May 29, 2007 (Offenburg, Germany) — The second Nissan UCI World Cup MTB XC of the season held in Offenburg, Germany was exciting for racers and spectators alike. It was perhaps a little too much excitement for many racers, as torrential rain two laps into the women’s race made the course slick and treacherous for the rest of the day.

Women’s Race

Canada’s Marie-Hélène Prémont (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) made it onto the podium after placing sixth in last month’s World Cup opener. She finished second on Sunday, 1:28 minutes behind winner Irina Kalentieva (RUS, Topeak-Ergon), in front of a crowd of 15,000 exuberant fans. Gunn-Rita Dahle (NOR, Multivan-Merida) won a two-up sprint with Margarita Fullana (ESP, Spiuk-Tau Ceramica) for third. Ren Chengyuan (CHN), who won XC #1 in Houffalize, Belgium, placed seventh on the rooty, muddy, technically demanding course in Germany’s Black Forest. She continues to lead the series, only 10 points ahead of last year’s World Cup overall winner, Dahle. Prémont’s silver medal catapulted her into third overall.

The women’s race started under overcast skies with two fast 1.1-kilometre start loops followed by six full laps of 5.1 kilometres each. The top riders were all in the action from the beginning, with a group of around a dozen, including Kalentieva, Prémont, Dahle, Fullana Chegyuan and Sabine Spitz (GER, Ghost International), getting a slight gap on the field by the end of the second start loop. An honourable mention goes to Alison Sydor (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) — she rocketed from 80th position and by the end of the start loops, she was up in the top 15.

Spurred on by her hometown fans, Spitz led the world-class field of 110 women, with the top contenders in hot pursuit. Almost everyone had some sort of difficulty at some point in the race, except for Kalentieva, who only got stronger as the rain started to fall in buckets and course sections turned into rivers of mud. Prémont had derailleur troubles after having a run-in with Fullana, Spitz’s chain broke and many riders struggled with the deteriorating trail conditions.

Kiara Bisaro (CAN, Opus), who excels in the mud, had a strong ride, finishing in 10th place. Catharine Pendrel (CAN, Norco Factory Team) had a great day, with a fast start that allowed her to make her way up from 94th to finish 27th. “The course was well designed to allow me to move up early on in the race,” she said. “I felt confident on the course. It was really exciting to race a field of a 110 girls.” Sandra Walter (CAN, X.O-Felt Women’s MTB Team) rode solidly to finish 34th. “It was intimidating to start in the third row, because I knew it would be difficult to move up or even hold the position. Up there everyone is fast! I felt good, but not as fabulous as in Houffalize,” she commented. Wendy Simms (CAN, Kona-Les Gets) felt she was lacking the pop and intensity that allowed her to finish 16th at the World Cup in Spa, Belgium last year, finishing in 54th.

Men’s Race

Once the women’s race was over, the sky cleared and the clouds lifted to reveal a beautiful warm day. But the damage had been done to the course, and as the trails began to dry up slightly, the mud became thicker — it was the kind of mud that sticks to everything, including tires, drivetrains, cleats and pedals. Organizers took the changed conditions into account, shortening the race by one lap, and as a result the 208-man field battled it out on one start loop followed by seven instead of eight full laps.

Julien Absalon (FRA, Orbea) was able to come out of the slippery mudfest the most unscathed to take the win over 2.5 minutes ahead of second place, Cedric Ravanel (FRA, Lapierre International). Lukas Fluckiger (SUI, Athleticum) took third spot. With his victory in Offenburg, Absalon took over the series lead from Jose Antonio Hermida (ESP, Multivan-Merida).

Many of the original group of leaders, including Hermida, Nino Schurter (SUI, Swisspower) and Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE, Cannondale-Vredestein) fell victim to mechanical mishaps and crashes, bringing about a lot of changes at the front to create a suspenseful and interesting World Cup race. Ravanel and Fluckiger both came from behind as several men at the front came into difficulties.

Max Plaxton (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) was the top Canadian and second espoir with a 26th place ride. Geoff Kabush (CAN, Maxxis) placed 51st in a frustrating race where he crashed early on and then suffered mechanical problems. Kris Sneddon (CAN, Kona-Les Gets) was happy with his race. He started 119th and consistently moved up through the field to finish 62nd. “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock n’ roll,” he said afterwards. Seamus McGrath (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) ran into difficulties and DNF’d.

Overall after 2 events

Women

1. Ren Chengyuan (CHN) 370 points
2. Gunn-Rita Dahle (NOR, Multivan-Merida) 360
3. Marie-Hélène Prémont (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) 330
4. Irina Kalentieva (RUS, Topeak-Ergon) 314
5. Margarita Fullana (ESP, Spiuk-Tau Ceramica) 310
6. Sabine Spitz (GER, Ghost International) 290
7. Tereza Hurikova (CZE, Ceska Sporitelna) 215
8. Maja Wloszczowska (CZE, Halls Professional MTB Team) 190
9. Ying Liu (CHN) 190
10. Jingjing Wang (CHN) 186

14. Kiara Bisaro (CAN, Opus) 161
30. Sandra Walter (CAN, X.O-Felt Women’s MTB Team) 92
42. Catharine Pendrel (CAN, Norco Factory Team) 52
48. Wendy Simms (CAN, Kona-Les Gets) 38
52. Alison Sydor (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) 30

Men

1. Julien Absalon (FRA, Orbea) 450
2. Jose Antonio Hermida (ESP, Multivan-Merida) 360
3. Cedric Ravanel (FRA, Lapierre International) 290
4. Christoph Sauser (SUI, Specialized) 290
5. Kashi Leuchs (NZL, Cannondale-Vredestein) 250
6. Roel Paulissen (BEL, Cannondale-Vredestein) 230
7. Jean-Christophe Peraud (FRA, Orbea) 212
8. Lukas Fluckiger (SUI, Athleticum) 196
9. Thomas Frischknecht (SUI, Swisspower) 190
10. Filip Meirhaeghe (BEL, Versluys-Landbouwkrediet) 178

21. Geoff Kabush (CAN, Maxxis) 102
45. Max Plaxton (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Haywood) 54