Kulhavy crushes the competition for solo win on home turf
Schurter earns silver nine seconds ahead of Absalon
World Cup leader Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) had stated before the sixth round of the series, held in his home country of the Czech Republic, that he considered winning this event more important than a victory at the world championships. He did not disappoint nearly 20,000 of his compatriots in Nove Mesto na Morave, with a dominant performance that also locked up the World Cup title, with one race still remaining in the series. Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) secured second in the overall standings with his second place in Nove Mesto, while Julien Absalon (Orbea) took third.
The pressure was on Kulhavy to win the first cross country World Cup to be held in the Czech Republic in 14 years, with his face plastered on posters and billboards in the surrounding towns and countryside. On paper, it was almost a sure thing, since Kulhavy has been so dominant this year, and he admitted, the night before the race, that this was more important than the world championships for him.
One thing he was certainly not lacking was confidence. "When I heard and saw all the people cheering for me, I knew I would win for sure," he said.
He took no chances, attacking on the start loop and opening a gap of eight seconds on Nino Schurter by the start of the first lap, and then extending it steadily through the rest of the seven laps. Schurter, fighting an infection and having just finished a training camp at altitude, dropped back after he realized he could not match Kulhavy's pace.
"I wanted to get away early," said Kulhavy, "so that I could avoid any traffic and ride at my own pace. It was almost a perfect race for me, with only some little mistakes. It was incredible."
Absalon, another favourite, had a slow start to the race, commenting afterward, "That was the worst start I have ever had for a World Cup! I did not have the power to be able to follow, so I started losing places. It was not until maybe halfway through the race that I began to feel better and could move up again."
While Schurter and Absalon were fading, world champion Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida) took up the chase, closing to within 31 seconds by the end of lap two. However, that was as close as he would get to Kulhavy, and he was eventually picked up and dropped by Schurter and Absalon as they recovered and began moving back through the chasers.
By the end of lap five, the pair was back with Hermida, and then dropped him in lap six. Schurter had opened a small gap on Absalon as they began the sixth lap, but the Frenchman quickly closed it up again, and the pair started the seventh and final lap together, one minute and 15 seconds down on Kulhavy. Kulhavy was beginning to cruise on the last lap, confident of his victory, and enjoying the cheers of his compatriots.
He rolled into the finishing stadium to the roar of over 5,000 people in the stands, and lifted his bike over his head to stride across the finish line, with a wide grin cracking his normally serious demeanor.
Behind, Schurter had finally managed to drop Absalon in the last kilometres to claim second by nine seconds over Absalon. Hermida hung on for fourth, and a last lap surge by Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Wild Wolf-Trek) gave the Spaniard the final podium spot - his first ever World Cup podium finish.
Race Notes
- Kulhavy's fourth win (plus a second and a third) give him 1360 points to Schurter's 1070 and Absalon's 810 (Absalon skipped the two North American rounds). With a win worth 250 points, the Czech rider now has an unassailable lead in the standings. Schurter is also assured of second by the same margin, but Absalon is not as secure in third, going into next weekend's final in Val di Sole, Italy. Maxime Marotte (BH-Suntour-Peisey Vallandry) is 70 points in back of Absalon, Hermida is 82 points behind and Burry Stander (Specialized) is at 102 points back.
- Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) was the top North American finisher, in 15th, his best ever World Cup result. He was followed by teammate Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski in 22nd, and Canada's Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) in 30th. Todd Wells (Specialized) remains the top North American in the overall standings, despite missing the race (to compete in and win Leadville), in 21st, followed by Kabush in 24th place.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 1:41:52 |
2 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 0:00:45 |
3 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea | 0:00:54 |
4 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:01:23 |
5 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 0:01:51 |
6 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:02:11 |
7 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 0:02:32 |
8 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 0:02:46 |
9 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:02:54 |
10 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 0:03:03 |
11 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:03:16 |
12 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 0:03:23 |
13 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:03:25 |
14 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 0:03:37 |
15 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | 0:03:43 |
16 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:04:35 |
17 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea | 0:04:47 |
18 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:05:02 |
19 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 0:05:10 |
20 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:05:14 |
21 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 0:05:19 |
22 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek | 0:05:27 |
23 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:05:36 |
24 | Kristian Hynek (Cze) | 0:05:39 |
25 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 0:05:51 |
26 | Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:05:56 |
27 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:06:20 |
28 | Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 0:06:28 |
29 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 0:06:34 |
30 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 0:06:41 |
31 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea | |
32 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 0:06:52 |
33 | Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:06:59 |
34 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Team Protek | 0:07:03 |
35 | Christoph Soukup (Aut) | |
36 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) | 0:07:18 |
37 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:07:33 |
38 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:07:50 |
39 | Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:08:02 |
40 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 0:08:10 |
41 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:08:25 |
42 | Anton Sintsov (Rus) | 0:08:34 |
43 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 0:08:37 |
44 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | 0:08:42 |
45 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | |
46 | Filip Eberl (Cze) | 0:09:02 |
47 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:09:22 |
48 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 0:09:40 |
49 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Giant Italia Team | 0:09:53 |
50 | Balz Weber (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:10:00 |
51 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:10:08 |
52 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:10:09 |
53 | Robert Gehbauer (Aut) | 0:10:41 |
54 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 0:10:58 |
55 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 0:11:01 |
56 | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 0:11:34 |
57 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:12:30 |
58 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 0:13:09 |
-1lap | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | |
-1lap | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | |
-1lap | Rene Tann (Ger) | |
-1lap | Michal Lami (Svk) | |
-1lap | Sid Taberlay (Aus) | |
-1lap | Andras Parti (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | |
-1lap | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona | |
-1lap | Michael Broderick (USA) | |
-1lap | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-1lap | Adam Morka (Can) | |
-1lap | Pascal Meyer (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-1lap | Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | |
-1lap | Robby De Bock (Bel) | |
-1lap | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | |
-2laps | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta - Corratec | |
-2laps | Steffen Thum (Ger) | |
-2laps | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | |
-2laps | Szilard Buruczki (Hun) | |
-2laps | Carl Jones (NZl) | |
-2laps | Kazuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn) | |
-2laps | Cameron Jette (Can) | |
-2laps | Matthias Waldhart (Aut) | |
-3laps | Ken Onodera (Jpn) | |
-3laps | Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team | |
-3laps | Sang Hoon Na (Kor) | |
-3laps | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | |
-3laps | Eddie Andres Rendon (Col) | |
-3laps | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | |
-3laps | Martin Loo (Est) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | |
-3laps | Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | |
-3laps | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International | |
-3laps | Chun Hing Chan (HKg) | |
-3laps | Kyosuke Takei (Jpn) | |
-3laps | Renay Groustra (RSA) | |
-3laps | Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-3laps | Cristobal Silva Ibaceta (Chi) | |
-3laps | Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling | |
-3laps | Marco Schätzing (Ger) Team Firebike - Droessiger | |
-3laps | Luis Anderson Mejia Sanchez (Col) Asptt Definitive Gitane | |
-3laps | Gabor Bogar (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | |
-3laps | Lukas Sablik (Cze) | |
-3laps | Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek | |
-4laps | Martin Haring (Svk) | |
-4laps | Oliver Munnik (RSA) | |
-4laps | Georgios Pattes-Toumanis (Gre) Team Protek | |
-4laps | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | |
-4laps | Paul Remy (Fra) | |
-4laps | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | |
-5laps | John Whittington (GBr) | |
DNF | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | |
DNF | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | |
DNF | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | |
DNF | Irjan Luttenberg (Ned) Mpl Specialized MTB Team | |
DNF | Sven Nys (Bel) | |
DNF | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team | |
DNF | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | |
DNF | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | |
DNF | Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | |
