Report: Dalby World Cup Elite Men's race
Sunday 25 April 2010 | Dalby World Cup Race Reports Home
Elite Men's race
An outstanding Elite Men's race, dominated by the world's leading riders, thrilled a huge crowd at the Dalby World Cup. Double Olympic and multiple World Champion Julien Absalon was in the thick of the action, but it was current Under-23 and Senior World Champions, Burry Stander and Nino Schurter, who really animated the race. To the delight of everyone, except perhaps the riders, it all came down to a sprint finish, with Schurter claiming a famous win.
The Race
A huge line-up of 183 starters guaranteed a barnstorming start as the Elite Men's race got going and they really sent the dust flying through the berms of Dixon's Hollow, riding with hardly a wheel width between them.
It was the Swiss riders to the fore as they went out onto lap one, with Lukas Fluckinger and Ralph Naef at the head of proceedings. French double Olympic champion Julien Absalon was already in third and Marco Fontana of Italy fourth as the field crossed the line in a solid mass. Oli Beckingsdale was the first Brit in 34th.
Out onto the main course, the size of the field meant that the pressure was on to make progress, with the climbs up to the top of Medusa and then away to the high point of the course, Jingleby Top, seeing some frantic action.
Back through Worry Gill for the second time on the lap, Naef was up front, just ahead of Absalon with world champion Nino Schurter third. Surprisingly they all stalled on the apparently innocuous climb away from the gully and endured a short, fast run up before re-mounting. By Dixon's Hollow, gaps were forming and the race really was shaping up nicely.
A seven rider group led over the line and out onto lap two, headed by Naef, Absalon and Schurter. They were accompanied by Spain's Ivan Alvarez Guitierrez, Fontana, South Africa's Burry Stander and France's Stephane Tempier. The war of attrition that is World Cup racing had really begun.
The lead group had morphed several times, but Naef, Absalon and Shurter were constantly at the front and the first eleven rider were within four seconds of the leader for most of the second lap.
Lap three began with Burry Stander suddenly moving to the front around the tight singletrack of the Adderstone Loop, opening up gaps in the line of riders behind him. It marked the start of a series of attacks through the lap as the process of attrition continued and by the drag across Rabbit Run's scrubland, the lead group was down to seven.
Out onto lap four, the leader was Burry Stander, with Julien Absalon, Nino Schurter, Marco Fontana, Ivan Alvarez Guiterrez and Spamiard Ruben Ruzafa Cueto all together, with Naef and Fluckinger five seconds back.
The first half of that lap saw little change at the front, but from Medusa's drop onwards, and especially up the big climb to Jingleby Top, there was a major sort-out as Stander, Absalon and Schurter really moved the pace up a level.
Coming back into Dixon's Hollow they had a gap of over ten seconds over a fractured group of chasers. Stander, Absalon and Schurter crossed the line as one, with a 24 second gap back to Fluckinger, Fontana, Alvarez Guiterrez, Naef and Ruzafa Cueto who looked ragged as they tried to organize themselves for a chase.
Within the lead trio, attack followed attack throughout the penultimate lap with Stander doing a lot of the work at the front and looking very aggressive. However, he suddenly began to look uncomfortable as they came through Dixon's Hollow and going out onto the last lap he blew badly, leaving Absalon and Schurter to blast down Worry Gill for the final time well clear of the South African.
With the sun finally breaking through, Schurter and Absalon climbed away from Medusa together and they were still marking each other closely as they came up the short technical climb at the head of Worry Gill. Both smoothly dismounted and ran it, but Stander threw away all hopes of coming back to them as he stalled badly in the same spot and lost time.
The crowd-lined bowl of Dixon's Hollow was very tense as the leaders took the series of corners for the last time, watching each other closely, knowing that the smallest slip-up could cost everything. Absalon was happy to stay on the front through this section and Schurter briefly looked in trouble as he dropped back a few bike lengths, before a couple of smooth moves over the Hollow's numerous small jumps put him on the double Olympic Champion's wheel.
All eyes now turned to the finish straight and Absalon appeared first but with the Swiss rider right on his wheel. They both wound up an impressive sprint as they charged up the slight hill into a headwind, before Schurter punched the air as he passed the Frenchman in the final few yards to claim the win. It was a carbon copy of his remarkable win in last year's World Championships.
