Attacking raid nets Freiburghaus the eliminator victory
Fastest qualifier van der Ploeg settles for second
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup put a new face on the top step of the podium of the eliminator at Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic on Friday. A brillant mid-race attack by Sepp Freiburghaus (Thoemus Racing) caught all of his rivals off guard, allowing the Swiss rider to take the win.
Australian Paul van der Ploeg (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic) was considered the favourite for the men, after qualifying first and finishing second here last year. His powerful sprint afforded him the ability to come from behind on the long finishing straight.
In the final, Freiburghaus and van der Ploeg were joined by Mirco Widmer (Giant Swiss SR Suntour), Germany's Martin Gluth, Marcel Wildhaber (Scott-Swisspower) and Marek Konwa (Milka-Superior).
Significantly, round one winner Brian Lopes and cross country stars Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida), Manuel Fumic (Cannondale) and Marco Fontana (Cannondale) did not make the final.
In the final, at the far side of the course on the only climb, Freiburghaus attacked, immediately gaining 10 metres on his rivals, who all looked at each other, with none willing to take the initiative and lead the chase. Coming into the final straightaway, Freiburghaus was still well in front and cruised across the line while van der Ploeg led the rest of the group in, shaking his head. Widmer took third.
"It was pretty tactical in the climb," said Freiburghaus, "and so I changed my tactic for the final. I tried with an attack on the climb, and then got a gap. On this eliminator it was very important to have a good tactic. If you were in the lead for the whole round, you had a problem when you came with four or five guys onto this straight finish. I am very happy to bring it to the line."
"It was a brilliant move by Sepp [Freiburghaus]," said van der Ploeg. "I was thinking 'oh damn' when he attacked, but that was it, that was the move. I would have liked to have won, of course, but I'm happy to be on the podium again."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
1 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team |
2 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team |
3 | Mirco Widmer (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour |
4 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team |
5 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team |
6 | Martin Gluth (Ger) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
7 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team |
8 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team |
9 | Jochen Kass (Ger) S&H Superior MTB Team |
10 | Milan Spesny (Cze) Cannondale Factory Racing |
11 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Notebooksbilliger.De Team |
12 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
13 | Jan Fojtik (Cze) |
14 | Lukas Loretz (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour |
15 | Philip Buys (RSA) |
16 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) |
17 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) Team Fujibikes Rockets |
18 | Marco Schätzing (Ger) |
19 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team |
20 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team |
21 | Kenta Gallagher (GBr) |
22 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team |
23 | Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Factory Team |
24 | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet |
25 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing |
26 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team |
27 | Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour |
28 | Miha Halzer (Slo) Energijateam.Com |
29 | Brian Lopes (USA) |
30 | Michal Lami (Svk) |
31 | Markus Bauer (Ger) |
32 | Ola Kjören (Nor) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet |
33 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) |
34 | Marek Rauchfuss (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team |
35 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing |
36 | Davy Huygens (Bel) |
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/j0riqebpsw1715769462.png)
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Matteo Moschetti hospitalised with multiple fractures after being hit by truck driver
Italian suffers fractured collarbone, two neck vertebrae fractures, and cuts and nerve damage in his face after incident on Tuesday -
Stock shortages, equipment registration and the latest marginal gains - Talking Olympic Games track tech with the Dutch head mechanic
Chatting 200 psi tubulars, track air pressure sensors and the need to win ahead of the Paris Olympic games next month -
Van Rysel RCR review: It cements the brand amongst the big players, but is it actually that good value?
A true performance machine from the budget brand, but the bike doesn't offer the value the brand name suggests -
Cofidis issues statement after Guillaume Martin blames weight of Look bike for Cofidis' poor Tour de France
'I don’t want to make my bike even heavier with a 200-gram bike computer' says French climber