Gegenheimer wins eliminator at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup
Mels holds World Cup lead with third, Soto second
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.
"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
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
1 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) |
2 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team |
3 | Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya |
4 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
5 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team |
6 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) |
7 | Samuel Tremblay (Can) |
8 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) |
9 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team |
10 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
11 | Leandre Bouchard (Can) |
12 | Nicolas Lüthi (Swi) |
13 | Gregor Raggl (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
14 | Antoine Caron (Can) |
15 | Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi) |
16 | Payson Mcelveen (USA) |
17 | Ryan Standish (USA) |
18 | Christian Pfäffle (Ger) |
19 | Andrew L'Esperance (Can) |
20 | Mitchell Bailey (Can) |
21 | Luciano Caraccioli (Arg) |
22 | Christian Helmig (Lux) |
23 | Dario Alejandro Gasco (Arg) |
24 | Guy Niv (Isr) |
25 | Steffen Thum (Ger) |
26 | Mathew Waghorn (NZl) |
27 | Patricio Andres Campbell Vilches (Chi) |
28 | Daniel B Serrano Martinez (PuR) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
1 | Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya |
2 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) |
3 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
4 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) |
5 | Samuel Gaze (NZl) |
6 | Miha Halzer (Slo) |
7 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team |
8 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team |
9 | Leandre Bouchard (Can) |
10 | Patrick Lüthi (Swi) |
11 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls |
12 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team |
13 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Betch.nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team |
14 | Julian Schelb (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team |
15 | Gregor Raggl (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
16 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) |
17 | Krystof Bogar (Cze) Betch.nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team |
18 | Samuel Tremblay (Can) |
19 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) |
20 | Philip Buys (RSA) |
21 | Kevin Miquel (Fra) |
22 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) |
23 | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) |
24 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus XC Team |
25 | Roger Jenny (Swi) |
26 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
27 | Andy Eyring (Ger) |
28 | Shaun Lewis (Aus) |
29 | Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team |
30 | Nicolas Lüthi (Swi) |
31 | Lehvi Braam (Ned) |
32 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team |
33 | Tristan Ward (Aus) |
34 | Antoine Caron (Can) |
35 | Stefan Peter (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team |
36 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team |
37 | Borys Goral (Pol) |
38 | Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi) |
39 | Miguel Martinez (Fra) Tropix-Frm |
40 | Steffen Thum (Ger) |
41 | Payson Mcelveen (USA) |
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