September 19, 2009 (Schladming, Austria) – The Elite and U23 Men are starting to enter the staging area here in Schladming, in preparation for World Cup XC #7 – the season finale. There are 157 riders entered, including number one ranked Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea and number two and winner of last weekend’s race, Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized. Stander is also leading the U23 series.

Canada’s Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain has the number eight plate and is currently ranked eighth in the series. The men will be completing six laps of this grueling 4.5km course. The weather is beautiful and the track has dried, making for fast and tacky conditions out there.

There is very little in the way of technical riding and the course consists mostly of steep gravel or grassy climbs and fast, open descents that require riders to just let go of the brakes and push their bikes as fast as they’ll go. However, several sharp corners on the descents will force riders to keep their speeds in check. The loop also consists of a significant amount of pavement and cobblestone that takes riders through the town of Schladming along a cafe-lined street, which brings the race to the spectators. Stay tuned for live updates.

Lap 1
At the start of the first lap, just 4 minutes in, it’s Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized leading up the climb, followed by Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan-Merida in second and World Champ Nino Schurter (Sui) Swisspower in third.

At the end of Lap 1, Schurter comes through in first, followed by Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan-Merida 2nd, Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre 3rd, Ramos 4th, Roel Paulissen (Bel) 5th, Absalon 5th, Flueckiger 6th, Stander 7th. It’s one big train of riders and Kabush is 13th. Derek Zandstra (Can) Team Canada came through 2 mins back and in 61st.

Andrew Watson (Can) Team Canada is 95th and 3:15 back, Eric Batty (Can) Trek Store Toronto is 109th, with Peter Glassford (Can) Trek Store Toronto close behind in 112th.

Lap 2
On a steep climb early into Lap 2, Absalon has taken the lead, with Schurter right behind in 2nd.

Coming through at the end of the second lap, it’s Absalon on his own with a 10s lead on Ramos. Matthias Flueckiger (Sui) Trek is third at 11s, Vuillermoz 4th at 24s, Auzafa (Spa) Orbea is 5th, Paulissen 6th, Schurter 7th, Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Multivan Merida 8th.

Stander is 9th, Martin Gujan (Sui) 10th. Kabush comes through in 22nd at 1:45, Zandstra is 65th at 4:11, Batty is 96th, Glassford 99th, and Watson 115th.

Lap 3
Going up the second climb on lap 3, Absalon is still ahead, but Flueckiger has made the move on Ramos to take 2nd, with Ramos close behind in 3rd. Spectators are getting a spectacular view of the Dachstein Mountain Range.

Coming through at the end of Lap 3, Absalon still leads, but Hermida Ramos is closing on him quickly. M. Flueckiger is 3rd at 5s. Auzafa is 4th at 33s, together with Vuillermoz in 5th. Paulissen 6th at 58s, Schurter 7th at 59s, Kurschat 8th at 1:16, Gujan 10th at 1:38.

Kabush is 23rd at 2:47, staying steady in the low 20s. Zandstra has dropped to 67th at 6:21 back.

Lap 4
Going up the ski hill in the first half of lap 4, Hermida Ramos has taken the lead from Absalon, who is now 2nd, although M. Flueckiger has closed the gap to him and is making Absalon’s situation quite precarious.

Coming down the steep grassy S-turn slope to the finish, it’s a blazing Hermida Ramos in the Spanish National Champion’s kit. Absalon trails by 17s in 2nd place and gets out of the saddle to hammer through the paved section that takes riders out of the finish area back onto the lap. M. Flueckiger leads the U23 race and is 3rd overall, trailing the charging Spaniard by 30s.

Auzafa maintains 4th at 42s back. Schurter has moved up to 5th and trails the leader by 1:28. Vuillermoz is right on his tail. Paulissen is 7th, Kurschat 8th, Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Massi and Sergio Guitterez Mantecon (Spa) Cemelorca-Trek have moved up the ranks to 9th and 10th, respectively. Kabush is 26th, 4:06 back and right on Stander’s wheel.

Lap 5
In the first half of lap 5, Hermida Ramos is still off the front. M. Flueckiger has closed the gap to second place, Absalon.

At the end of Lap 5, Absalon has disappeared off the radar. Hermida Ramos now leads Auzafa, who has moved up to 2nd, trailing by 25s. M. Flueckiger is 3rd, 34s back.

