Gerhard Kerschbaumer (TX Active Bianchi) locked up the under 23 men's World Cup cross country title on Saturday, with his fourth victory of the season in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic.
Kerschbaumer followed the attack of local favourite Ondrej Cink (Merida), and the two dropped the rest of the field on the start loop. From that point on, Kerschbaumer easily sat on the wheel of Cink, as the Czech rider tried repeatedly to drop him on the climbs, before launching his own attack on the third lap and riding 20 seconds clear. Marek Konwa (Milka Trek) had joined the two leaders briefly on lap two before being dropped for good and soloing in for third.
Behind Konwa, a group of six battled for fourth and fifth, with American Stephen Ettinger (BMC) moving into fourth on lap five with Shlomi Haimy (Focus MIG), before both faded on the last lap. Sebastien Carabin (Belgian National) surged into fourth on the last lap, with Ettinger taking fifth. The American revealed after the race that he had burped his front tire and rode it in half-inflated.
With this victory, Kerschbaumer now has an unbeatable 452 points in the overall standings, with one race remaining. The battle for second is still wide open, with Alexander Gehbauer (Austria) at 250 points, Fabien Canal (GT Skoda Chamonix) at 234, Carabin at 199 and Konwa at 190.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 1:31:13 |
| 2 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Merida Biking Team | 0:00:23 |
| 3 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 0:01:20 |
| 4 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 0:02:13 |
| 5 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) | 0:02:20 |
| 6 | Ruben Scheire (Bel) | |
| 7 | Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus MIG Team | 0:02:27 |
| 8 | Reto Indergand (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz | 0:02:28 |
| 9 | Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 0:02:44 |
| 10 | Dmytro Titarenko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team | 0:02:50 |
| 11 | Jeff Luyten (Bel) Mpl Specialized MTB Team | 0:03:05 |
| 12 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus MIG Team | 0:04:12 |
| 13 | Felix Euteneuer (Ger) | 0:04:39 |
| 14 | Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 0:05:12 |
| 15 | Daniel Geismayr (Aut) | 0:05:31 |
| 16 | Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 0:05:53 |
| 17 | Julian Schelb (Ger) | 0:06:13 |
| 18 | Cristofer Bosque (Spa) | 0:06:27 |
| 19 | Erik Groen (Ned) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team | 0:06:31 |
| 20 | Benjamin Buchi (Swi) | |
| 21 | Fabian Strecker (Ger) | |
| 22 | Marc Metzler (Swi) | 0:06:47 |
| 23 | Mirco Widmer (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 0:07:02 |
| 24 | Jonas Pedersen (Den) | 0:07:18 |
| 25 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) | 0:07:47 |
| 26 | Jaime Yesid Chia Amaya (Col) | 0:07:55 |
| 27 | Jose Maria Sanchez Ruiz (Spa) | 0:08:08 |
| 28 | Matej Nepustil (Cze) Merida Biking Team | 0:08:11 |
| 29 | Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:08:24 |
| 30 | Olof Jonsson (Swe) Rocky Roads - Orbea | 0:08:36 |
| 31 | Gregor Raggl (Aut) | 0:08:39 |
| 32 | Martin Gluth (Ger) | |
| 33 | Tomas Paprstka (Cze) | 0:08:54 |
| 34 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) | 0:09:19 |
| 35 | Rourke Croeser (RSA) Orange Monkey / Cannondale | 0:09:27 |
| 36 | Jakub Magnusek (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team | 0:09:41 |
| 37 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 0:09:58 |
| 38 | Kenta Gallagher (GBr) | 0:10:10 |
| 39 | Mike Schuler (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz | 0:10:27 |
| 40 | Dimitrios Antoniadis (Gre) | 0:10:39 |
| 41 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Giant Italia Team | 0:10:51 |
| 42 | Marek Rauchfuss (Cze) | 0:11:05 |
| 43 | Marco Minnaard (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:11:09 |
| 44 | Zsolt Juhasz (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | 0:11:38 |
| 45 | Henrique Avancini (Bra) ISD Cycling Team | |
| 46 | Fabrice Mels (Bel) Rocky Roads - Orbea | 0:12:00 |
| 47 | Emilien Barben (Swi) | 0:12:10 |
| -1lap | Martino Di Pierdomenico (Ita) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | |
| -1lap | Bart De Vocht (Bel) | |
| -1lap | Maximilian Holz (Ger) | |
| -1lap | Stefan Peter (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz | |
| -1lap | Matthias Hoi (Aut) | |
| -1lap | Tomas Bartak (Cze) | |
| -1lap | David Simon (Ger) Team Firebike - Droessiger | |
| -1lap | Rens De Bruin (Ned) | |
| -1lap | Kevin Krieg (Swi) | |
| -1lap | Tim Lemmers (Ned) | |
| -1lap | Tobias Saether (Nor) Team United Bakeries | |
