Mels wins eliminator World Cup in Albstadt

The men's eliminator World Cup series was bound to get a new leader at round 3 in Albstadt, Germany, when Daniel Federspiel (Oetztal-Scott), the leader after round 2, broke his chain in qualifying, and round 1 winner Samuel Gaze of New Zealand did not start. Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya) earned the win, the second his career, while Australia's Paul van der Ploeg, the world champion, took the overall lead in the men's series after finishing second in Albstadt.

Mels and van der Ploeg were seeded into the same heat from the first round, and took turns finishing first and second on their way through the heats to the final. They were joined in the final by first time podium attendee Leandre Bouchard (Team Canada) and Swiss rider Patrick Luthi. Bouchard was very strong on the latter half of the course, winning all three of his preliminary heats.

The race stayed close right to the finish line, with Canadian champion Bouchard leading out the slightly downhill sprint, with van der Ploeg coming by to take the lead, only to be caught and passed in the final metres by Mels, who threw his bike over the line to win the second World Cup of his career. Luthi just passed Bouchard for third.

"It's amazing, really amazing," said Mels. "I was feeling strong but there were strong riders today. It was really a long sprint so I was a little bit nervous about it. It is so nice to win a second World Cup. I am really happy."

"I hoped it would come down to a sprint.. I am really good at it. I was trying in the heats not to burn too much energy; just to pass through with a good pace. I knew for the final I would have to be strong. I watched the others sprint and knew how strong they were. I am so relieved that my tactic worked."

"It's crazy that I was able to get into the final," said van der Ploeg, "because I was coming down a bit sick this week, so I wasn't super confident. My tactic was to go out hard and try to control the race from the front. It was all going to plan, but Fabrice was just too strong in the final straight."

Van der Ploeg takes the lead in the World Cup series with 100 points, followed by Mels only three points.

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