The men start their final
The sixth round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup opened on Friday evening in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, with the new Eliminator race, which provided the large crowd with sprint finishes for both the men and women. Remarkably, both winners were first time participants in the event, and from Switzerland. Jolanda Neff took the women's title, out-sprinting Eva Lechner, while Stefan Peter held off Paul van der Ploeg for the men's.
Jolanda Neff won every heat
The qualifiers (31 women and 32 men) worked their way through four rider heats, with the top-two from each race moving on to the next round. Local women's favorite Katerina Nash remarkably survived a near crash in the first round and mechanical problems in the second, but her luck gave out in the semi-final, and she did not make the final. Joining Neff and Lechner in the women's final were Alexandra Engen and Lea Davison. The Junior-aged Neff couldn't clip her foot in at the start of the final, riding out of the opening straight in last place, but by the halfway mark she was up to second behind Lechner, and then took the lead in the last 75 meters to win. Engen took third, Davison fourth, and Nathalie Schneitter won the small final for fifth.
Schneitter takes charge of the small final
The men's competition had its share of crashes and mechanicals, but it came down to Peter, van der Ploeg, Manuel Fumic and Ralph Näf for the final. Early favorite Thomas Litscher, winner of the Offenburg Eliminator, crashed in his semi-final, but recovered in the small final to take the fifth and final podium spot.
Stefan Peter takes the win over Paul Van Der Ploeg in Big Final
In the men's final, Näf and Fumic crashed out of contention before the halfway mark, leaving van der Ploeg to chase down the very fast starting Peter. The Australian came very close to taking it on the line, but his Swiss rival had just enough energy left to hold on for victory.
Results
Women
Big Final
1 Jolanda Neff (Sui)
2 Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol
3 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Rothaus Poison-Bikes
4 Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing
Small Final
5 Nathalie Schneitter (Sui) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol
6 Pavla Havlikova (Cze)
7 Marielle Saner-Guinchard (Sui) Bikepark Scott
8 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team
1/4 Finals
9 Nina Homovec (Slo) Orbea Geax
10 Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) Merida Biking Team
11 Katherine O'shea (Aus)
12 Anne Terpstra (Ned) Mpl Specialized MTB Team
13 Annie Last (GBr) British National Team
14 Katherine Compton (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team
15 Lee Craigie (GBr)
16 Nicole Hanselmann (Sui)
1/8 Finals
17 Lucie Vesela (Cze) GT Czech Team
18 Julia Innerhofer (Ita)
19 Karolina Kalasova (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team
20 Anna Villar Argente (Esp)
21 Marta Tereshchuk (Ukr) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan
22 Tatjana Dold (Ger)
23 Sandra Santanyes Murillo (Esp)
24 Stephania Magri (Mlt)
25 Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek - Kmc Trade Team Vzw
26 Melanie Späth (Ger)
27 Rocio Gamonal Ferrera (Esp)
28 Vivienne Meyer (Sui) Colnago Farbe Sudtirol
29 Nicoletta De Jager (Ned)
30 Caitlin Elliott (Irl)
DNF Yana Belomoyna (Ukr) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan
Men
Big Final
1 Stefan Peter (Sui) MK - Zentralschweiz
2 Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
3 Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing
4 Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan Merida Biking Team
Small Final
5 Thomas Litscher (Sui) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
6 Severin Disch (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team
7 Fabrice Mels (Bel) Rocky Roads - Orbea
8 Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys - Evenza Team
1/4 Finals
9 Nicola Rohrbach (Sui) Elettroveneta - Corratec
10 Sepp Freiburghaus (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team
11 Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
12 Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
13 Daniel Federspiel (Aut)
14 Mirco Widmer (Sui) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour
15 Kenta Gallagher (GBr)
16 Lukas Kaufmann (Sui)
1/8 Finals
17 Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
18 Michal Prokop (Cze)
19 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
20 Simon Stiebjahn (Ger)
21 Reto Indergand (Sui) MK - Zentralschweiz
22 Martin Gujan (Sui) Cannondale Factory Racing
23 Matthias Waldhart (Aut)
24 Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team
25 Balz Weber (Sui) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
26 Mike Schuler (Sui) MK - Zentralschweiz
27 Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena - Birell - Specialized Cycling Team
28 Mykhaylo Batsutsa (Ukr) Infotre - Bi & Esse - Leecougan
29 Umberto Corti (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D.
30 Rok Korosec (Slo)
DNF Frantisek Lami (Svk)
DNF Jiri Novak (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team