Schurter was naturally pleased with the ride and he modestly admitted he had claimed the win in the only way he felt he could: "It was unbelievable. I felt really bad on the last two laps, but it was a nice finish. I felt Absalon was stronger than me and the only chance was to beat him on a sprint to the finish line as I'm a better sprinter than him!"
Burry Stander was third after a brave and aggressive ride from the World Under-23 champion. A great final lap charge saw Czech rider Jaroslav Kulhavy claim fourth place, having been ninth at the bell. Ralph Naef recovered from a bad mid-race to claim fifth, a reward for the work he did at the front in the opening lap and a half. Germany's Manuel Fumic was another strong finisher, claiming sixth, having moved up four places in the last couple of laps.
Oli Beckingsale was the first British rider home in 37th place having ridden an incident free race. Liam Killeen moved up six places in the last lap to claim 50th, whilst David Fletcher was 79th.
Results
1 SCHURTER Nino ( SUI19860513 ) SSR 01:54:52
2 ABSALON Julien ( FRA19800816 ) ORB +00:01
3 STANDER Burry ( RSA19870916 ) SFR +00:14
4 KULHAVY Jaroslav ( CZE19850108 ) RBS +00:28
5 NAEF Ralph ( SUI19800510 ) MMB +00:41
6 FUMIC Manuel ( GER19820330 ) CFR +00:52
7 RUZAFA CUETO Ruben ( ESP19840909 ) ORB +00:55
8 FLÜCKIGER Lukas ( SUI19840131 ) TRK +01:19
9 HERMIDA RAMOS José Antonio ( ESP19780824 ) MMB +01:37
10 FONTANA Marco Aurelio ( ITA19841012 ) CFR +01:45
11 ALVAREZ GUTIERREZ Ivan ( ESP19811218 ) GIT +01:54
12 VOGEL Florian ( SUI19820218 ) SSR +02:17
13 FLÜCKIGER Mathias * ( SUI19880927 ) TRK +02:32
14 MANTECON GUTIERREZ Sergio ( ESP19840925 ) TRL +02:42
15 TEMPIER Stéphane ( FRA19860305 ) TXB +02:48
16 SOUKUP Christoph ( AUT19801011 ) MBT +02:54
17 VAN HOUTS Rudi ( NED19840116 ) MMB +03:03
18 LEJARRETA ERRASTI Inaki ( ESP19830901 ) ORB +03:24
19 WELLS Todd ( USA19751225 ) SFR +03:49
20 PAULISSEN Roel ( BEL19760427 ) CFR +03:53
21 LINDGREN Emil ( SWE19850504 ) RGO +04:18
22 KONWA Marek * ( POL19900311 ) ADV +04:23
23 SAUSER Christoph ( SUI19760413 ) SFR +04:25
24 KURSCHAT Wolfram ( GER19750517 ) TER +04:32
25 SKARNITZL Jan ( CZE19860711 ) --- +04:45
26 VUILLERMOZ Alexis * ( FRA19880601 ) LPI +05:04
27 BAILLY MAITRE François ( FRA19851019 ) SCO +05:06
28 KABUSH Geoff ( CAN19770414 ) TMR +05:28
29 COLOMA NICOLAS Carlos ( ESP19810928 ) MSC +05:29
30 SCHULTZ Samuel ( USA19851211 ) SGF +05:43
31 MAROTTE Maxime ( FRA19861205 ) BHS +06:03
32 KASS Jochen ( GER19810505 ) MMB +06:30
33 LONGO Tony ( ITA19840911 ) --- +06:37
34 ZANDSTRA Derek ( CAN19841019 ) --- +06:44
35 MENNEN Robert ( GER19850405 ) --- +07:04
36 FANGER Martin * ( SUI19880328 ) GST +07:04
