Men’s results - Round 5 - UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup Oudenaarde (BEL)
1. Simon Gegenheimer (GER)
2. Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA)
3. Theo Hauser (AUT)
4. Emanuele Huez (ITA)
5. Attila Gerely (HUN)
UCI World Champions dominate in Oudenaarde
The fifth round of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup took place at Belgium’s beating heart of cycling in Oudenaarde, an iconic stop that’s hosted the Tour of Flanders since 2012. The fast and exciting course saw UCI World Champions Gaia Tormena and Simon Gegenheimer being unstoppable to claim their fourth consecutive title in front of the magnificent town hall. Participants from fourteen countries and four continents lined up for some exciting eliminator racing on a tropical Belgian summer day.
UCI World Champions dominate in Oudenaarde
Simon ‘Mustache Man’ Gegenheimer is unstoppable, with the German star sprinting to round 5 victory to claim his fourth win in a row, on what has been an exciting season for the German rider. In the women’s eliminator, Gaia Tormena soloed to a dominant win to add another medal to her trophy cabinet. Her total number of UCI World Cup wins now stands at an impressive total of 15 wins, of which four have come from this season.
Tormena sprints to 15th UCI World Cup win
It seemed impossible to beat Gaia Tormena’s time. She set the fastest time, and kept on performing strong in all heats, watched by the Belgian fans under sunny skies on a challenging and very fast track.
The Italian continued her winning streak, soloing to a dominant win, by distancing Germany’s Marion Fromberger and Sweden’s Ella Holmegard. Fourth place went to Didi de Vries.
With another UCI World Cup victory under her belt, Tormena is expanding her lead in the general classification, with Marion Fromberger and Marcela Lima in second and third position.
Mustache Man scores again
It was Quentin Schrotzenberger who set the fastest time in the men’s qualifying time trials, what finally resulted in a spot in the small finals. Schrotzenberger couldn’t go any further than that and had an unlucky start, with a broken chain sending him instantly to being the last rider in his final heat. More bad luck for France, as last year’s winner Lorenzo Serres was ruled out in the quarter-finals.
The finals was an interesting one to watch, as Theo Hauser from Austria attacked entering the second lap, with Titouan Perrin-Ganier and Simon Gegenheimer on a handful of meters. However, Gegenheimer managed to overtake the Austrian rider midway through the second lap and kept up such a relentless pace that neither Hauser nor Perrin-Ganier were ultimately able to get past him on the final stretch. Perrin-Ganier pipped Hauser for second after a challenging sprint to the finish, with the Italian Emanuele Huez rounding out the top four.
The German rider strengthens his race lead, and now leads the standings with 56 points over Titouan Perrin-Ganier.
Finish line quotes
“The legs were not as good as I was expecting, so I tried to play a mental game and it worked. I don’t know if it has something to do with the race course, but Oudenaarde is always a hard one. I am very satisfied on how the race went, but I feel tired now”, Gaia Tormena commented.
“It’s insane to win three races in a row, and also to win in front of a home crowd in Aalen. And now to win again, only 3 weeks after Aalen, is just amazing. I am pretty stoked and really happy with this one”, Simon Gegenheimer smiled after his fourth UCI World Cup win this season.
Women’s results - Round 5 - UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup Oudenaarde (BEL)
1. Gaia Tormena (ITA)
2. Marion Fromberger (GER)
3. Ella Holmegard (SWE)
4. Didi de Vries (NED)
5. Liv Pijpers (BEL)
Men’s standings UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup after Oudenaarde
1. Simon Gegenheimer (GER) – 302 points
2. Titouan Perrin-Ganier (FRA) – 246 points
3. Quentin Schrotzenberger (FRA) – 130 points
4. Lukas Malezsewski (BEL) – 110 points
5. Felix Klausmann (GER) – 92 points
Women’s standings UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup after Oudenaarde
1. Gaia Tormena (ITA) – 405 points
2. Marion Fromberger (GER) – 227 points
3. Marcela Lima (BRA) – 190 points
4. Didi de Vries (NED) – 177 points
5. Ella Holmegard (SWE) – 162 points
