Czech rider Tomas Slavik put himself in front of fellow countryman Michael Mechura to secure the gold medal at the four cross world championships in Leogang, Austria.
The men's race showed the massive domination of Czech riders in four cross. After 38 heats, Slavik and Mechura put their feet on the top spots of the podium. Last year, Slavik and Mechura eliminated themselves and opened the door for Joost Wichman to grab the title. This year, they seemed to treat each other a lot more gently on the race course. Mechura, runner-up for the third time in a row, couldn't hide his disappointment after the competition.
Swiss Simon Waldburger (third) and German Aiko Göhler (fourth) had nothing to put up against the Czech armada in the big finals.
Favorite Scott Beaumont (Great Britain) and local hero Hannes Slavik abandoned the fight for the top spots already in the semi-finals after crashing spectacularly in the first corner. Placing third last year at the World Championships, Quentin Derbier (France) was said to be one of the big guns as well as Jakub Riha, but they just didn't have the power to proceed to the finals.
Although Mechura placed first in his semi-finals heat and secured himself an ideal starting position, Slavik turned things around and was one happy champion at the end of the day.
Slavik said, "I was hunting this title for more than three years. I always had bad luck since my last title and this is great satisfaction for it. I'm really stoked." My luck in Leogang is back and hopefully I can keep it for next year!"
It was perfect redemption for all the tough luck he experienced within the last years in Leogang.
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