COMMEZZADURA (VAL DI SOLE – TRENTINO), 10 September 2016 – Australian Caroline Buchanan and Slovenian Mitja Ergaver are the new UCI 4X World Champions. They won the competition held on Friday evening on the course in Commezzadura, Val di Sole. Alia Marcellini, the only Italian athlete racing in the women’s took sixth place. She crashed out in the semi-final and missed the fight for the medal. She fell again in the consolation final and came in behind Lucia Oetjen of Switzerland.
In the women’s, Franziska Meyer of Germany took silver, Anneke Beerten of the Netherlands bronze, she set the best time in the qualifying rounds and last year she won the gold in Trentino. Czech athlete Romana Labounkova took fourth, she dominated the 4X Pro Tour, top world series dedicated to this speciality, and the favourite on the eve before the race. It’s the fourth gold medal for Caroline Buchanan conquered in 4X, after the titles won in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
Men’s competition was really exciting because of the many spectacular crashes – in the semi-final and final rounds – which stirred up some discussion at the end of the race. The race did not start in the right way for Italian athletes with Giovanni Pozzoni (sixth last year in Val di Sole), Giacomo Fantoni and Mario Milani who were out at the 16th-finals.
Same bad luck for defending champion Aiko Gohler of Germany in the quarter finals. The true disaster happened in the semi-final when the favourite, Czech Tomas Slavik (world champion in 2010 and 2014, and first in the qualifying rounds), was eliminated in a heat where British Cryer and Slovenia’s Ergaver, only 21st in the qualifying rounds, went through to the big final. In the other heat, where only Austria’s Hannes Slavik and USA’s Nobles (Caroline Buchanan’s soon-to-be husband) made it to the final, out went British Scott Beaumont. Another spectacular crash, triggered by Slavik and Nobles, put the three favourites out of action. Only Slovenia’s Mitja Ergaver was able to cruise through avoiding the carnage; Austrian rider was the fastest to remount his bike and took silver, while British Cryer settled for bronze after clinching silver in 2015 in Val di Sole.
The 4X world championship drew large crowds, lined up along the spectacular course in Daolasa and on the terraces set up in front of the finish line with a large screen showing the race. The concert by dj-set rapper Frankie Hi-Nrg Mc involved both public and athletes in a fun night. Tomorrow the Downhill grand finale will officially close 2016 UCI Mtb World Championships.
Alberto Penasa - Azienda Turismo Val di Sole
Viale Marconi, 7 - 3827 - Malè - (TN)
Tel. +39.0463.900863 - Fax +39.0463.901563
www.valdisole.net - penasa.a@valdisole.net
