Gegenheimer wins eliminator at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup

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The men's final at round 4 of the UCI Eliminator World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, was filled with drama, including a crash that took two riders out of contention, enabling Simon Gegenheimer to win the second eliminator of his career. Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya), despite crashing, took over the leader's jersey from world champion Paul van der Ploeg (Giant), who did not make the final .

Surprisingly, this was the first time that Mont-Sainte-Anne had hosted an eliminator and, in true MSA fashion, they made it tough, with a long opening climb, BMX descent and then a pumptrack section before the sprint to the finish.

Gegenheimer and Mels were joined in the final by Catriel Andres Soto (MMR Bikes), the fastest qualifier, and defending World Cup champion Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott). Federspiel went to the front early in the final race, but went down after his front wheel washed out, effectively bringing the race to a halt, as the three following riders tried to get by Federspiel and he attempted to get going again. In the confusion, Federspiel's saddle got tangled with Mels' rear wheel, and by the time they had sorted it out the other two were long gone, with Gegnheimer winning the sprint.

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"It was a really hard final," said Gegenheimer. "Last year I won the final round in Hafjell [Norway], and it is an amazing feeling to win again. But it will be hard to get back into the race for the overall title, since the beginning of the season did not go well for me. So I think the series is over for me, but I will fight for some more wins."

Mels now leads the overall standings with 127 points, followed by van der Ploeg at 118 and Federspiel at 105.

Elite men eliminator finals