Schurter is now 4th, 1:35 back, and he’s being tailed by a tenacious Vuillermoz in 5th. Paulissen is 6th, nearly 2 mins behind, Kurschat is 7th, Peraud 8th at 2:23, Mantecon 9th, and Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan-Merida has moved into the top 10. Kabush has come through in 23rd, behind the leader by 5 mins, but he has picked off a few riders, and hopefully will continue to do so on his final lap.

Lap 6
It’s still Hermida Ramos in first, followed by Auzafa in second on the ski hill climb in the first half of Lap 6. M. Flueckiger is holding 3rd.

Hermida Ramos cruised to the finish for the win, dismounted right before the line, and did a graceful jete with his bike across it. Afterwards in his post-race interview, the first thing he did was request an Austrian beer. Auzafa* held on to second, trailing his countryman by 30s. Matthias Flueckiger defended 3rd and took the U23 victory. (*correction, it’s actually Ruben Cueto Ruzafa – his last name was incorrectly spelled on the leader’s board.)

Results

1. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan Merida Biking Team 1:40:42
2. Ruben Ruzafa (Esp) Orbea 0:30
3. Mathias Flückiger* (Sui) Trek World Racing 1:26
4. Nino Schurter (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing 1:52
5. Alexis Vuillermoz* (Fra) Lapierre International 1:58
6. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Massi 2:25
7. Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale Factory Racing 2:29
8. Sergio Mantecon (Esp) Cemelorca-Trek-Lorca Taller Del Tiempo 2:41
9. Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 3:15
10. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team 3:26
11. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) Lapierre International 3:51
12. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized Factory Racing 4:04
13. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) Trek World Racing 4:05
14. Inaki Lejarreta (Esp) Orbea 4:06
15. Burry Stander* (Rsa) Specialized Factory Racing 4:23
16. Guillaume Vinit* (Fra) Team Scott Valloire Galibier 4:28
17. Carlos Coloma (Esp) Msc Bikes 4:36
18. Fabian Giger* (Sui) Sks M.I.G. Team 5:10
19. Oliver Beckingsale (Gbr) Giant Mountain Bike Team Gmt 5:16
20. Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 5:31
21. Adam Craig (USA) Giant Mountain Bike Team Gmt 5:39
22. Maxime Marotte (Fra) Bh-Suntour 5:45
23. Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 5:53
24. Christoph Soukup (Aut) Merida Biking Team 6:02
25. Marek Konwa* (Pol) 6:12
26. Nicola Rohrbach (Sui) Central Ghost Pro Team 6:38
27. Robert Mennen (Ger) 6:56
28. Martin Gujan (Sui) Cannondale Factory Racing 7:04
29. Martin Fanger* (Sui) Giant Mountain Bike Team Gmt 7:08
30. Liam Killeen (Gbr) Trek World Racing 7:42
31. Patrik Gallati* (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing 7:49
