The eliminator at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup had a new face at the top of the podium for round 4 at Vallnord, Andorra. Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike) won the women's race, and now trails World Cup leader Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory) by a slim 10 points in the overall standings.
"I think this is the best race I've had this season," said a very pleased Stirnemann. "I am so happy to win, even though I had to wait for this moment a long time. It is just the best day in my career."
"In the trees, I was the only one who took the upper line and caught Alex [Engen], then on the asphalt I had the best power and made it to the finish as the best. On this course it is not possible to do any tactics. You just have to go full the whole race. It was such a nice fight. The four strongest girls made the final and it was an amazing day."
Engen now leads Stirnemann in the overall standings by a slim margin of 10 points, with 190 to her rival's 180 with one race remaining. Rissveds is a distant third at 110 points.
Full Results
| 1 | Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team |
| 2 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team |
| 3 | Jenny Rissveds (Swe) |
| 4 | Jolanda Neff (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team |
| 5 | Linda Indergand (Swi) Strübi MTB Kader |
| 6 | Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Team Colnago Sudtirol |
| 7 | Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team |
| 8 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team |
| 9 | Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) |
| 10 | Anne Terpstra (Ned) Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team |
| 11 | Ann Berglund (Swe) |
| 12 | Oksana Rybakova (Rus) |
| 13 | Elvira Khayrullina (Rus) |
| 14 | Pauline° Pajot (Fra) ASPTT Definitive Tec |
| 15 | Alessia Bulleri (Ita) |
| 1 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) | 190 | pts |
| 2 | Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) | 180 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Jenny Rissveds (Swe) | 110 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Jolanda Neff (Swi) | 76 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Linda Indergand (Swi) | 70 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Nadine Rieder (Ger) | 58 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Ingrid Sofie Jacobsen (Nor) | 39 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Anne Terpstra (Ned) | 38 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Eva Lechner (Ita) | 37 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) | 34 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Cécile Ravanel (Fra) | 25 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) | 22 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Anna Oberparleiter (Ita) | 22 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Katerina Nash (Cze) | 20 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) | 18 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Georgia Gould (USA) | 16 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Andréanne Pichette (Can) | 16 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Ramona Forchini (Swi) | 16 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Katrin Leumann (Swi) | 14 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau (Can) | 14 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Ann Berglund (Swe) | 8 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Alessia Bulleri (Ita) | 8 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| 24 | Elvira Khayrullina (Rus) | 7 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
| 25 | Oksana Rybakova (Rus) | 6 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
| 26 | Lena Putz (Ger) | 6 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
| 27 | Pauline° Pajot (Fra) | 3 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
| 28 | Blaza Klemencic (Slo) | 1 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
| 29 | Laura Turpijn (Ned) | 1 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
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