Beerten bombs to four cross gold

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World Cup champion Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) confirmed her four cross World Cup title on the Planai ski slope in Schladming, Austria, on Saturday night.

Unlike the men's series, there were still three riders in contention for the overall win – Beerten, Fionn Griffiths (Norco) and American Jill Kintner. However, Griffiths crashed the day before at qualifying and could not race while Kintner crashed in her first round heat and did not finish. Therefore, Beerten won her third consecutive title without even racing.

Despite that, the women's race saw its own action, with Beerten only scrapping through the semi-final round in second place after a serious challenge from the Czech rider Romana Labounkova. In the final, up against Austrian favourite Anita Molcik (Yeti Fox Shox), British newcomer Katy Curd and Japan's Mio Suemasa, Beerten left nothing to chance, grabbing the hole shot and riding it to her third win of the season.

Griffiths and Kintner were tied for points and number of wins at two apiece, but Griffiths took second in the final overall standings by virtue of two second places (Kintner had none). An absent Melissa Buhl finished fourth.

"This is my third title in a row, and it probably means the most," said Beerten. "This year, everyone was here, everyone was racing, so it was the biggest challenge to win. After [Fionn Griffiths] crashed, everyone was congratulating me, but I had to keep telling myself, 'remain focussed'. I still wanted to win, and Labounkova gave me a pretty hard time in the semi-final."

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