Mels victorious in Vallnord World Cup eliminator

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As was the case in the women's race, the men's eliminator at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup had a new face at the top step of the podium for round 4 at Vallnord, Andorra. Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya) took the men's win, but Daniel Federspiel (Otztal-Scott) all but assured the overall title with a fifth place finish.

In the men's competition, none of the winners from the first three rounds made it to the final, pointing to the growing depth of competition in this event. Mels, the Belgian champion, was clearly in a class of his own; qualifying first and riding away from his competition in every heat. He was joined in the final by Catriel Andres Soto (Wild Wolf Trek), Titouan Perrin Ganier (Focus/Rotor/Coaching-System.fr) and Simon Gegenheimer (German National). Conspicuously missing were usual favourites Federspiel, Slovenian Miha Halzer and round two winner Kenta Gallagher (Superior Brentjens).

Mels took the lead by the first corner and looked to have race won, but had a scare in the singletrack when he unclipped and almost crashed, before recovering. He had enough of a lead still to cruise in ahead of Soto, with Perrin Ganier a distant third.

"I went too fast and missed a pedal so I lost a bit of grip with the tire and I was trying to avoid the trees and stuff," said Mels. "I am happy I made it alive. It was close. Normally sprint races are not so technical as this one. In the forest I decided to do my own thing, and I train a lot in the technical stuff so that is my thing. So I am happy I could do well on this track.

"Personally [this win] means a lot. I never thought I could win a World Cup. I am right above my head right now. I still have not got it. It is too much at once."

Despite finishing only fifth, Federspiel actually gained on his main rivals, who scored only a few points in Vallnord. After four events of five, Federspiel has 158 points, followed by Gegenheimer at 99 and Halzer at 95. The Austrian only needs to score two points in the final round at Hafjell, Norway to clinch the title.

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