September 4, 2010 (Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC) – The huge crowd of over 10,000 at Mont Ste-Anne for the elite men’s cross-country race was treated to a spectacular competition. And after waiting 14 years for a World Championship win, an emotional José Antonio Hermida Ramos of Spain was the victor. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic) took the silver at 29 seconds back and Burry Stander of South Africa claimed the bronze.

The elite men started their race with sunshine and blue skies only to have the clouds open up early on with a short rain shower adding some drama while making the course slick – and several riders fell victim to the slippery rock garden. But by the third lap the rain stopped for the remainder of the race.

Eighty-five of the world’s best riders took to the start line and even before the start the crowd became boisterous. At the gun Stander was at the front, with Swiss team mates 2009 champion Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel. An early crash caused a bit of a gap, forcing many riders to chase back on, including Canada’s Geoff Kabush.

After a trip through the rock garden on the 3km start loop, it was Kulhavy who started the first of six laps in front followed closely by Schurter in second and Stander in third. The top 15 riders, including former world champ Julien Absalon (France), were within a minute of the leaders after almost 17 minutes of racing. Schurter soon took over the lead as he and Kulhavy looked strong at the front. The rain returned on lap 1 keeping the riders on their toes.

On lap 2 Kulhavy was the new leader as Schurter had a mechanical but he recovered quickly and was soon back in second with team mate Ralph Naef in third and Hermida not far behind. Absalon seemed content further back as fans wondered when he would make his move.

By the start of lap 3 it was Schurter again at the front with Kulhavy close behind and Hermida taking over third. The Spaniard was clearly in good form, and Kabush agreed after the race saying: “After his relay lap [in the Team Relay Race on day 1], where he was half a minute faster than everyone else I think he showed that he’s on form and he’s obviously one of the best technical riders and has had a lot of success here.”

The three leaders were starting to open a gap on the rest of the field, and Canadian riders Derek Zandstra, Max Plaxton and Raphael Gagne were racing at less than 4 minutes back.

The rain stopped by the third lap and Liam Killeen, who finished 7th as the top rider for Great Britain, commented later that the course became much slicker even with the small amount of rain that fell. Earlier before the start things had been drying up nicely and many riders had opted not to go with knobbier tires – with the rain some may have paid the price.

Fontana was one notable rider, as he dropped his pace considerably after being near the front early on and later abandoned on lap three. Other riders were finding the climb up La Marmotte greasy and the rock garden slick, resulting in problems with pedals and occasional crashes. Hermida dismounted during the early slick laps staying calm but later when the course dried up he rode thru this tough section of the course.

The third lap saw Manuel Fumic (Germany) find some extra energy as he posted the fastest time and moved up 6 places to 8th. Stander also had a great lap and put himself at the front with Kulhavy and Hermida hot on his wheel. Absalon had been hovering around 6th or 7th up until this point and now moved up into 4th with Schurter in 5th as the defending champ had flatted. The race was still open with many of the top names still in contention.

The rain had stopped and the course was beginning to dry up in places, however there were still some problem areas as some riders struggled to get traction. Hermida, who had taken over the lead late on lap four continued to set a pace that was making Kulhavy and Stander work while preventing others from latching on. One rider who began to suffer in the latter part of the race was Kulhavy, although he hid it well until the last lap when he fell off the pace set by Hermida who sensed victory. Later at the post-race press conference, Kulhavy noted that last week’s World Cup win in Windham, NY, was very tough which may have taken its toll on him for today’s event.

Hermida just got faster as the finish line approached. Kulhavy and Stander kept close but the Spanish rider was not letting up. Behind Schurter passed and dropped Absalon to take over fourth place refusing to give up but all was in vain. One top rider who started well but wasn’t able to pick up the pace in the latter stages was Vogel as he was passed by Kabush and Killeen near the end finishing 9th.

The strength and condition of Hermida came through loud and clear in the last lap as he powered away from the competition, leaving Kulhavy and Stander to fight for the remaining podium steps. In the end Hermida had enough time to get off his bike and hold it high as he walked across the finish line, proud of his accomplishment. Kulhavy crossed the line at 29 seconds back for the silver, followed by Stander at 1:09 for the bronze.

Kabush was the top Canadian finishing 8th on the day. After the race, he said he’d had a rough season and as a result didn’t get a good starting position. Like all of the racers competing, he had high aspirations adding, “I was shooting higher, being optimistic that maybe something special would happen but I think I’m pretty satisfied with how it went. I had a clean race and finished 8th, so I can’t complain”.

In an interview with Swiss TV, Naef said that he rode practically crash free, and the course required near perfect riding. He went on to attribute Hermida’s win to his near perfect ride thereby earning the gold.

Hermida himself was overcome with emotion. At the press conference, he was wearing a black tie with rainbow stripes that a friend had given him last year when he was hoping to win the Worlds in Canberra, Australia.

When asked about the race and his win, Hermida described the twists and turns of the Mont Ste-Anne course with obvious delight, saying, “It was a perfect course and this win is like Disneyland for me.” He predicted that there will be a long party finally adding, “I always said I want to win at Mont Ste-Anne.”

Full results and more photos here.