April 20, 2008 (Houffalize, Belgium) – The Elite Men’s race is underway. It has been rain-free all day and the 7km course has been drying up accordingly. The men are doing one 5km start loop followed by five full 7km laps.

Start Loop
Nino Schurter (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team was on the front of the leading group of six as they came through at the end of the start loop. He was followed by fellow Swiss Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team, Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea, Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Orbea, Ralph Naef (Sui) Mulitvan-Merida and Belgian’s Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale-Vredestein in 6th.

After a small gap it’s Cedric Ravanel (Fra) Lapierre International, then another few seconds later it was Jose Antonio Hermida (Spa) Multivan-Merida and Juerg Graf (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team together in 8th and 9th, respectively. American Todd Wells (USA) GT Mongoose/Pacific Cycle came through in 10th place. Top Canadian (that we could see – it’s quite the zoo with 260 starters) was Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis in 32nd.

Lap 1
The sun is shining! At the end of the first full lap of five, it’s Peraud on the front of a pack of four, followed by Hermida in 2nd, Schurter in 3rd and Absalon in 4th. Paulissen is dangling in 5th, 5s back. Then there’s another group at around 15s from him, containing Ravanel, Naef and Wells in 6th to 8th place. A small gap from them are Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Cannondale-Vredestein and Martin Gujan (Sui) Athleticum in 9th and 10th.

As for Canadians, it’s hard picking them out of the rush of riders. I have Kabush still in 32nd Ricky Federau (Can) Team Ricky in 49th, Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Maxxis in 101st, Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3 Rox in 115th and Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona in 153rd. Apologies for missing the others… we’ll keep an eye out for them on the next lap….

Lap 2
Absalon has taken the lead by the end of the 2nd full lap. Schurter is 2nd, Hermida has moved up to 3rd. Peraud is 4th, Naef 5th, Paulissen 6th, Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized has moved into 7th, Wells is still top North American in 8th, Gujan 9th and Ravanel 10th.

Canadians… Seamus McGrath (Can) Fuji is top Canuck in 18th, Kabush is 25th, Federau is 52nd, Toulouse 98th and Zandstra 102nd.

Lap 3
Absalon has a commanding lead at the end of Lap 3, with 30s on 2nd place, Schurter. The pack is quite spread out. Hermida is 3rd, 20s back from him, Sauser 4th, another 13s back, Peraud 5th, 10s back, Naef 6th at 3s, Gujan 7th 17s back, Ravanel and Paulissen 8th and 9th together another 10s back, and Wells 10th at 8s.

The Canadians are moving up. McGrath is 16th, Kabush 19th, Federau 53rd, Toulouse 88th, and Zandstra 101st. Max Plaxton (Can) Rocky Mountain DNF’d after the start loop with a broken rear derailleur.

Lap 4
Absalon is still leading and it’s doubtful that anyone can catch him. Schurter is still chasing hard in 2nd.

Sorry! The press room here in (Houffalize has lost its internet connection for the last 2 laps!

