September 14, 2008 (Schladming, Austria) – The Elite Men’s XC is underway. They will be completing eight 5km laps. Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis is the only Canadian in the field, and he’s trying to defend his second place overall in the series. Course conditions are fast and tacky and the weather is chilly and overcast.

Lap 1
Jose Antonio Hermida (Spa) Multivan-Merida came through in the lead on the first lap with a blistering time of 14:15. He had a 5s gap on second place, Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized. Also in the chase group were Lukas Fluekiger (Sui) Athleticum, Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower, Kabush, and Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale-Vredestein.

Lap 2
On lap two, it was the U.S. National Champ Adam Craig (USA) Giant who came through in front, but Hermida was hot on his tail, followed by Sauser at 2s in third, and Paulissen in fourth at 5s. Flueckiger is 16s back in fifth. Kabush has fallen back to 10th position and is chasing about 30s back.

Lap 3
Hermida is back on the front at the end of the third lap, but he’s being marked by Craig, who is on his wheel and in second spot. Ivan Alvarez Guiterrez (Spa) Giant Italia has moved up into the bronze medal position, and Sauser is in fourth. These first four guys are all together. Flueckiger is still in fifth, but has dropped back to 56s. He’s leading a big chase group, including Todd Wells (USA) G.T. in sixth, Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) in seventh, Emil Lindgren (Swe) Full Dynamix in eighth, Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan-Merida is ninth, and Kabush is still hanging out in 10th.

Lap 4
Sauser has taken charge, coming through first at the end of lap 4, followed by Hermida in second, and Guiterrez in third. Craig has fallen back to fourth and is chasing at 32s. He looked more relaxed when he came through, not attacking. Did he go out too hard, or is he just pacing at the half-way point for a strong finish? Kabush has moved up to fifth and is 1:11 back. Flueckiger is on his wheel in sixth.

Lap 5
At the end of lap 5, Hermida is on the front again, but Sauser and Guiterrez are right on his wheel. Craig is still in fourth, but he’s now 1:22 back from the lead. Flueckiger is back in fifth, and Kabush is sixth with a flat, which he’ll be able to change quickly in the feed zone, which is right after the start/finish. He’s 1:24 back and shouldn’t lose too much time. Milatz is seventh, Nino Schurter (Sui) Swisspower is eighth at 1:43, Wells is ninth, and Lindgren is 10th.

Lap 6
At the end of lap 6, Sauser leads a group of three, but immediately after the finish banner, he put in a big acceleration, perhaps trying to launch a big attack in order to avoid a sprint finish. Hermida and Guiterrez, in second and third, respectively, will have to dig deep to counter.

Flueckiger has moved up to fourth at 1:36, Kulhavy is fifth, together with Schurter in sixth, Wells in seventh, Milatz eighth, and Craig has moved down to ninth – all five are at 2:17. Burry Stander (RSA) G.T. is 10th, and Kabush is in 12th position, trying to fight back from his mechanical.

Lap 7
Coming through at the end of lap 7, Sauser is still in the lead, with Hermida trailing by 3s, and Guiterrez is in third at 30s. Flueckiger is fourth, 2:03 back, followed by Kulhavy in fifth at 2:35 Milatz sixth at 2:54, Vogel seventh, Schurter eighth, Matthias Flueckiger (Sui) Athleticum ninth, and Craig 10th. Kabush is 14th at 3:50.

