Peter prevails in men's eliminator cross country
Neff triumphs in women's eliminator
The sixth round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup opened on Friday evening in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, with the new eliminator race, which provided the large crowd with sprint finishes for both the men and women.
Remarkably, both winners were first-time participants in the event, and from Switzerland. Jolanda Neff (Swiss National Team) took the women's title, outsprinting Eva Lechner (Colnago Farbe Sudtirol), while Stefan Peter (MK-Zentralschweiz) held off Paul van der Ploeg (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic) for the men's.
Elite women
The qualifiers (31 women and 32 men) worked their way through four rider heats, with the top-two from each race moving on to the next round. Local women's favourite Katerina Nash (Luna) remarkably survived a near crash in the first round and mechanical problems in the second, but her luck gave out in the semi-final, and she did not make the final.
Joining Neff and Lechner in the women's final were Alexandra Engen (Sweden) and Lea Davison (Specialized). The junior-aged Neff couldn't clip her foot in at the start of the final, riding out of the opening straight in last place, but by the halfway mark she was up to second behind Lechner, and then took the lead in the last 75 metres to win. Engen took third, Davison fourth, and Nathalie Schneitter (Colnago Farbe Sudtirol) won the small final for fifth.
Elite men
The men's competition had its share of crashes and mechanicals, but it came down to Peter, van der Ploeg, Manuel Fumic (Cannondale Factory) and Ralph Näf (Multivan Merida) for the final. Early favourite Thomas Litscher (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic), winner of the Offenburg eliminator, crashed in his semi-final, but recovered in the small final to take the fifth and final podium spot.
In the men's final, Näf and Fumic crashed out of contention before the halfway mark, leaving van der Ploeg to chase down the very fast starting Peter. The Australian came very close to taking it on the line, but his Swiss rival had just enough energy left to hold on for victory.
1 | Stefan Peter (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz |
2 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team |
3 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing |
4 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team |
5 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team |
6 | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team |
7 | Fabrice Mels (Bel) Rocky Roads - Orbea |
8 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team |
9 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta - Corratec |
10 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team |
11 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team |
12 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team |
13 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) |
14 | Mirco Widmer (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour |
15 | Kenta Gallagher (GBr) |
DNF | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) |
17 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) |
18 | Michal Prokop (Cze) |
19 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing |
20 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) |
21 | Reto Indergand (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz |
22 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing |
23 | Matthias Waldhart (Aut) |
24 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team |
25 | Balz Weber (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team |
26 | Mike Schuler (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz |
27 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team |
28 | Mykhaylo Batsutsa (Ukr) Infotre - BI & Esse - Leecougan |
29 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. |
30 | Rok Korosec (Slo) |
DNF | Frantisek Lami (Svk) |
DNF | Jiri Novak CZE S&H Superior Mtb Team |
1 | Jolanda Neff (Swi) |
2 | Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol |
3 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) |
4 | Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing |
5 | Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol |
6 | Pavla Havlikova (Cze) |
7 | Marielle Saner-Guinchard (Swi) Bikepark.Ch Scott |
8 | Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team |
9 | Nina Homovec (Slo) Orbea Geax |
10 | Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) Merida Biking Team |
11 | Katherine O'shea (Aus) |
12 | Anne Terpstra (Ned) MPL Specialized Mtb Team |
13 | Annie Last (GBr) |
14 | Katherine Compton (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team |
15 | Lee Craigie (GBr) |
16 | Nicole Hanselmann (Swi) |
17 | Lucie Vesela (Cze) GT Czech Team |
18 | Julia Innerhofer (Ita) |
19 | Karolina Kalasova (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team |
20 | Anna Villar Argente (Spa) |
21 | Marta Tereshchuk (Ukr) Infotre - BI & Esse - Leecougan |
22 | Tatjana Dold (Ger) |
23 | Sandra Santanyes Murillo (Spa) |
24 | Stephania Magri (Mlt) |
25 | Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek - KMC Trade Team VZW |
26 | Melanie Späth (Ger) |
27 | Rocio Gamonal Ferrera (Spa) |
28 | Vivienne Meyer (Swi) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol |
29 | Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) |
30 | Caitlin Elliott (Irl) |
DNF | Yana Belomoyna (Ukr) Infotre - BI& Esse - Leecougan |
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!