Soto wins his first eliminator World Cup in Windham
Mels defends World Cup overall lead









Catriel Andres Soto (MMR Bikes Pro Team) won his first eliminator World Cup on Friday evening in Windham, New York. The Argentinian rider beat Simon Gegenheimer, Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya) and Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott Racing Team) in the Big Final.
"This is my first time on the top step of the podium and I can't believe it," Soto told Cyclingnews while still catching his breath.
Soto, who was also the fastest qualifier of the day, surged to the front early in the heat and held off a tenacious Gegenheimer for the win.
"I had good legs for the final, but this course was hard. It was the same final four as last week and while the others have more experience in finals, this was only my second time this year in an eliminator World Cup final."
World Cup leader Mels was in second place, but Gegenheimer got around him. Still, it was enough for Mels to finish third and defend his lead in the overall World Cup series.
Geigenheimer said, "Last week I won, but this was good, too. The first half of the season was not good for me. The goal for me was to catch up in the standings in Canada last weekend and here in the US this weekend, and it's been going well."
Mels said, "I had some bad luck and hit the back wheel of Soto just before a very technical point. I had to clip out with one foot and Simon came through. I tried to follow and sprint as fast as possible, but they were stronger today.
"But I keep the leader's jersey with one more World Cup to go, so I'm happy. It's looking good for the overall."
Federspiel rolled in for fourth place.
Current eliminator World Champion Paul van der Ploeg earned the final spot on the podium by winning the Small Final.
"I was 21st in the qualifying time trial and it wasn't confidence-inspiring to be 10 seconds slower than everyone else. Each heat, I'd hold my position and try to stay in the top two. I was just a bit too far back for the final kick over the hill in the semi-final, and the rider in front of me sat up, and I couldn't get around him quick enough. But I managed to win the B final and get on the podium. Any day you're on a World Cup podium is a good day."
Van der Ploeg talked about the course. "It didn't ride well, but it was quite nice to race. It wasn't technically difficult, but it was physically difficult and there were a lot of tactics which made it fun. The race was much more tactical than I thought it would be."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
1 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team |
2 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) |
3 | Fabrice Mels* (Bel) Salcano Alanya |
4 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
5 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) |
6 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team |
7 | Jeroen Van Eck* (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team |
8 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
9 | Andri Frischknecht* (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team |
10 | Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi) |
11 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
12 | Michal Lami (Svk) |
13 | Christian Helmig (Lux) |
14 | Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa) |
15 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) |
16 | Gregor Raggl* (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team |
---|---|
17 | Leandre Bouchard* (Can) |
18 | Frantisek Lami* (Svk) |
19 | Cole Oberman (USA) |
20 | Samuel Tremblay* (Can) |
21 | Steffen Thum (Ger) |
22 | Dario Alejandro Gasco (Arg) |
23 | Adrian Retief (NZl) |
24 | Casey Williams* (USA) |
25 | Christian Pfäffle* (Ger) |
26 | Luciano Caraccioli (Arg) |
27 | Andrew Watson (Can) |
28 | Alexandre Vialle* (Can) |
29 | Patricio Andres Campbell Vilches (Chi) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Fabrice Mels* (Bel) | 157 | pts |
2 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) | 138 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) | 130 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | 124 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) | 114 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) | 71 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Samuel Gaze (NZl) | 64 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Miha Halzer (Slo) | 63 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) | 36 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Leandre Bouchard* (Can) | 33 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Patrick Lüthi* (Swi) | 30 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) | 28 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Gregor Raggl* (Aut) | 21 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Marek Konwa (Pol) | 20 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Julian Schelb (Ger) | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) | 18 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Krystof Bogar* (Cze) | 18 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) | 18 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) | 17 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Jeroen Van Eck* (Ned) | 16 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Samuel Tremblay* (Can) | 16 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) | 16 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 16 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Kevin Miquel (Fra) | 16 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) | 14 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) | 14 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Andri Frischknecht* (Swi) | 12 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Roger Jenny* (Swi) | 12 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi) | 12 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Andy Eyring (Ger) | 10 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
31 | Shaun Lewis (Aus) | 10 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
32 | Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) | 8 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
33 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 6 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
34 | Nicolas Lüthi (Swi) | 6 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
35 | Lehvi Braam* (Ned) | 6 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
36 | Fabian Giger (Swi) | 6 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
37 | Christian Helmig (Lux) | 4 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
38 | Tristan Ward (Aus) | 4 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
39 | Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa) | 3 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
40 | Antoine Caron (Can) | 3 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
41 | Stefan Peter* (Swi) | 3 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
42 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) | 3 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
43 | Borys Goral (Pol) | 3 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
44 | Miguel Martinez (Fra) | 2 | Row 43 - Cell 3 |
45 | Steffen Thum (Ger) | 2 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
46 | Payson Mcelveen (USA) | 1 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
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