May 20, 2012 (La Bresse, France) – It’s sunny and warm for the start of the Elite Men’s race but Nino Schurter (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team is not well and is not starting today. La Bresse is the backyard of multi-decorated rider Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team who designed the course, but did not finish the race in Nove Mesto last weekend as he had been feeling sick as well and wanted to rest up for today’s race. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing 2nd last weekend and Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing 3rd will be vying for another podium. Racing for Canada are Scott-3RoxRacing’s Geoff Kabush, Derek Zanstra along with Canadian MTB Champ, Max Plaxton (Team Specialized Racing USA) and Adam Morka (Trek Canada). This is the final qualifying race before London 2012 and most countries will announce their Olympic teams after this race. The Elite men will complete 1 Start Loop (1.5km) + 6 Laps for a total of 30.9km.
Start Loop
Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing takes the holeshot… then it’s Absalon with Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing in third… it’s a fast start loop only 1.5km.
Lap 1
Fumic is thru in 3:14 with Fontana in second and Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan Merida Biking Team in third.
Kabush is 20th and Plaxton is 23rd… Kulhavy is 16th
Up the climb it’s Fontana leading… now Naef takes over – Absalon is there.
On the descent a group of 7 are at the front with 4 or 5 Swiss riders in the mix where the competition for Olympic spots is very tough.
Plaxton is 20th as Kabush falls back to 31st… Stander suffered a flat and has lots of time to make up.
It’s Naef, Fontana and Florian Vogel (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team 1-2-3 almost finished the first lap.
Lap 2
Naef comes thru in 18:29… but Fontana has flatted just before the line and is in trouble – so Vogel is second at 5s and Fontana is 3rd at 10s. Fontana may be out as the next tech zone is far away.
Then it’s Absalon in 4th at 11s with Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team in 5th at 22s, Fumic is 6th… Kulhavy is 9th.
Plaxton is 19th at 57s.
Vogel takes over the lead up the climb – there are 5 Swiss riders in the top 8 and that’s the cut off level for selection to the Swiss Olympic team.
On the descent it’s Absalon on Vogel’s wheel as the two have gapped the chasers – Milatz takes over 3rd as Naef is behind in 4th followed by Fabian Giger (Sui) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team in 5th with Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Trek World Racing in 6th.
Absalon takes over the lead and the home crowd loves it…
Fontana is out – his flat came in the worse spot just after the tech zone before the finish.
Plaxton moves up to 16th as Absalon is on his own up front looking smooth.
Lap 3
Absalon comes thru in 34:14 with Vogel in 2nd at 10s with Milatz on his wheel at 11s – then it’s a group of 3 including Giger, Flückiger and Naef at 22s – then it’s Kulhavy in seventh at 34s.
Then it’s Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry, Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Racing and Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) are together at 51s.
Up the toughest climb on the course it’s Absalon grinding it up on his own… three Swiss riders are chasing behind. Kulhavy passes Naef and takes over 6th.
Giger has joined Milatz and Vogel behind Absalon… behind Naef and Kulhavy battle.
Milatz flats… same difficulty as Fontana as the tech zone is behind him.
Lap 4
Absalon is still leading at 50:01… then it’s Vogel, Giger and Naef in 4th all at 14s – then it’s Kulhavy in 5th at 22s.
Up the climb it’s Absalon leading… Kulhavy is off the bike as he dropped his chain – now he’s back on – Peraud is gaining on Kulhavy… then it’s Marotte and Sauser.
The three Swiss riders behind Vogel, Giger and Naef are fighting for the final two Olympic spots.
Absalon is on the descent and opened up a bigger gap.
The chasers are at 19s with Giger a bit behind at 21s… Peraud must have crashed as his jersey is covered in dirt and he’s dropped back… with Marotte and Sauser.
Plaxton has moved up to 10th…
Naef has launched an attack and is now in second… he PASSES Absalon.
Lap 5
Naef comes thru in 1:05:53 with Absalon on his wheel… as Kulhavy takes over 3rd with Vogel in 4th. Then it’s Peraud 5th, Giger 6th, Marotte 7th, and Sauser in 8th at 1:20.
Then it’s Hermida at 1:50 in 9th and Plaxton in 10th at 1:56.
Absalon is now pulling away from Naef on the climb… Kulhavy is in third.
Thru the switchback descent it’s Absalon on his own – he has 17s on Naef as Kulhavy is gaining.
While the move is to 29ers Absalon is riding on a 26″ bike.
Kulhavy tries to move pass Naef before the descent but the Swiss rider is having none of it.
On the final section of the descent Kulhavy runs into the barrier and Naef moves ahead.
Lap 6 FINAL
Absalon is on the final lap at 1:21:40… Naef is at 11s in second with Kulhavy at 17s in 3rd.
Vogel is 4th at 1:07 then it’s Peraud, then Giger at 1:43, Marotte is 7th at 1:48… Sauser is 8th at 1:50, Flückiger is 9th at 2:22, Plaxton is 10th at 2:25.