| -1lap | Sebastian Batchelor (GBr) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | |
| -2laps | Jan Svorada (Cze) Merida Biking Team | |
| -2laps | Mark Csielka (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | |
| -2laps | Ludwig Döhl (Ger) | |
| -2laps | Mykhaylo Batsutsa (Ukr) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan | |
| -2laps | Markus Preiss (Aut) | |
| -2laps | Brad Hudson (NZl) | |
| -2laps | Severin Sagesser (Swi) Fischer Junior MTB Team | |
| -2laps | Richard Gantner (Aut) | |
| -2laps | Urban Ferencak (Slo) Torpado Surfing Shop | |
| -2laps | Samuel Shaw (NZl) | |
| -2laps | Vadim Arko (Aut) | |
| -3laps | Anton Liyubuy (Ukr) | |
| -3laps | Alexander Laugesen (Den) | |
| -3laps | Dominic Furkert (NZl) | |
| DNF | Thomas Lapeyrie (Fra) Lapierre International | |
| DNF | Hugo Drechou (Fra) | |
| DNF | Andras Szatmary (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | |
| DNF | Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | |
| DNF | Marcus Nicolai (Ger) | |
| DNF | Ole Hem (Nor) Team United Bakeries | |
| DNF | Merlin Spranz (Aus) | |
| DNF | Jhonnatan Botero Villegas (Col) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 452 | pts |
| 2 | Alexander Gehbauer (Aut) | 250 | |
| 3 | Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 234 | |
| 4 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team | 199 | |
| 5 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Milka Trek MTB Racing Team | 190 | |
| 6 | Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 180 | |
| 7 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus MIG Team | 148 | |
| 8 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) | 147 | |
| 9 | Ruben Scheire (Bel) | 141 | |
| 10 | David Fletcher (GBr) | 137 | |
| 11 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Merida Biking Team | 118 | |
| 12 | Markus Bauer (Ger) | 100 | |
| 13 | Marco Minnaard (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 99 | |
| 14 | Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 96 | |
| 15 | Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 94 | |
| 16 | Jordan Sarrou (Fra) Scott Les Saisies | 69 | |
| 17 | Zsolt Juhasz (Hun) Euro One - Cube MTB Team | 64 | |
| 18 | Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 58 | |
| 19 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Giant Italia Team | 52 | |
| 20 | Jeff Luyten (Bel) Mpl Specialized MTB Team | 38 | |
| 21 | Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus MIG Team | 37 | |
| 22 | Erik Groen (Ned) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team | 34 | |
| 23 | Evan Mcneely (Can) | 33 | |
| 24 | Reto Indergand (Swi) MK - Zentralschweiz | 30 | |
| 25 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | 30 | |
| 26 | Leandre Bouchard (Can) | 28 | |
| 27 | Russell Finsterwald (USA) Subaru - Trek | 27 | |
| 28 | Benjamin Buchi (Swi) | 24 | |
| 29 | Julian Schelb (Ger) | 24 | |
| 30 | Marcel Fleschhut (Ger) | 23 | |
| 31 | Marc Metzler (Swi) | 23 | |
| 32 | Dmytro Titarenko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team | 22 | |
| 33 | Olof Jonsson (Swe) Rocky Roads - Orbea | 22 | |
| 34 | Fabian Strecker (Ger) | 21 | |
| 35 | Jeremy Martin (Can) | 18 | |
| 36 | Kerry Werner (USA) | 18 | |
| 37 | Felix Euteneuer (Ger) | 16 | |
| 38 | Rourke Croeser (RSA) Orange Monkey / Cannondale | 16 | |
| 39 | Kornel Osicki (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team | 16 | |
| 40 | Mitchell Bailey (Can) | 14 | |
| 41 | Ivan Smirnov (Rus) | 14 | |
| 42 | Matthias Rupp (Swi) Team Firebike - Droessiger | 13 | |
| 43 | Daniel Geismayr (Aut) | 12 | |
| 44 | Evan Guthrie (Can) | 12 | |
| 45 | Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team | 10 | |
| 46 | Julien Trarieux (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix | 10 | |
| 47 | Cristofer Bosque (Spa) | 8 | |
| 48 | Tyson Wagler (Can) | 8 | |
| 49 | Luca Braidot (Ita) | 7 | |
| 50 | Henrique Avancini (Bra) ISD Cycling Team | 7 | |
| 51 | Marek Rauchfuss (Cze) | 6 | |
| 52 | Jack Hinkens (USA) | 5 | |
| 53 | Kenta Gallagher (GBr) | 5 | |
| 54 | Bart De Vocht (Bel) | 5 | |
| 55 | Gilles Sarrazin (Fra) Team Veloroc Lapierre | 5 | |
| 56 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) | 5 | |
| 57 | Bryan Falaschi (Ita) | 4 | |
| 58 | Martin Gluth (Ger) | 4 | |
| 59 | Mirco Widmer (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour | 3 | |
| 60 | Thomas Sampson (USA) | 3 | |
| 61 | Pete Ostroski (USA) | 3 | |
| 62 | Jonas Pedersen (Den) | 2 | |
| 63 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team | 2 | |
| 64 | Thibaut Bellanger (Fra) Team Veloroc Lapierre | 2 | |
| 65 | Hugo Drechou (Fra) | 1 |
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