37 BECKINGSALE Oliver ( GBR19760607 ) GFT +07:06
38 GIGER Fabian ( SUI19870718 ) RGO +07:16
39 HORGAN-KOBELSKI Jeremy ( USA19780811 ) SGF +07:25
40 FRUET Martino ( ITA19770721 ) --- +07:38
41 MOORLAG Henk Jaap * ( NED19900508 ) RGO +07:45
42 PLANTET Pierre-Geoffroy ( FRA19841023 ) TNC +07:49
43 PIETERSMA Jelmer ( NED19820515 ) TBR +07:50
44 COMINELLI Cristian * ( ITA19880522 ) TXB +07:53
45 LAMASTRA Giuseppe ( ITA19841205 ) FRW +07:57
46 COLOM Marc ( FRA19860622 ) --- +08:01
47 GALLATI Patrik * ( SUI19880401 ) SSR +08:05
48 ULMAN Matous ( CZE19840605 ) SHS +08:07
49 METZLER Hannes ( AUT19770520 ) MGT +08:14
50 KILLEEN Liam ( GBR19820412 ) --- +08:18
51 BRZOZKA Piotr * ( POL19891014 ) JBG +08:19
52 PETERS Bas ( NED19760514 ) TMC +08:34
53 MARKT Karl ( AUT19800308 ) FOX +08:35
54 GALINSKI Marek ( POL19740801 ) JBG +08:36
55 CARABIN Sebastien * ( BEL19890328 ) LVT +08:37
56 YAMAMOTO Kohei ( JPN19850820 ) --- +08:42
57 MCCONNELL Daniel ( AUS19850809 ) TRQ +08:57
58 RAVANEL Cédric ( FRA19781126 ) LPI +09:07
59 BAUER Markus * ( GER19890824 ) --- +09:20
60 LUTTENBERG Irjan * ( NED19881209 ) TBR +09:44
61 TIBERI Andrea ( ITA19851115 ) SSP +09:55
62 ROHRBACH Nicola ( SUI19860820 ) --- +10:00
63 VINIT Guillaume ( FRA19870705 ) BHS +10:04
64 HOCHENWARTER Uwe ( AUT19861124 ) MGT +10:06
65 KAUFMANN Lukas ( SUI19870703 ) TBR +10:08
66 LITSCHER Thomas * ( SUI19890514 ) MIG +10:21
67 WUBBEN Niels * ( NED19880220 ) TMC +10:27
68 CATTANEO Johnny ( ITA19810519 ) --- +10:42
69 NORRIS Lachlan ( AUS19870121 ) --- +10:50
70 VERMEULEN Nicolas ( BEL19840413 ) LVT +10:54
71 ROSA Diego * ( ITA19890327 ) GIT +10:58
72 SPESNY Milan ( CZE19770322 ) SHS +11:04
73 EYRING Andy * ( GER19890405 ) --- +11:05
74 HOVDENES Anders ( NOR19870911 ) TUB +11:09
75 WATSON Andrew ( CAN19830530 ) --- +11:15
76 VAN DER PLOEG Paul * ( AUS19891109 ) FOX +11:28
77 ZOLI Yader ( ITA19751001 ) SSP +11:34
78 MEYER Pascal * ( SUI19880216 ) MIG +11:40
79 FLETCHER David * ( GBR19890227 ) --- +11:40
80 CANAL Fabien * ( FRA19890404 ) KEO +12:10
81 SCHEIBER Simon * ( AUT19881002 ) FOX +12:13
82 BRZOZKA Adrian ( POL19870709 ) JBG +12:21
83 GROEN Erik * ( NED19900108 ) RGO +12:29
84 MARX Torsten ( GER19760625 ) --- +12:34
85 BUCHI Benjamin * ( SUI19890406 ) --- +12:50
86 NIELSEN Klaus ( DEN19800108 ) --- +13:01
87 DARVELL Magnus ( SWE19820602 ) --- +13:14
88 VAN HOOVELS Kevin ( BEL19850731 ) LVT +13:15
89 OSICKI Kornel * ( POL19890316 ) JBG +13:18
90 NILSSON Mattias * ( SWE19890204 ) --- +13:35
91 BUNDI Silvio ( SUI19780613 ) --- +13:42
92 STRECKER Fabian * ( GER19900416 ) --- +13:43
93 HYNEK Kristian ( CZE19800519 ) SHS +13:44
94 REIS Manfred * ( GER19900710 ) FOX +13:46