Kulhavy is attacking and has dropped Naef and is gaining on Absalon.
But Absalon does not look touchable… he’s powering thru the descent and opened up the gap again.
The crowd is loving it as Absalon is close to the finish on his home course… Kulhavy is at 23s – Naef has secured his Olympic spot at 50s – Vogel is 4th at 1:32.
Absalon crashes… but he’s up again – bike is ok.
Absalon takes it… he’s won 4 MTB Worlds, 2 Olympic golds and 5 WCup overall titles.
Results
1. Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team 1:37:33
2. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing 0:07
3. Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan Merida Biking Team 0:40
4. Florian Vogel (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team 1:24
5. Fabian Giger (Sui) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 1:41
6. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Racing 2:08
7. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) 2:20
8. Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry 2:35
9. Max Plaxton (Can) Specialized 2:51
10. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Trek World Racing 3:20
11. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan Merida Biking Team 3:24
12. Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing 3:45
13. Martin Gujan (Sui) Cannondale Factory Racing 3:46
14. Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Esp) Wildwolf-Trek Pro Racing 4:15
15. Mathias Flückiger (Sui) Trek World Racing 4:42
16. Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Esp) Wildwolf-Trek Pro Racing 5:32
17. Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi 5:43
18. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team 5:46
19. Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team 5:47
20. Martino Fruet (Ita) 5:51
21. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) 6:05
22. Martin Fanger (Sui) Giant Swiss SR -Suntour 6:08
23. Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 6:10
24. Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing 6:21
25. Liam Killeen (Gbr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team 6:26
26. Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 6:52
27. Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing 6:54
28. Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team 6:59
29. Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing 7:05
30. Andras Parti (Hun) Euroone-Waberer’s-Cube MTB Team 7:24
31. Jürg Graf (Sui) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team 7:37
32. Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Esp) Elettroveneta-Corratec 7:44
33. Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team 7:59
34. Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru-Trek 8:06
35. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team 8:28
36. Stephen Ettinger (USA) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team 8:55
37. Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta-Corratec 9:33
38. Sepp Freiburghaus (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team 9:50
39. Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix 9:59
40. Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop 0:12
41. Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 0:17
42. Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team 0:10:16
43. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
44. David Fletcher (Gbr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale 0:10:18
45. Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team 0:10:24
46. Nicola Rohrbach (Sui) 0:10:38
47. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Trek 0:10:44
48. Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf-Trek Pro Racing 0:10:59
49. Alexis Chenevier (Fra) Scott Les Saisies 0:11:10
50. Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing 0:11:11
51. Marek Galinski (Pol) JGB-2 Professional MTB Team 0:11:29
52. Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 0:11:37
53. Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team 0:12:01
54. Umberto Corti (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. 0:12:22
55. Ruben Almeida (Por) 0:12:28
56. Hannes Metzler (Aut) 0:12:32
57. Jérémy Huguenin (Sui) Giant Swiss SR -Suntour 0:12:34
58. Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JGB-2 Professional MTB Team 0:12:44
59. Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam) 0:12:52
60. Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team 0:12:58
61. Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus MIG Team 0:13:35
62. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) 0:14:42
63. Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida -1 lap
64. Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona -1 lap
65. Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team -1 lap
66. Hans Becking (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team -1 lap
67. Patrik Gallati (Sui) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team -1 lap
68. Kazuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn) -1 lap
69. Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team -1 lap
70. Pascal Schmutz (Sui) -1 lap
71. Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc) -1 lap
72. Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) lapierre International -1 lap
73. David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) -1 lap
74. Tiago Jorge Oliveira Ferreira (Por) Bi&Esse-Infotre Protek -2 laps
75. Pascal Hossay (Bel) Merida Wallonie Mountain Bike Team -2 laps
76. Benjamin Wittrup Justesen (Den) -2 laps
77. Javier Eduardo Puschel (Chi) -2 laps
78. Lukas Kaufmann (Sui) Team Fujibikes Rockets -2 laps
79. Daniel Eymann (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team -2 laps
80. Severin Disch (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team -2 laps
81. Marcel Wildhaber (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team -2 laps
82. Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling -2 laps
83. Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing -2 laps
84. Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) -2 laps
85. Cristobal Silva Ibaceta (Chi) -2 laps
86. Michael Broderick (USA) -2 laps
87. Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team -2 laps
88. Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized -2 laps
89. Vitalii Zubchenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team -2 laps