DNF | Michal Prokop (Cze) | |
DNS | Ola Kjören (Nor) Team Fokus - Danica | |
DNS | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) | |
DNS | Pierre Lebreton (Fra) BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Specialized Racing | 75 | pts |
2 | Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 54 | |
3 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 48 | |
4 | Trek World Racing | 47 | |
5 | Orbea | 46 | |
6 | Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 45 | |
7 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 43 | |
8 | Subaru - Trek | 25 | |
9 | BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 24 | |
10 | BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 22 | |
11 | Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 18 | |
12 | Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 11 | |
13 | TX Active Bianchi | 10 | |
14 | Versluys - Evenza Team | 6 | |
15 | Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 5 | |
16 | Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 4 | |
17 | Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing | 1360 | pts |
2 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 1070 | |
3 | Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea | 810 | |
4 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - Suntour - Peisey Vallandry | 740 | |
5 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 728 | |
6 | Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing | 708 | |
7 | Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing | 650 | |
8 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 600 | |
9 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 568 | |
10 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi | 532 | |
11 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 498 | |
12 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 496 | |
13 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 488 | |
14 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing | 478 | |
15 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 450 | |
16 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 437 | |
17 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 434 | |
18 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 431 | |
19 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing | 413 | |
20 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Racing | 392 | |
21 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 369 | |
22 | Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea | 367 | |
23 | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Giant Italia Team | 358 | |
24 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 327 | |
25 | Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 318 | |
26 | Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 304 | |
27 | Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 249 | |
28 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 249 | |
29 | Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 241 | |
30 | Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 235 | |
31 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek | 228 | |
32 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 225 | |
33 | Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 214 | |
34 | Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek | 213 | |
35 | Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 204 | |
36 | Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 182 | |
37 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 179 | |
38 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spa) Orbea | 174 | |
39 | Jiri Friedl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team | 173 | |
40 | Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 169 | |
41 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) | 168 | |
42 | Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 142 | |
43 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 142 | |
44 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | 141 | |
45 | Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 137 | |
46 | Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) | 135 | |
47 | Andras Parti (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | 134 | |
48 | Marc Colom (Fra) Team Newcycling | 130 | |
49 | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International | 125 | |
50 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 125 | |
51 | Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 114 | |
52 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 109 | |
53 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) | 100 | |
54 | Martino Fruet (Ita) | 99 | |
55 | Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 90 | |
56 | Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 85 | |
57 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Team Protek | 84 | |
58 | Irjan Luttenberg (Ned) Mpl Specialized MTB Team | 82 | |
59 | Christoph Soukup (Aut) | 78 | |
60 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) | 73 | |
61 | Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 70 | |
62 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 68 | |
63 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 65 | |
64 | Kristian Hynek (Cze) | 58 | |
65 | Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 54 | |
66 | Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 52 | |
67 | Pascal Meyer (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 51 | |
68 | Balz Weber (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 50 | |
69 | Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 47 | |
70 | Hannes Metzler (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team | 46 | |
71 | Adam Morka (Can) | 43 | |
72 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 42 | |
73 | Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 41 | |
74 | Filip Eberl (Cze) | 38 | |
75 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 38 | |
76 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 37 | |
77 | Matthew Hadley (Can) | 34 | |
78 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) | 32 | |
79 | Umberto Corti (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 32 | |
80 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 32 | |
81 | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona | 30 | |
82 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 30 | |
83 | Anton Sintsov (Rus) | 26 | |
84 | Peter Glassford (Can) | 25 | |
85 | Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek | 21 | |
86 | Max Plaxton (Can) | 20 | |
87 | Eric Batty (Can) | 19 | |
88 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec | 19 | |
89 | Rotem Ishai (Isr) | 17 | |
90 | Martin Loo (Est) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | 17 | |
91 | Robert Gehbauer (Aut) | 15 | |
92 | Benjamin Wittrup Justesen (Den) | 15 | |
93 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 13 | |
94 | Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 13 | |
95 | Joshua Carlson (Aus) | 11 | |
96 | Rene Tann (Ger) | 10 | |
97 | Michael Broderick (USA) | 9 | |
98 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 8 |
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