Lap 8 – Final

1. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Factory Racing 1:57:56
2. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan Merida Biking Team 0:19
3. Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Esp) Giant Italia Team 1:09
4. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Athleticum-MTB-Team 2:20
5. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) 2:51
6. Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 3:10
7. Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 3:23
8. Adam Craig (USA) Giant Mountain Bike Team 3:32
9. Matthias Flückiger* (Sui) Athleticum-MTB-Team 3:44
10. Burry Stander* (Rsa) Gt Bicycles / Mongoose Bicycles 3:53
11. Todd Wells (USA) Gt Bicycles / Mongoose Bicycles 4:09
12. Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis 4:14
13. Martin Gujan (Sui) Athleticum-MTB-Team 4:21
14. Liam Killeen (Gbr) Specialized Factory Racing 4:35
15. Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Esp) Orbea 5:15
16. Milan Spesny (Cze) Merida Biking Team 5:26
17. Nino Schurter* (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 5:33
18. Jochen Kass (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbike 5:35
19. Stéphane Tempier* (Fra) Gewiss Bianchi 5:49
20. Emil Lindgren (Swe) Full-Dynamix-It 5:58
21. Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Giant Italia Team 6:17
22. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Cannondale-Vredestein 6:52
23. Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike Racing Team 7:02
24. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) 7:27
25. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Orbea 7:33
26. Jan Skarnitzl* (Cze) 7:40
27. Hannes Metzler (Aut) Giant Mountain Bike Team 7:50
28. Alban Lakata (Aut) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike Racing Team 7:52
29. Andreas Kugler (Sui) Fischer-Bmc 7:55
30. Alexandre Moos (Sui) 8:00
31. Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Esp) Orbea 8:27
32. Thomas Frischknecht (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 8:50
33. Yader Zoli (Ita) Giant Italia Team 8:53
34. Jürg Graf (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 8:54
35. Martino Fruet (Ita) 8:57
36. Robert Gehbauer* (Aut) Multivan Merida Biking Team 9:03
37. Kristian Hynek (Cze) 9:15
38. Periklis Ilias* (Gre) 9:44
39. Silvio Bundi (Sui) Giant Mountain Bike Team 9:50
40. Fabian Giger* (Sui) 10:24
41. Oliver Beckingsale (Gbr) Giant Mountain Bike Team 10:55
42. Fabien Canal* (Fra) Team lapierre International 11:19
43. Josef Kamler* (Cze) 11:23
44. Guillaume Vinit* (Fra) Scott Valloire Galibier 11:30
45. Pierre Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team lapierre International 11:34
46. Matous Ulman (Cze) 11:37
47. Lukas Kaufmann* (Sui) 11:41
48. Rene Tann (Ger) 11:52
49. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) Team lapierre International 12:07
50. Martin Fanger* (Sui) 12:13
51. Filip Eberl (Cze) 12:24
52. Connor Mcconvey* (Irl) 12:32
53. Nicola Rohrbach* (Sui) 12:47
54. Torsten Marx (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbike 12:58
55. Frank Beemer* (Ned) 13:23
56. Umberto Corti* (Ita) 13:52
57. Andras Parti (Hun) 14:41
58. Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) -1 lap
59. Gerald Hauer (Aut) -1 lap
60. Uwe Hochenwarter* (Aut) -1 lap
61. Alexis Vuillermoz* (Fra) Scott Valloire Galibier -1 lap
62. Sebastien Carabin* (Bel) -2 laps
63. Maxim Gogolev (Rus) -2 laps
64. Anders Ljungberg (Swe) -2 laps
65. Thomas Litscher* (Sui) -2 laps
66. Calle Friberg (Swe) -2 laps
67. Heiko Gutmann* (Ger) -2 laps
68. David Fletcher* (Gbr) -2 laps
69. Frank Schotman (Ned) -2 laps
70. Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) -2 laps
71. Barry Wicks (USA) Kona -2 laps
72. Michael Stieglbauer (Ger) -2 laps
73. Rob Vangenechten* (Bel) -2 laps
74. Diego Rosa* (Ita) Giant Italia Team -2 laps
75. Evgeniy Pechenin (Rus) -2 laps
76. Anton Gogolev (Rus) -2 laps
77. Pascal Hossay* (Bel) -3 laps
78. Till Marx (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team -3 laps
79. Igor Bogdan (Ukr) -3 laps
80. Samuele Porro* (Ita) -3 laps
81. Oleksandr Kachanov* (Ukr) -3 laps
82. Hubert Pollinger (Ita) -3 laps
83. Ola Kjören* (Nor) -3 laps
84. Volodymyr Zinovkyn* (Ukr) -3 laps
85. Martin Loo* (Est) Merida Biking Team -3 laps
86. Michael Margesin* (Ita) -4 laps
87. Jelmer Jubbega* (Ned) -4 laps
88. Michal Plesnik (Svk) -4 laps
89. Jernej Muzga* (Slo) -4 laps
90. Felix Euteneuer* (Ger) -4 laps
91. David Escolar Ballesteros (Esp) -4 laps
92. Guido Thaler (Aut) -4 laps
93. Andriy Gumenyuk* (Ukr) -5 laps
94. Lukas Platzgummer* (Ita) -5 laps
95. Boris Vasilyev (Rus) -5 laps
96. Ross Creber* (Gbr) -5 laps
97. Christoph Plank (Aut) -5 laps
98. Michael Weiss (Aut) -5 laps
99. Nejc Cernilogar* (Slo) -5 laps
100. Matthias Rupp* (Aut) -6 laps
101. Tim Wijnants* (Bel) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike Racing Team -6 laps
102. Alexey Belokrylov (Rus) -6 laps
103. Claudio Caluori (Sui) -6 laps
104. Andriy Khripta* (Ukr) -6 laps
105. Bostjan Lavtar (Slo) -6 laps
106. Ronald Paur (Aut) -7 laps