90. Dariusz Batek (Pol) -2 laps
91. Jonas Baumann (Sui) Wheeler-IXS Team -2 laps
92. Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) -2 laps
93. Davy Huygens (Bel) -3 laps
94. Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team -3 laps
95. Sid Taberlay (Aus) -3 laps
96. Simon Seehofer (Aut) -3 laps
97. Marco Schätzing (Ger) -3 laps
98. Brice Scholtes (Bel) Merida Wallonie Mountain Bike Team -3 laps
99. Tim Lemmers (Ned) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team -3 laps
100. Sandro Soncin (Sui) -3 laps
101. Bojan Djurdjic (Srb) Salcano Factory Team -3 laps
102. Steffen Thum (Ger) -3 laps
103. Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa) -3 laps
104. Weisong Tong (Chn) -3 laps
105. Pascal Meyer (Sui) -3 laps
106. Artyom Golovaschenko (Kaz) -3 laps
107. Klaus Nielsen (Den) -3 laps
108. Dennis Ebert (Ned) -3 laps
109. Philip Buys (RSA) -3 laps
110. Robby De Bock (Bel) -4 laps
111. Besik Gavasheli (Geo) -4 laps
DNF Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing
DNF Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
DNF Moritz Milatz (Ger) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
DNF Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) lapierre International
DNF Jiri Novak (Cze)
DNF Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Esp) Orbea Racing Team
DNF Daniel Geismayr (Aut)
DNF Andy Eyring (Ger)
DNF Julien Taramarcaz (Sui) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
DNF Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
DNF Christoph Soukup (Aut)
DNF Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team
DNF Giancarlo Sax (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team
DNF Adam Morka (Can) Trek Canada
DNF John Whittington (Gbr)
DNF Kirill Kazantsev (Kaz)
DNF Oliver Beckingsale (Gbr)
DNF Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
DNF Sven Nys (Bel)
DNF Tom Meeusen (Bel)
DNS Nino Schurter (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team
DNS Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
DNS Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
DNS Brian Lopes (USA)
DNS Heiko Gutmann (Ger)
DNS Miha Halzer (Slo) Energijateam.Com
DNS Florian Thie (Sui)
DNS Arnould Jeremy (Fra)
Standings after 4 Rounds
Standings after 4 Rounds
1. Nino Schurter (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team 700
2. Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team 650
3. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing 625
4. Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing 568
5. Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing 470
6. Fabian Giger (Sui) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 440
7. Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing 410
8. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan Merida Biking Team 405
9. Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan Merida Biking Team 395
10. Florian Vogel (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team 390
11. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Trek World Racing 385
12. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Racing 364
13. Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi 364
14. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) 331
15. Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry 314
16. Moritz Milatz (Ger) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team 290
17. Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team 284
18. Martin Gujan (Sui) Cannondale Factory Racing 280
19. Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Esp) Wildwolf-Trek Pro Racing 272
20. Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 242
21. Mathias Flückiger (Sui) Trek World Racing (Sui) 236
22. Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Esp) 227
23. Max Plaxton (Can) Specialized 212
24. Jochen Kass (Ger) 212
25. Liam Killeen (Gbr) 206
26. Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing 192
27. Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Esp) 190
28. Karl Markt (Aut) 189
29. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) 187
30. Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) 166
31. Samuel Schultz (USA) 162
32. Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Esp) 160
33. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) 152
34. Thomas Litscher (Sui) 148
35. Marek Konwa* (Pol) 143
36. Michele Casagrande (Ita) 135
37. Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) 127
38. Milan Spesny (Cze) 124
39. Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) 114
40. Tony Longo (Ita) 111
41. Martin Fanger (Sui) 108
42. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) 105
43. Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) 104
44. Fabien Canal (Fra) 103
45. Sven Nys (Bel) 100
46. Martino Fruet (Ita) 98
47. Jürg Graf (Sui) 98
48. Jiri Novak (Cze) 91
49. Stephen Ettinger (USA) 90
50. Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing 83
51. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) 82
52. Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing 76
53. Andrea Tiberi (Ita) 70
54. Matous Ulman (Cze) 68
55. Andras Parti (Hun) 63
56. Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) 56
57. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) 53
58. Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) 53
59. Jeremiah Bishop (USA) 52
60. Piotr Brzozka (Pol) 51
61. Umberto Corti (Ita) 48
62. Lukas Sablik (Cze) 42
63. Lachlan Norris (Aus) 41
64. Julien Taramarcaz (Sui) 40
65. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) 40
66. Marek Galinski (Pol) 37
67. Nicola Rohrbach (Sui) 34
68. Sepp Freiburghaus (Sui) 30
69. Robert Mennen (Ger) 30
70. Philip Buys (RSA) 30
71. Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team 29
72. Alban Lakata (Aut) 29
73. Periklis Ilias (Gre) 27
74. David Fletcher (Gbr) 24
75. Patrik Gallati (Sui) 24
76. Kristian Hynek (Cze) 20
77. Jérémy Huguenin (Sui) 20
78. Alexis Chenevier (Fra) 19
79. Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) 16
80. Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) 15
81. Marcel Wildhaber (Sui) 14
82. Ruben Almeida (Por) 13
83. Hannes Metzler (Aut) 12
84. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) 11
85. Michal Lami (Svk) 10
86. David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) 10
87. Sebastien Carabin (Bel) 10
88. Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam) 9
89. Martin Loo (Est) 8
*U23
