Mels wins eliminator World Cup final in Meribel

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The sixth and final round of the eliminator series in the 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup saw some of the most exciting racing of the season in Méribel, France. Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya) took the men's win to lock up the overall title after a battle that came down to the final heat.

Unlike the women's series, where Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike) had wrapped up the title at the end of the previous round, the men's series was much tighter going into Méribel, with four riders still able to upset Mels - world champion van der Ploeg of Australia, defending World Cup champion Daniel Federspiel (Otztal Scott), Round 5 winner Andres Soto (MMR Bikes) and German rider Simon Gegenheimer, the winner of Round 4.

Van der Ploeg was the first to drop out of contention for the title after failing to make it through the quarterfinal round, then Federspiel, who didn't make it into the final. However, Gegenheimer could still have taken the title if he won the final and Mels finished fourth. The two contenders were joined in the final by local favourite and fastest qualifier Kevin Miquel of France and round 5 winner Catriel Andres Soto.

The final started poorly for Mels and an upset looked possible, as Miquel got the holeshot into the first corner with Gegenheimer on his wheel while Mels was fourth. But the Belgian champion and World Cup leader gradually worked his way to third, then second and finally the lead to outsprint Gegenheimer at the line for the title.

"It was a difficult night," said Mels. "The first heats did not go like I wanted because I did not have good starts and had to sprint at each finish. Only in the final was I the strongest. I'm so happy that I could take a victory here and the World Cup overall. I knew I had to go flat out all night because Gegenheimer, van der Ploeg, Federspiel and Soto were all so close [in points] that I had to push it all night. It's such a relief that it worked out for me."

Mels won the World Cup title with 217 points and two wins, with Gegenheimer jumping from fourth to second in the standings at 164. Federspiel and van der Ploeg are next, tied at 150 points, but Federspiel gets the nod for third place after winning the small final in Méribel to finish fifth, while van der Ploeg ended up ninth on the night and fourth overall.

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