Results

1. Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea 2:06:56
2. Nino Schurter* (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 0:51
3. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Factory Racing 1:14
4. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Cannondale-Vredestein 2:00
5. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) Team Lapierre International 2:37
6. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Orbea 3:10
7. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan-Merida 3:33
8. Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale-Vredestein 3:55
9. Kashi Leuchs (NZl) Cannondale-Vredestein 4:10
10. Martin Gujan (Sui) Athleticum MTB Team 4:34
11. Todd Wells (USA) GT Mongoose 5:16
12. Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis 5:30
13. Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) 5:35
14. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team 5:37
15. Adam Craig (USA) Giant 5:55
16. Jürg Graf (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 6:07
17. Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Esp) Orbea 6:23
18. Oliver Beckingsale (Gbr) Giant 6:34
19. Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 7:04
20. Yader Zoli (Ita) Giant Italia Team 7:05
21. Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan-Merida 7:05
22. Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Esp) Orbea 7:16
23. Seamus Mcgrath (Can) Fuji 7:49
24. Christoph Soukup (Aut) 8:06
25. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) 8:26
26. Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike 8:37
27. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Full Dynamix It 8:44
28. Tony Longo (Ita) Full Dynamix It 9:00
29. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Athleticum MTB Team 9:31
30. Alexis Vuillermoz* (Fra) Scott Valloire Galibier 9:33
31. Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan-Merida 9:34
32. Hannes Metzler (Aut) Giant 9:49
33. Peter Riis Andersen (Den) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbik 9:52
34. Till Marx (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 9:55
35. Lado Fumic (Ger) Fumic.Brothers.International 10:09
36. Tim Bohme (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbik 10:18
37. Michael Weiss (Aut) 10:41
38. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) 11:06
39. Martino Fruet (Ita) 11:17
40. Marc Trayter Alemany (Esp) Ecp-Tau Ceramica 11:23
41. Davy Coenen (Bel) 11:44
42. Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls 11:52
43. Patrik Gallati* (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 12:03
44. Karl Markt (Aut) 12:12
45. Thomas Frischknecht (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 12:24
46. Milan Spesny (Cze) Merida Biking Team 12:32
47. Matthias Flückiger* (Sui) Athleticum MTB Team 12:42
48. Emil Lindgren (Swe) Full Dynamix It 12:47
49. Bas Peters (Ned) 12:57
50. Gion Manetsch (Sui) Athleticum MTB Team 13:09
51. Andreas Kugler (Sui) Fischer BMC 13:17
52. Ricky Federau (Can) Team Ricky 13:56
53. Jochen Kass (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbik 14:21
54. Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Esp) Cemelorca-Seguros10.Com 14:24
55. Frank Schotman (Ned) 14:31
56. Torsten Marx (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbik 14:32
57. Marek Galinski (Pol) Jbg2-Apc Presmet 14:47
58. Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) Versluys-Landbouwkrediet 15:06
59. Burry Stander* (RSA) GT Mongoose 15:15
60. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 15:28
61. Barry Wicks (USA) Kona 15:37
62. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike 15:57
63. Kristian Hynek (Cze) 16:09
64. Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Esp) Ecp-Tau Ceramica 16:19
65. Mirko Pirazzoli (Ita) 16:33
66. Igor Bogdan (Ukr) Isd-International 16:42
67. Manuel Fumic (Ger) Fumic.Brothers.International 16:45
68. Frank Beemer* (Ned) 16:50
69. Liam Killeen (Gbr) Specialized Factory Racing 16:51
70. Silvio Bundi (Sui) Giant 16:53
71. Lachlan Norris* (Aus) 16:58
72. Rene Tann (Ger) 17:05
73. Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Team Maxxis 17:07
74. Lukas Kaufmann* (Sui) 17:15
75. Filip Eberl (Cze) 17:20
76. Milan Barenyi (Svk) 17:23
77. Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Trek-VW 17:23
78. Fabian Giger* (Sui) 17:24
79. Hector Leonardo Paez Leon (Col) Gewiss Bianchi 17:30
80. Martin Fanger* (Sui) 17:38
81. Bart Brentjens (Ned) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike 17:38
82. Israel Nunez Baticon (Esp) Massi 18:12
83. Umberto Corti* (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A. 18:35
84. Tim Wijnants* (Bel) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike 18:49
85. Steffen Thum (Ger) Team Mayer Stevens 18:53
86. Mattias Wengelin* (Swe) 18:55
87. Dario Alejandro Gasco* (Arg) Massi 18:58
88. Derek Zandstra (Can) 3 Rox Racing 19:10
89. Pascal Meyer* (Sui) 19:16
90. Stéphane Tempier* (Fra) Gewiss Bianchi 19:20
91. François Bailly Maitre (Fra) Scott Valloire Galibier 19:22
92. Magnus Darvell (Swe) 19:30
93. Marcin Karczynski (Pol) Halls Professional MTB Team 19:42
94. Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) 19:48
95. Maxim Gogolev (Rus) 20:03
96. Stefan Sahm (Ger) Team Bulls 20:19
97. Hannes Genze (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbik 20:32
98. Jan Skarnitzl* (Cze) 20:44
99. Daniel Suter (Sui) 20:58
100. Severin Disch* (Sui) 21:19
101. Sergiy Rysenko (Ukr) Isd-International 21:29
102. Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Beone Chainreaction Mount 21:48
103. Nicolas Bazin (Fra) BH-SR. Suntour 22:12
104. Javier Puschel (Chi) 22:13
105. Ivan Planzer (Sui) 22:35
106. Michel Luginbuehl* (Sui) 22:48
107. Maxime Marotte* (Fra) BH-SR. Suntour 23:46