32. Yader Zoli (Ita) Torpado-4Us 8:12
33. Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Giant Mountain Bike Team Gmt 8:27
34. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) Torq Performance Nutrition 8:44
35. Thomas Litscher* (Sui) Sks M.I.G. Team 8:44
36. Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) 8:44
37. Fabien Canal* (Fra) Lapierre International 8:46
38. Bjorn Brems (Bel) Team Saeco 8:49
39. Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Trek-Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Tea 9:21
40. Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 9:22
41. Lukas Kaufmann* (Sui) 9:39
42. Sebastien Carabin* (Bel) Lingier-Versluys Team 9:52
43. Filip Eberl (Cze) 9:58
44. Pascal Meyer* (Sui) Sks M.I.G. Team 10:16
45. Piotr Brzozka* (Pol) Jbg-2 Professional MTB Team 10:43
46. Rene Tann (Ger) 10:46
47. Emil Lindgren (Swe) De Brink-Ten Tusscher 10:52
48. Marti Gispert (Esp) Msc Bikes 10:53
49. François Bailly (Fra) Team Scott Valloire Galibier 10:56
50. Torsten Marx (Ger) Ds-Rennsport 10:59
51. Stéphane Tempier (Fra) Tx Active Bianchi 11:05
52. Karl Markt (Aut) Srm Stevens Team 11:13
53. Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) De Brink-Ten Tusscher 11:19
54. Marek Galinski (Pol) Jbg-2 Professional MTB Team 11:28
55. Marc Colom (Fra) 11:57
56. Lachlan Norris* (Aus) Discovertasmania.Com 11:58
57. Matous Ulman (Cze) Scott & Hagget MTB Team 12:05
58. Nicolas Vermeulen (Bel) Lingier-Versluys Team 12:17
59. Christof Bischof (Sui) Isd Cycling Team 12:41
60. Anders Hovdenes* (Nor) Team Etto Hoydahl 13:13
61. Simon Scheiber* (Aut) Sunshine Racers Asv Nals 13:21
62. Kristian Hynek (Cze) Scott & Hagget MTB Team 13:33
63. Catriel Soto* (Arg) Infotre – Leecougan 14:01
64. Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) 14:37
65. Severin Disch* (Sui) Giant Mountain Bike Team Gmt 15:12
66. Tim Wynants* (Bel) Trek-Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Tea 15:55
67. Andras Parti (Hun) Srm Stevens Team -1 Lap
68. Derek Zandstra (Can) -1 Lap
69. Irjan Luttenberg* (Ned) -1 Lap
70. Adrian Brzozka* (Pol) Jbg-2 Professional MTB Team -1 Lap
71. Zsolt Juhasz* (Hun) -1 Lap
72. Periklis Ilias (Gre) Isd Cycling Team -1 Lap
73. Ludovic Mottet (Bel) -1 Lap
74. Marcel Fleschhut* (Ger) -1 Lap
75. Fabian Strecker* (Ger) -1 Lap
76. Michael Broderick (USA) -1 Lap
77. Peter Glassford (Can) -1 Lap
78. Niels Wubben* (Ned) -1 Lap
79. Sergiy Rusenko (Ukr) Isd Cycling Team -1 Lap
80. Oleksandr Gerashenko (Ukr) Isd Cycling Team -1 Lap
81. Andrew Blair (Aus) -1 Lap
82. Connor Mcconvey* (Irl) De Brink-Ten Tusscher -1 Lap
83. Dario Alejandro Gasco* (Arg) Massi -1 Lap
84. Cristobal Silva (Chi) -1 Lap
85. Matej Nepustil* (Cze) Ceska Sporitelna MTB -1 Lap
86. Erik Groen* (Ned) De Brink-Ten Tusscher -1 Lap
87. Matthys Beukes* (Rsa) -1 Lap
88. Matthias Hoi* (Aut) -1 Lap
89. Sepp Freiburghaus* (Sui) -1 Lap
