Molcik makes World Cup her own

The four cross World Cup series concluded on Saturday evening, with the crowning of a new champion. Austrian rider Anita Molcik overtook defending champion Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) to win both the final event and the overall title.

The natural terrain that highlighted the Windham course made for some tight racing, with passes and crashes meaning that no one was assured of moving on through the heats until they actually crossed the finish line.

The women's field was one of the biggest of the season, with quarter final heats being contested, as well as the usual semifinals. Beerten and Molcik had qualified one-two, but others who could potentially be spoilers were world champion Caroline Buchanan of Australia, Czech rider Jana Horakova and her compatriot Romana Labounkova.

In the final it came down to Beerten, Molcik, Buchanan and Horakova. Buchanan had a bit of a rocky route to the final - she finished third in her opening heat after tangling with Fionn Griffiths (Norco) and crashing, but was reinstated when Griffiths was disqualified.

Out of the gate in the final Beerten took the lead, but Molcik was right with her. Then the Dutch woman's front wheel slid out, she was down and Molcik went on to win the race and the title. Buchanan took second, Horakova third, and Beerten limped in fourth, in shock at the way her World Cup season had ended. For Molcik, it was the first win of her career.

In the final standings, it was Molcik with 385 points, Beerten at 370 and Horakova at 270.

"Overall champion. it is so unbelievable. It was so hard, because I knew that if Anneke got to the finals, I had to get a victory, and she only needed to finish third for the overall, and I didn't think it would happen for me," said Molcik.

"Some of the other girls are faster, so maybe not, I thought. This is the first victory in my life for me at a World Cup and then the World Cup overall, it is so amazing."

Full restuls

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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Anita Molcik (Aut)
2Caroline Buchanan (Aus)
3Jana Horakova (Cze)
4Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center
5Katy Curd (GBr)
6Romana Labounkova (Cze)
7Angelika Hohenwarter (Aut)
8Joanna Petterson (RSA)
9Steffi Marth (Ger)
10Sarsha Huntington (Aus)
11Anne Laplante (Can)
12Neza Knez (Slo) Unior Tools Team
13Lucia Oetjen (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
14Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team
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Teams
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1RSP 4 Cross Racing Team78pts
2Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team40Row 1 - Cell 3
3Agang Racing35Row 2 - Cell 3
4Suspension Center20Row 3 - Cell 3
5Blackmountain Morewood United16Row 4 - Cell 3
6MS Evil Racing8Row 5 - Cell 3
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Final World Cup individual standings
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Anita Molcik (Aut)385pts
2Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center370Row 1 - Cell 3
3Jana Horakova (Cze)270Row 2 - Cell 3
4Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team160Row 3 - Cell 3
5Romana Labounkova (Cze)150Row 4 - Cell 3
6Joanna Petterson (RSA)120Row 5 - Cell 3
7Katy Curd (GBr)120Row 6 - Cell 3
8Caroline Buchanan (Aus)115Row 7 - Cell 3
9Sarsha Huntington (Aus)110Row 8 - Cell 3
10Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center60Row 9 - Cell 3
11Lucia Oetjen (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team55Row 10 - Cell 3
12Steffi Marth (Ger)30Row 11 - Cell 3
13Angelika Hohenwarter (Aut)15Row 12 - Cell 3
14Morgane Charre (Fra)10Row 13 - Cell 3
15Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) RC Alpine Commencal Austria5Row 14 - Cell 3
16Neza Knez (Slo) Unior Tools Team5Row 15 - Cell 3
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Final World Cup team standings
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1RSP 4 Cross Racing Team455pts
2Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team221Row 1 - Cell 3
3Suspension Center195Row 2 - Cell 3
4Agang Racing133Row 3 - Cell 3
5Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team90Row 4 - Cell 3
6Norco World Team70Row 5 - Cell 3
7Team Sunn Montgenevre46Row 6 - Cell 3
8Commencal44Row 7 - Cell 3
9Rocky Mountain UK40Row 8 - Cell 3
10Thoemus Racing Team28Row 9 - Cell 3
11MS Evil Racing26Row 10 - Cell 3
12Blackmountain Morewood United16Row 11 - Cell 3
13RC Alpine Commencal Austria15Row 12 - Cell 3
142Stage Factory5Row 13 - Cell 3
15Unior Tools Team3Row 14 - Cell 3

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