19.05.2024Palangkaraya (INA)
2024 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup
Read more
Tormena and Serres seize UCI World Cup control in Barcelona
Round 2 of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup in Barcelona, Spain, is a wrap! French champion Lorenzo Serres and UCI World Champion Gaia Tormena from Italy were the big winners of the day, conquering both the day’s victory and the UCI World Cup leaders jerseys.
Round 2 of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup in Barcelona, Spain, is a wrap. French champion Lorenzo Serres and UCI World Champion Gaia Tormena from Italy were the big winners of the day, conquering both the day’s victory and the UCI World Cup leaders jerseys.
Barcelona never disappoints. The established round of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup always delivers thrilling races and deserving winners, and so it did again in 2024. The renewed track offered riders more chances to overtake, which resulted in some tough, physical racing on the stairs in front of the mighty Palau Nacional on Montjuïc hill.
The day couldn’t have started better for the Catalan home crowds: local star Marta Cano stormed to the win in the qualifying time trials, with the smallest possible margin: Gaia Tormena was only one hundredth of a second (!) slower than home favourite Cano. In the men’s qualifiers, Serres immediately proved he was enjoying a great shape, setting the fastest time.
The first heats proved to be disastrous for the UCI World Cup leaders, Ede-Karoly Molnar and Marion Fromberger, last week’s winners of the opening round in Paris. UEC European champion Molnar was eliminated after a crash in the 1/8 finals, Fromberger got caught up in the 1/4 finals. Both would end up losing their precious UCI World Cup shirts to the race winners.
In the finals, both Serres and Tormena dominated their heat from start to finish. Tormena celebrated solo, preceding Annemoon van Dienst (NED), Marta Cano (ESP) and Didi de Vries (NED), who crashed. In the men’s finals, Serres led all race long, eventually outsprinting Nils-Obed Riecker (GER), Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA) and Quentin Schrotzenberger (FRA).
In the women’s category, the early elimination of Fromberger did change the race dynamics: “This is eliminator: you don’t always have to expect the same final. One mistake can cost a lot. And that’s what happened today, but I’m sure Marion will be back next time”, Tormena said. In the new UCI World Cup standings, the Italian star now totals 200 points. Van Dienst is second with 145 points, Fromberger third with 142.
Following the men’s final, Serres couldn’t contain his excitement: “I’m really happy with this, after my sixth place in Paris. I’ve always ended second in Barcelona in the previous years, so it gives a lot of joy to win here this time, so early in the season. It was the kind of race where you always had to push hard on the pedals, from the start until the end.” In the overall, Serres enjoys a 45 points margin on runner-up Edvin Lindh. Defending winner Titouan Perrin-Ganier is third, with a 55 points deficit.
Tormena, Serres, and the rest of the eliminator competitors now have a brief break from World Cup racing, to prepare for the next rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup: racing resumes on May 19 in Palangkaraya, Indonesia.
Results
Men’s results – UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup Barcelona
1. Lorenzo Serres (FRA)
2. Nils-Obed Riecker (GER)
3. Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA)
4. Quentin Schrotzenberger (FRA)
5. Theo Hauser (AUT)
Women’s results – UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup Barcelona
1. Gaia Tormena (ITA)
2. Annemoon van Dienst (NED)
3. Marta Cano (ESP)
4. Didi de Vries (NED)
5. Coline Clauzure (FRA)
Standings
Men’s UCI World Cup standings after Barcelona
1. Lorenzo Serres (FRA) – 165 points
2. Edvin Lindh (SWE) – 120 points
3. Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA) – 110 points
4. Nils-Obed Riecker (GER) – 105 points
5. Ede-Karoly Molnar (ROU) – 104 points
Women’s UCI World Cup standings after Barcelona
1. Gaia Tormena (ITA) – 200 points
2. Annemoon van Dienst (NLD) – 145 points
3. Marion Fromberger (GER) – 142 points
4. Marta Cano (ESP) – 90 points
5. Didi de Vries (NLD) – 82 points