90. Thibaut Bellanger* (Fra) -1 Lap
91. Alexis Swetloff (Fra) Keops -1 Lap
92. Rob Vangenechten* (Bel) Team Saeco -1 Lap
93. Robert Kircher (Aut) -1 Lap
94. Luka Mezgec* (Slo) Mbk Orbea -1 Lap
95. Jiri Hudecek (Cze) Scott & Hagget MTB Team -1 Lap
96. Marco Minnaard* (Ned) De Brink-Ten Tusscher -1 Lap
97. Felix Euteneuer* (Ger) -2 Laps
98. David Fletcher* (Gbr) -2 Laps
99. Silvio Bundi (Sui) Giant Mountain Bike Team Gmt -2 Laps
100. Matej Lovse (Slo) -2 Laps
101. Henrique Avancini* (Bra) Isd Cycling Team -2 Laps
102. Kornel Osicki* (Pol) Jbg-2 Professional MTB Team -2 Laps
103. Daniel Eymann* (Sui) -2 Laps
104. Guido Thaler (Aut) -2 Laps
105. Renay Groustra (Rsa) -2 Laps
106. Andrew Watson (Can) -2 Laps
107. Michael Wiessner (Ger) -2 Laps
108. Jan Jobanek (Cze) Merida Biking Team -2 Laps
109. Heiko Gutmann* (Ger) -2 Laps
110. Matej Mugerli (Slo) -2 Laps
111. Daniel Kaufmann* (Sui) -2 Laps
112. Benjamin Buchi* (Sui) -2 Laps
113. Amaury Gernez* (Fra) Keops -2 Laps
114. Roberto Crisi* (Ita) -2 Laps
115. Mirco Widmer* (Sui) -2 Laps
116. Tim Lemmers* (Ned) De Brink-Ten Tusscher -2 Laps
117. Manfred Zöger* (Aut) -2 Laps
118. Oleksandr Kachanov* (Ukr) -2 Laps
119. Simon Stiebjahn* (Ger) -2 Laps
120. Cameron Jette* (Can) -2 Laps
121. Patxi Cia (Esp) Conor – Camping La Siesta -2 Laps
122. Hermann Pernsteiner* (Aut) -2 Laps
123. Zsolt Szlobodnyik (Hun) -2 Laps
124. Leni Trudel* (Can) -2 Laps
125. Valentin Fiderer* (Ger) -2 Laps
126. Eric Batty (Can) -2 Laps
127. Markus Bauer* (Ger) -3 Laps
128. Georgios Pattes-Toumanis (Gre) -3 Laps
129. Dennis Ebert* (Ned) -3 Laps
130. BACKER De Backer* (Bel) -3 Laps
131. Matthias Grick* (Aut) -3 Laps
132. Nejc Cernilogar* (Slo) -3 Laps
133. David Puskas* (Hun) -3 Laps
134. Lukas Sablik* (Cze) -3 Laps
135. Alexios Kokovikas* (Gre) -3 Laps
136. Frank Beemer* (Ned) Trek-Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Tea -4 Laps
137. Roman Rametsteiner (Aut) -5 Laps
DNF2 Alexander Gehbauer* (Aut)
DNF2 Balint Lukacs* (Hun)
DNF5 Josef Kamler* (Cze) Ceska Sporitelna MTB
DNF2 Manfred Reis* (Ger) Team Marin Bikes
DNF2 Ondrej Cink* (Cze) Merida Biking Team
DNS Robert Gehbauer* (Aut) Multivan Merida Biking Team
DNF3 Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
DNF3 Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International
DNF1 Rudi Van (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team
DNF2 Balz Weber (Sui) Ds-Rennsport
DNF3 Benjamin Sonntag (Ger)
DNF2 Calle Friberg (Swe)
DNF4 Florian Vogel (Sui) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing
DNF5 Jiri Friedl (Cze) Merida Biking Team
DNF5 Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea
DNF3 Lee Williams (Gbr)
DNF3 Milan Spesny (Cze) Ceska Sporitelna MTB
DNF3 Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan Merida Biking Team
DNF2 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Factory Racing
DNF5 Tony (Ita)

