April 25, 2005 (Francorchamps, BEL) – Julien Absalon (FRA, Bianchi-Agos) opened the series with a victory, demonstrating to the world that he plans to pick up where he left off in 2004, where he won Olympic gold and the MTB World Championships.

Riding his gold-painted bike, Absalon flew around the track five times including the start loop in a blistering time of 1:34:43. During the awards ceremony, his win was celebrated with fireworks and a hoard of cheering Belgian cycling enthusiasts. Roel Paulissen (BEL, Giant) took second place after putting up a strong fight against Absalon. Paulissen’s Belgian home crowd was still delighted with his silver medal. Jean-Christophe Peraud (FRA, Lapierre) took third place.

Although the course had its share of mud, it held up well, as the rain that was forecasted didn’t start falling until team staff started to break down the tents in the expo. Thomas ‘Frischie’ Frischknecht (SUI, SwissPower) revelled in the sloppy sections, using them to his advantage. The veteran mountain biker and cyclocross star placed fifth. Countryman and last year’s World Cup winner Christoph Sauser (SUI, Siemens Mobile-Cannondale) finished fourth. His result was impressive, considering a nasty crash that lost him dozens of positions and forced him to play catch-up for the rest of the race.

Max Plaxton (CAN, Maxxis) the only Canadian entrant, dropped out after a case of food poisoning prevented him from finishing.

Results
1. Julien Absalon (FRA, Bianchi-Agos) 1:57:53
2. Roel Paulissen (BEL, Giant) 1:19
3. Jean-Christophe Peraud (FRA, Lapierre) 1:38
4. Christoph Sauser (SUI, Siemens Mobile-Cannondale) 1:53
5. Thomas Frischknecht (SUI, SwissPower) 2:06
6. Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE, Siemens Mobile-Cannondale) 2:15
7. Jose Antonio Hermida (ESP, Multivan-Merida) 2:26
8. Sergiy Rysenko (UKR) 2.36
9. Miguel Martinez (FRA, Commencal-Oxbow) s.t.
10. Lado Fumic (GER, Ladobrothersracing.com) 3:03