MTBWALblog: ELIMINATOR : "Victories for The Netherlands and Norway, as showers impact heats"

lundi 24 septembre 2018

ELIMINATOR : "Victories for The Netherlands and Norway, as showers impact heats"

UCI MTB ELIMINATOR WORLD CUP - ANTWERP (BEL)

One week after Winterberg (Germany), the 2018 UCI MTB Eliminator World Cup resumed in Antwerp, Belgium for the penultimate round of this season. This sixth and penultimate round turned out to be very interesting. Rain proved to be a problem, as the qualifying time trials were affected if not interrupted by showers that were expected to continue into the final heats.

Dutch rider Lehvi Braam was the fastest on a slippery circuit and takes home his first World Cup victory. In the women’s competition, Ingrid Boe Jacobsen won her third World Cup of this year. Anna Stray Rongve, by finishing second made it a Norwegian top-2. Dutch rider Zoë Mulder came in third place, ahead of Polish champion Marta Turobos.

Men’s results - Round 6

1. Lehvi Braam (NED)
2. Alberto Mingorance (ESP)
3. Anton Olstam (SWE)
4. Jeroen van Eck (NED)

Women's results - Round 6

1. Ingrid Boe Jacobsen (NOR)
2. Anna Stray Rongve (NOR)
3. Zoë Mulder (NED)
4. Marta Turobos (POL)

FULL RESULTS

The rain didn’t stop the riders from giving it their all in the semi-finals. Lehvi Braam fought right to the end for taking the win in atrocious conditions at Park Spoor Noord in Antwerp, Belgium. UCI World Cup leader Jeroen van Eck had to settle for fourth and goes into the final round with 64 points ahead of Simon Gegenheimer.

Swedish champion Anton Olstam raced to third after starting his weekend by setting the second best time in the qualifying time trials. Spain’s Alberto Mingorance finished in second place.

With an eye on the overall and in pouring rain, Simon Gegenheimer had no option but perform well in tricky conditions, finishing in sixth place. Gegenheimer now moves up to second in the men’s overall (139 points), followed by Lorenzo Serres at 135 points.

The women’s semi-finals - held under wet and slippery conditions - didn’t work as expected for Lizzy Witlox. The Dutch rider and Norwegian athlete Anna Stray Rongve crashed into each other on top of the Safety Jogger bridge. Norway’s Ingrid Boe Jacobsen secures her overall lead of the 2018 UCI MTB Eliminator World Cup with a total of 265 points. Swedish champion Ella Holmegard sits second at 150 points and Iryna Popova is third at 138.

The final round of the 2018 UCI MTB Eliminator World Cup will be held in Congonhas/MG (Brazil) on November 24.