Final Overall

1. Julien Absalon (Fra) ORB 1472
2. José Hermida Ramos (Esp) MMB 1190
3. Burry Stander* (Rsa) SFR 1166
4. Ralph Naef (Sui) MMB 970
5. Nino Schurter (Sui) SSR 859
6. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) TER 796
7. Lukas Flückiger (Sui) TRK 794
8. Geoff Kabush (Can) TMR 741
9. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) MAS 720
10. Roel Paulissen (Bel) CFR 663
11. Christoph Sauser (Sui) SFR 654
12. Alexis Vuillermoz* (Fra) LPI 644
13. Moritz Milatz (Ger) MMB 596
14. Sergio Mantecon Guitierrrez (Esp) CTL 580
15. Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) CFR 542
16. Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TXB 541
17. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) LPI 537
18. Ruben Ruzafa (Esp) ORB 522
19. Adam Craig (USA) GMT 519
20. Mathias Flückiger* (Sui) TRK 507
21. Florian Vogel (Sui) SSR 481
22. Martin Gujan (Sui) CFR 446
23. Ivan Alvarez (Esp) GIT 423
24. Inaki Lejarreta (Esp) ORB 418
25. Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Esp) MSC 381
26. Todd Wells (USA) SFR 366
27. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) TBT 354
28. Rudi Van Houtes (Ned) MMB 352
29. Samuel Schultz (USA) SGF 336
30. Jochen Kass (Ger) MMB 319
31. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) 304
32. Jiri Friedl (Cze) MBT 296
33. Christoph Soukup (Aut) MBT 271
34. Oliver Beckingsale (Gbr) GMT 265
35. Manuel Fumic (Ger) FBI 261
36. Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) GMT 249
37. Milan Spesny (Cze) CES 249
38. Guillaume Vinit* (Fra) SCO 246
39. Liam Killeen (Gbr) TRK 244
40. Maxime Marotte (Fra) BHS 237
41. Ludovic Dubau (Fra) 212
42. Hector Paez Leon (Col) TXB 202
43. Christof Bischof (Sui) ISD 199
44. Emil Lindgren (Swe) BTT 195
45. Derek Zandstra (Can) 191
46. Marc Colom (Fra) 190
47. Martin Fanger* (Sui) GMT 188
48. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) SGF 170
49. Pierre Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) LPI 165
50. Bas Peters (Ned) 162
51. Fabian Giger* (Sui) SKS 151
52. Robert Mennen (Ger) 150
53. Lukas Kaufmann* (Sui) 149
54. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) TRQ 143
55. Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita) 136
56. Fabien Canal* (Fra) LPI 128
57. Umberto Corti (Ita) CBE 123
58. Marek Konwa* (Pol) 122
59. Bjorn Brems (Bel) SAE 115
60. Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG 112
61. François Bailly Maitre (Fra) SCO 108
62. Seamus Mcgrath (Can) 106
63. Karl Markt (Aut) SST 99
64. Thomas Litscher* (Sui) SKS 97
65. Andrea Tiberi (Ita) TXB 94
66. Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) TBT 89
67. Yader Zoli (Ita) TOR 88
68. Irjan Luttenberg* (Ned) 88
69. Nicola Rohrbach (Sui) CGT 85
70. Anders Hovdenes* (Nor) TEH 84
71. Cristian Cominelli* (Ita) TXB 84
72. Sergiy Rusenko (Ukr) ISD 83
73. Andrew Watson (Can) 80
74. Filip Eberl (Cze) 80
75. Hannes Metzler (Aut) 77
76. Jürg Graf (Sui) 71
77. Michael Broderick (USA) 71
78. Raphael Gagne* (Can) TMR 68
79. Lachlan Norris* (Aus) DTM 68
80. Sven Nys (Bel) 62
81. Patrik Gallati* (Sui) SSR 61
82. Sebastien Carabin* (Bel) LVT 57
83. Pascal Meyer* (Sui) SKS 57
84. Lado Fumic (Ger) FBI 55
85. Carl Decker (USA) GMT 55
86. Balz Weber (Sui) DSR 51
87. Rotem Ishai (Isr) 43
88. Stefan Widmer (Can) 43
89. Renay Groustra (Rsa) 42
90. Johnny Cattaneo (Ita) 38
91. Matthew Hadley (Can) 35
92. Connor Mcconvey* (Irl) BTT 34
93. Matous Ulman (Cze) SHC 34
94. Marti Gispert (Esp) MSC 33
95. Kris Sneddon (Can) KON 33
96. Severin Disch* (Sui) GMT 32
97. Markus Bauer* (Ger) 30
98. Periklis Ilias (Gre) ISD 29
99. Dries Govaerts* (Bel) LVT 29
100. Silvio Bundi (Sui) GMT 29
101. Barry Wicks (USA) KON 29
102. Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) BTT 29
103. Sepp Freiburghaus* (Sui) 28
104. Torsten Marx (Ger) DSR 27
105. Juan Trujillo (Esp) CTL 24
106. Piotr Brzozka* (Pol) JBG 23
107. Rene Tann (Ger) 22
108. Niels Wubben* (Ned) 22
109. Andrew Blair (Aus) 22
110. Dario Alejandro Gasco* (Arg) MAS 20
111. Nicolas Vermeulen (Bel) LVT 20
112. Josef Kamler* (Cze) CES 19
113. Frank Schotman (Ned) 19
114. Eric Batty (Can) 18
115. Alban Lakata (Aut) TER 18
116. Paolo Montoya (Crc) GIT 18
117. Benoit Simard (Can) 16
118. Cristobal Silva (Chi) 15
119. Dirk Van Der Ploeg* (Aus) 14
120. Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) 14
121. Robbie Squire* (USA) 13
122. Peter Sagan* (Svk) 13
123. Martin Lazarski (Can) 12
124. Roan Exelby (Rsa) 12
125. Felix Euteneuer* (Ger) 10
126. Nicolas Jeantet* (Ita) CBE 9
127. Julien Fillion (Can) 9
128. Klaus Nielsen (Den) 9
129. Nathan Haas* (Aus) DTM 8
130. Colin Cares* (USA) 8

*=U23