Final Overall World Cup Standings

1. Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea 1,340
2. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Factory Racing 1,195
3. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan Merida Biking Team 1,064
4. Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis 1,030
5. Burry Stander* (Rsa) Gt Bicycles / Mongoose Bicycles 992
6. Adam Craig (USA) Giant Mountain Bike Team 878
7. Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 848
8. Nino Schurter* (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 808
9. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Athleticum-MTB -Team 808
10. Todd Wells (USA) Gt Bicycles / Mongoose Bicycles 803
11. Martin Gujan (Sui) Athleticum-MTB -Team 744
12. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) Team Lapierre International 682
13. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Orbea 576
14. Christoph Soukup (Aut) 556
15. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Cannondale-Vredestein 552
16. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) 544
17. Kashi Leuchs (Nzl) Cannondale-Vredestein 515
18. Seamus Mcgrath (Can) 462
19. Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan Merida Biking Team 450
20. Liam Killeen (Gbr) Specialized Factory Racing 446
21. Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) 440
22. Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale-Vredestein 419
23. Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Esp) Orbea 416
24. Jürg Graf (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 414
25. Hannes Metzler (Aut) Giant Mountain Bike Team 388
26. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Full-Dynamix-It 387
27. Oliver Beckingsale (Gbr) Giant Mountain Bike Team 373
28. Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Esp) Orbea 352
29. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 313
30. Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Esp) Giant Italia Team 312
31. Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Dolphin-Trek MTB Racing Team 296
32. Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 295
33. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Dolphin-Trek MTB Racing Team 291
34. Milan Spesny (Cze) Merida Biking Team 286
35. Karl Markt (Aut) 267
36. Thomas Frischknecht (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 261
37. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team 253
38. Yader Zoli (Ita) Giant Italia Team 248
39. Tony Longo (Ita) Full-Dynamix-It 231
40. Matthias Flückiger* (Sui) Athleticum-MTB -Team 227
41. Emil Lindgren (Swe) Full-Dynamix-It 227
42. Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Esp) Cemelorca-Seguros10.Com 220
43. Michael Broderick (USA) 220
44. Jiri Friedl (Cze) Merida Biking Team 212
45. Jan Skarnitzl* (Cze) 184
46. Bas Peters (Ned) 183
47. Manuel Fumic (Ger) Fumic.Brothers.International 176
48. Derek Zandstra (Can) 176
49. Jochen Kass (Ger) Team Alb-Gold MTB 173
50. Stéphane Tempier* (Fra) Gewiss Bianchi 173
51. Andreas Kugler (Sui) Fischer-Bmc 173
52. Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Trek-Vw 171
53. Lado Fumic (Ger) Fumic.Brothers.International 171
54. Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Team Maxxis 161
55. Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 156
56. Cristobal Silva Ibaceta (Chi) 153
57. Bart Brentjens (Ned) Dolphin-Trek MTB Racing Team 149
58. Connor Mcconvey* (Irl) 131
59. Sven Nys (Bel) 130
60. Gion Manetsch (Sui) Athleticum-MTB -Team 128
61. Karl Platt (Ger) 123
62. Martino Fruet (Ita) 122
63. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) 115
64. Matthew Hadley (Can) 112
65. Anders Hovdenes* (Nor) 110
66. Lachlan Norris* (Aus) 109
67. Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Esp) Ecp-Tau Ceramica 106
68. Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) 104
69. Barry Wicks (USA) Kona 102
70. Martin Fanger* (Sui) 99
71. Michael Weiss (Aut) 99
72. Frank Schotman (Ned) 98
73. Nicola Rohrbach* (Sui) 97