1 Lap

108. Joris Massaer (Bel)
109. Cristobal Silva (Chi)
110. Robert Gehbauer* (Aut) Multivan-Merida
111. Michael Broderick (USA)
112. Ross Creber* (Gbr)
113. Robert Mennen (Ger)
114. Thomas Litscher* (Sui)
115. Nicola Rohrbach* (Sui) Central Ghost Pro Team
116. Alban Lakata (Aut) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike
117. Pierre Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Team Lapierre International
118. Ian Field* (Gbr)
119. Denis Vorontsov* (Rus)
120. Mannie Heymans (Nam)
121. Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita)
122. Massimo De Bertolis (Ita) Full Dynamix It
123. Matous Ulman (Cze)
124. Samuele Porro* (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.
125. Mattias Nilsson* (Swe)
126. Ji Jianhua (Chn)
127. Patxi Cia Apezteguia (Esp)
128. Sepp Freiburghaus* (Sui)
129. Pierre Lebreton (Fra) BH-SR. Suntour
130. Markus Bauer* (Ger)
131. Julio Humberto Caro Silva (Col) Gewiss Bianchi
132. Arnaud Grosjean (Fra) BH-SR. Suntour
133. Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona
134. Anders Hovdenes* (Nor) Team Etto Hoydahl
135. Hans Becking* (Ned) Beone Chainreaction Mountainbike
136. Marc Colom* (Fra)
137. Alexander Wetterhall* (Swe)
138. Taavi Selder (Est)
139. Jiri Novak (Cze)
140. Andi Weinhold* (Ger)
141. Cristian Cominelli* (Ita) Gewiss Bianc
142. Freddy Betremiaux* (Fra) BH-SR. Suntour
143. Dmitry Medvedev* (Rus)
144. Fabien Canal* (Fra) Team Lapierre International
145. Sergio Pulido Rodriguez* (Esp) Cemelorca-Seguros10.Com
146. Vivien Legastelois* (Fra) Team Lapierre International

