June 26, 2005 (Mont Ste-Anne, Que.) – Crowds lined the four-cross course yesterday evening, despite the biting bugs that came out at dusk. The high-adrenaline dual going on between the world’s top riders was too exciting to miss.

The big surprise was when four-cross king, Brian Lopes (USA, G.T.) crashed in the final, leaving the title up for grabs. Lopes, who is normally a flawless rider biffed in a corner about halfway down the course. He was up and on his bike again in a split-second, but there just wasn’t enough course left to make up the lost time.

It was Michal Prokop (CZE) who took the win, followed by Guido Tschugg (GER, SRAM-Rock Shox) in second. Cedric Gracia (FRA, Siemens Mobile-Cannondale) was third, followed by Lopes in fourth.

Top Canuck was Marc Fontaine (CAN, Independent) in 24th place. Louis-Philippe Leonard (CAN, Norco) was 26th, Jocelyn Langlois (CAN, Protactions) finished 30th and Michael Towers (CAN, Independent) placed 31st.

In the women’s race, Jill Kintner (USA, Yeti) pulled off the win, ripping through the berms and launching the jumps ahead of the rest of the competition. Series leader Anneke Beerten (NED, Specialized) pulled into second place, followed by Australia’s Katrina Miller (AUS, Jamis) in third.

Results
Men
1. Michal Prokop (CZE)
2. Guido Tschugg (GER, SRAM-Rock Shox)
3. Cedric Gracia (FRA, Siemens Mobile-Cannondale)
4. Brian Lopes (USA, G.T.)

Canadians
24. Marc Fontaine (CAN, Independent)
26. Louis-Philippe Leonard (CAN, Norco)
30. Jocelyn Langlois (CAN, Protactions)
31. Michael Towers (CAN, Independent)

Women
1. Jill Kintner (USA, Yeti)
2. Anneke Beerten (NED, Specialized)
3. Katrina Miller (AUS, Jamis)
4. Tara Llanes (USA, Giant-Pearl Izumi)