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.
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fabrice Mels* (Bel) Salcano Alanya |
| 2 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) |
| 3 | Patrick Lüthi* (Swi) |
| 4 | Leandre Bouchard* (Can) |
| 5 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls |
| 6 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) |
| 7 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) |
| 8 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team |
| 9 | Roger Jenny* (Swi) |
| 10 | Andy Eyring (Ger) |
| 11 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team |
| 12 | Lehvi Braam* (Ned) |
| 13 | Kevin Miquel (Fra) |
| 14 | Miha Halzer (Slo) |
| 15 | Miguel Martinez (Fra) Tropix-Frm |
| 16 | Borys Goral (Pol) |
| 17 | Ludek Seller* (Cze) Ceska Sporitelna Specialized Junior Mtb Team |
| 18 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) |
| 19 | Maxime Herold* (Fra) Calvisson VTT |
| 20 | Andrew L'esperance (Can) |
| 21 | Peter Disera* (Can) |
| 22 | Titouan Perrin Ganier (Fra) Focus Rotor Coaching-System |
| 23 | Marco Schätzing (Ger) |
| 24 | Stefan Peter* (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team |
| 25 | Luiz Cocuzzi* (Bra) |
| 26 | Evgenii Pechenin (Rus) Format-Udmurtia |
| 27 | Martino Fruet (Ita) |
| 28 | Fabian Costa* (Aut) |
| 29 | Patryk Adamkiewicz* (Pol) Sante-Bsa Whistle Team |
| 30 | Kevin Berginc* (Slo) Unior Tools Team |
| 31 | Sébastien Cadieux-Duval (Can) |
| 32 | Adria Noguera Soldevila* (Spa) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) | 100 | pts |
| 2 | Fabrice Mels* (Bel) Salcano Alanya | 97 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 80 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Samuel Gaze (NZl) | 64 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Miha Halzer (Slo) | 63 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team | 33 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Patrick Lüthi* (Swi) | 30 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls | 28 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Leandre Bouchard* (Can) | 25 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | 24 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens Mtb Racing Team | 20 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Julian Schelb (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 20 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) | 18 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Krystof Bogar* (Cze) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens Mtb Racing Team | 18 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) | 16 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 16 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Gregor Raggl (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 16 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Kevin Miquel (Fra) | 16 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team | 14 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) | 14 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus XC Team | 14 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Roger Jenny* (Swi) | 12 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | 10 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| 24 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team | 10 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
| 25 | Shaun Lewis (Aus) | 10 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
| 26 | Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team | 8 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
| 27 | Lehvi Braam* (Ned) | 6 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
| 28 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team | 6 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
| 29 | Tristan Ward (Aus) | 4 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
| 30 | Stefan Peter* (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team | 3 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
| 31 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team | 3 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
| 32 | Borys Goral (Pol) | 3 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
| 33 | Miguel Martinez (Fra) Tropix-Frm | 2 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
| 34 | Steffen Thum (Ger) | 2 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
| 35 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) | 1 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
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