30Row 2 - Cell 3
4Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team25Row 3 - Cell 3
5Julian Schelb* (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team20Row 4 - Cell 3
6Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)18Row 5 - Cell 3
7Gregor Raggl* (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team16Row 6 - Cell 3
8Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus XC Team14Row 7 - Cell 3
9Fabrice Mels* (Bel) Salcano Alanya12Row 8 - Cell 3
10Shaun Lewis (Aus)10Row 9 - Cell 3
11Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team8Row 10 - Cell 3
12Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team6Row 11 - Cell 3
13Tristan Ward* (Aus)4Row 12 - Cell 3
14Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team3Row 13 - Cell 3
15Steffen Thum (Ger)2Row 14 - Cell 3

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