2 Laps

147. Nieck Busser* (Ned)
148. Jo Norskar* (Nor) Team Etto Hoydahl
149. Lee Williams (Gbr)
150. Paul Van Der Ploeg* (Aus)
151. Sebastien Carabin* (Bel)
152. Rob Vangenechten* (Bel)
153. Niels Wubben* (Ned)
154. Martin Bratland (Nor) Team Etto Hoydahl
155. Heiko Gutmann* (Ger)
156. Ruud Rentmeester (Ned)
157. Chun Hing Chan (Hkg)
158. Andriy Khripta* (Ukr)
159. David Lozano Riba* (Esp) Msc Bikes
160. Patrick Gaudy (Bel)
161. Bilal Akgul (Tur)
162. Paul Remy* (Fra)
163. Lukas Hanus* (Svk)
164. Irjan Luttenberg* (Ned)
165. Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel)
166. Tim Ottens (Ned) Beone Chainreaction Mount
167. Martin Skopek* (Svk)
168. Erik Nellen* (Ned) Beone Chainreaction Mount
169. Diego Rosa* (Ita)
170. Tobias Ullmann (Ger)
171. Axel Bult (Ned)
172. Alejandro Diaz De La Pena Lopez (Esp)
173. Laurent Mineur* (Bel)
174. Christof Bischof (Sui)
175. Calle Friberg (Swe)
176. Jelmer Jubbega* (Ned)
177. Bjorn Rondelez (Bel)
178. Sebastian Szraucner* (Ger)
179. Nicolas Jeantet* (Ita)
180. Ludovic Mottet (Bel)
181. Hubert Pollinger (Ita)
182. Tim Lemmers* (Ned)
183. David Escolar Ballesteros (Esp)
184. Sébastien Le Naour (Fra)
185. Nicolas Vermeulen (Bel)
186. Felix Euteneuer* (Ger)
187. Guillaume Vinit* (Fra)
188. Roland Plank (Aut)
189. Bart Maas* (Ned)
190. Marco Minnaard* (Ned)
191. Andy Eyring* (Ger)
192. Nick Daems* (Bel)
193. Colin Cares* (USA)
194. Wilko Rochow (Ger)
195. Andriy Gumenyuk* (Ukr)
196. Nikolay Zagulyaev (Rus)
197. Pascal Hossay* (Bel)
198. Jaco Wagenaar* (Ned)
199. Josef Kamler* (Cze)
200. David Fletcher* (Gbr)
201. Peter Coddens (Bel)
202. Paul Gaillard* (Fra)
203. Evgeniy Medvetsskyy (Ukr)

3 Laps

204. Markus Knott* (Ger)
205. Max Oste Macdonald* (Swe)
206. Vladislavs Neroznaks (Lat)
207. Bart Van Hecke (Bel)
208. Thomas Van Regenmortel (Ned)
209. Vero Lüscher* (Ger)
210. Florent Martin* (Fra)
211. Olivier Chauvet* (Fra)
212. Jiri Hudecek* (Cze)
213. Steven Garcin* (Fra)
214. Hugo Navarian* (Fra)
215. Benoît Thyreault (Fra)
216. Alex Lupato* (Ita)
217. Boris Vasilyev (Rus)
218. Dennis Ebert* (Ned)
219. Hans Urkens (Bel)
220. Dries Govaerts* (Bel)
221. Pierre Fuseau (Fra)
222. Thomas Baisir* (Bel)
223. Michal Plesnik (Svk)
224. Julien Plagne (Fra)
225. Kevin Soller* (USA)
226. Clément Boes* (Fra)
227. Yunus Yetkin (Tur)
228. Ethan Gilmour* (USA)
229. Alexey Belokrylov (Rus)
230. Kamil Alev (Tur)
231. Tomas Pesek* (Cze)
232. Adrien Pastor* (Fra)
DNF Balz Weber (Sui)
DNF Marti Gispert Labarta (Esp)
DNF Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Esp)
DNF Max Plaxton (Can) Rocky Mountain
DNF Ludovic Dubau (Fra)
DNF Ian Bibby* (Gbr)
DNF Bjorn Brems* (Bel)
DNF Martin Kraler (Aut)
DNF Pavel Boudny (Cze)
DNF Klaus Nielsen (Den)
DNF Evgeniy Pechenin (Rus)
DNF Nicolas Filippi (Fra)
DNF Olivier Maignan (Fra)
DNF Andrea Tiberi (Ita)
DNF Sam Jurekovic* (USA)
DNF Juan Pedro Trujillo Hernandez ( Esp)
DNF Alexandre Moos (Sui)
DNF Jérome Chevallier (Fra)
DNF Roman Rametsteiner (Aut)
DNF Jimmy Tielens (Bel)
DNF Jonathan Galante (Fra)
DNF Frank Lehmann (Ger)
DNF Kristof Houben (Bel)
DNF Ole Christian Fagerli (Nor)
DNF Sébastien Hansen (Fra)
DNS Jiri Friedl (Cze)
DNS Kristian Torgersen (Nor)
DNS Rick Evers (Ned)

*U23