95 HUGUENIN Jérémy * ( SUI19890121 ) GST +13:54
96 FLESCHHUT Marcel * ( GER19900601 ) --- +14:06
97 WEBER Balz ( SUI19810120 ) --- +14:08
98 LEMMERS Tim * ( NED19890602 ) RGO +14:11
99 GAMBINO Alessandro ( ITA19840719 ) GTR +14:15
100 GOVAERTS Dries * ( BEL19880304 ) SAE +14:25
101 HADLEY Matthew ( CAN19830407 ) --- +14:32
102 TANN Rene ( GER19850808 ) --- +14:36
103 LOOSER Konny * ( SUI19890306 ) --- +14:37
104 WENGELIN Mattias * ( SWE19880202 ) TFI +14:52
105 JUBBEGA Jelmer * ( NED19880704 ) RGO +14:56
106 BRODERICK Michael ( USA19731223 ) --- +14:59
107 OLDHAM Paul ( GBR19770905 ) --- +15:02
108 CINK Ondrej * ( CZE19901207 ) MBT +15:04
109 LEBRETON Pierre ( FRA19781206 ) BHS +15:04
110 SZRAUCNER Sebastian ( GER19870120 ) --- +15:13
111 MARINHEIRO Ricardo Paulo Reis * ( POR19911105 ) TXB +15:21
112 FERREIRA Tiago Jorge Oliveira * ( POR19881207 ) --- +15:25
113 HUDECEK Jiri ( CZE19860519 ) --- +15:31
114 CIA APEZTEGUIA Patxi ( ESP19780909 ) MSC +15:43
115 STIRNEMANN Matthias * ( SUI19911108 ) --- +15:47
116 NEPUSTIL Matej * ( CZE19900606 ) MBT +16:09
117 MASSAER Joris ( BEL19820315 ) GSD +16:11
118 GEHBAUER Robert ( AUT19870717 ) --- +16:31
119 SCHÄTZING Marco ( GER19841211 ) TFI +16:40
120 DISCH Severin * ( SUI19880205 ) GST +16:52
121 MALETZ Christopher ( GER19840404 ) --- +17:57
122 MAGNUSEK Jakub * ( CZE19900509 ) SHS +18:08
123 BETREMIEUX Freddy * ( FRA19880102 ) --- +18:35
124 CASAGRANDE Michele ( ITA19841004 ) ADV +19:22
125 JEANTET Nicolas * ( ITA19890708 ) ISD +19:37
126 MINEUR Laurent * ( BEL19890309 ) --- -1LAP
127 EYMANN Daniel * ( SUI19890708 ) TRT -1LAP
128 GEHBAUER Alexander * ( AUT19900424 ) --- -1LAP
129 KRENN Wolfgang ( AUT19860827 ) MGT -1LAP
130 ARNOLD Marco * ( SUI19880112 ) GST -1LAP
131 DUNFORD Tim ( GBR19781019 ) TRQ -1LAP
132 BATCHELOR Sebastian * ( GBR19900630 ) LEE -1LAP
133 THIE Florian * ( SUI19890620 ) --- -1LAP
134 LAPEYRIE Thomas * ( FRA19900411 ) SCO -1LAP
135 DE BACKER Jonas * ( BEL19901004 ) SAE -1LAP
136 BLAIR Andrew ( AUS19790609 ) TRQ -1LAP
137 HENDERSON Dave ( GBR19830426 ) --- -1LAP
138 THOMAS Ben * ( GBR19880804 ) TRQ -1LAP
139 FREIBURGHAUS Sepp ( SUI19870203 ) TRT -2LAP
140 ROELOFS Robin * ( NED19910107 ) STS -2LAP
141 CANNING Cody * ( CAN19880629 ) --- -2LAP
142 GERNEZ AURENGE Amaury * ( FRA19890118 ) KEO -2LAP
143 PEKATCH Dror ( ISR19810515 ) SGF -2LAP
144 WHENMAN Billy Joe * ( GBR19890411 ) --- -2LAP
145 VANGENECHTEN Rob * ( BEL19880919 ) SAE -2LAP
146 ANDREWS Chris ( GBR19850130 ) --- -2LAP
147 FRISBY Travis * ( AUS19890228 ) --- -2LAP
148 FELLE Richard ( IRL19860414 ) --- -3LAP
149 HOSSAY Pascal ( BEL19870419 ) GSD -3LAP
150 CLARK Allan ( GBR19840815 ) --- -4LAP