74. Raphael Gagne* (Can) Rocky Mountain 96
75. Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona 94
76. Matous Ulman (Cze) 93
77. Tim Bohme (Ger) Team Alb-Gold MTB 89
78. Maxime Marotte* (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 87
79. Ola Kjören* (Nor) 86
80. Alban Lakata (Aut) Dolphin-Trek MTB Racing Team 84
81. Peter Riis Andersen (Den) Team Alb-Gold MTB 82
82. Marti Gispert Labarta (Esp) Ecp-Tau Ceramica 78
83. Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Giant Italia Team 76
84. Eric Batty (Can) 76
85. Alexis Vuillermoz* (Fra) Scott Valloire Galibier 75
86. Kristian Hynek (Cze) 74
87. Josef Kamler* (Cze) 73
88. Fabian Giger* (Sui) 69
89. Carl Decker (USA) Giant Mountain Bike Team 68
90. Dylan Cooper (Aus) 66
91. Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) Versluys-Landbouwkrediet MTB Team 64
92. Peter Glassford (Can) 62
93. Daniel Sessford (Can) 61
94. Cal Britten* (Aus) 60
95. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) 58
96. Ken Onodera* (Jpn) Subaru-Gary Fisher 58
97. Andrew Watson (Can) 58
98. Israel Nunez Baticon (Esp) 57
99. Andrew Blair (Aus) 56
100. Max Plaxton (Can) Rocky Mountain 56
101. Till Marx (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 55
102. Nick Both (Aus) 52
103. Pierre Lebreton (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 52
104. Calle Friberg (Swe) 51
105. Spencer Paxson (USA) 51
106. Francis Morin* (Can) 51
107. Nathan Haas* (Aus) 50
108. Murray Spink (Aus) 48
109. Marc Colom* (Fra) 47
110. Alexandre Moos (Sui) 46
111. Brendon Sharratt (Nzl) 46
112. Craig Richey (Can) 45
113. Shaun Lewis (Aus) 44
114. Ben Henderson* (Aus) 42
115. Brian Price (Aus) 40
116. Freddy Betremieux* (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 40
117. Christof Bischof (Sui) 40
118. Marek Galinski (Pol) 39
119. Kenji Takeya (Jpn) 39
120. Andrew Bott (Nzl) 38
121. Stefan Widmer (Can) 38
122. Brett Anderson* (Aus) 36
123. Julien Fillion (Can) 36
124. Pierre Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team Lapierre International 36
125. Robert Gehbauer* (Aut) Multivan Merida Biking Team 34
126. Gavin Mccarthy (Nzl) 34
127. Andras Parti (Hun) 33
128. James Maebus (Aus) 32
129. Tad Elliot* (USA) 32
130. Ricky Federau (Can) 31
131. Sid Taberlay (Aus) 30
132. Periklis Ilias* (Gre) 30
133. Ben Grieve-Johnson* (Aus) 30
134. Gareth Montgomerie (Gbr) 29
135. Silvio Bundi (Sui) Giant Mountain Bike Team 29
136. Rohin Adams (Aus) 29
137. Ian Bibby* (Gbr) 29
138. Lukas Kaufmann* (Sui) 29
139. Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) 29
140. Ryan Atkins* (Can) 29
141. Marc Trayter Alemany (Esp) Ecp-Tau Ceramica 28
142. Travis Frisby* (Aus) 28
143. Yu Takenouchi* (Jpn) 27
144. Davy Coenen (Bel) 27
145. Klaus Nielsen (Den) Team Alb-Gold MTB 27
146. Fabien Canal* (Fra) Team Lapierre International 26
147. Dario Alejandro Gasco* (Arg) 26
148. Mattias Wengelin* (Swe) 26
149. Adam Snyder (USA) 26
150. Torsten Marx (Ger) Team Alb-Gold MTB 26
151. Patrik Gallati* (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 25
152. Guillaume Vinit* (Fra) Scott Valloire Galibier 24
153. Alexander Wetterhall* (Swe) 21
154. Rene Tann (Ger) 20
155. Andrew Freye (USA) 19
156. Leni Trudel* (Can) 18
157. Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 18
158. Troy Wells (USA) 17
159. Filip Eberl (Cze) 17
160. Kyle Douglas* (Can) 17
161. Ian Wilkinson (Gbr) 17
162. Pascal Meyer* (Sui) 16
163. Cody Peterson (USA) 16
164. Bjorn Brems* (Bel) 15
165. David Lozano Riba* (Esp) 15
166. Ross Schnell (USA) Trek-Vw 15
167. Martin Loo* (Est) Merida Biking Team 14
168. Javier Eduardo Puschel (Chi) 14
169. Paul Van Der Ploeg* (Aus) 14
170. Jonathan Boulanger* (Can) 14
171. Ethan Gilmour* (USA) 13
172. Frank Beemer* (Ned) 13
173. Alejandro Diaz De La Pena Lopez (Esp) 13
174. Umberto Corti* (Ita) 12
175. Tim Madgwick (Nzl) 11
176. Mattias Nilsson* (Swe) 11
177. Jianhua Ji (Chn) 10
178. Ian Field* (Gbr) 9
179. Jonathan Galante (Fra) 9
180. Gerald Hauer (Aut) 9
181. Uwe Hochenwarter* (Aut) 8

*U23