UCI Changes Eliminator To Make It Lopes Proof
Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Rep. (May 12, 2012)
Despite the obvious format race changes that handicapped him, Brian was excited to tackle the 2nd XC Eliminator in Czech Republic yesterday. But to his and his fans disappointment he was eliminated in the 1st round.
As he was planning to conserve some energy for the fast road-like course, Brian sat behind a guy who slowed down considerably, trapping him and making it impossible for him to push through and give it his best for the finish. So his competition got cut short….that is one of the casualties of group racing.
To better paint a visual of the race I wanted to share an article that Mountain Bike Action wrote about the race. The headline caught my eye and they have a good photo of Brian.
UCI Changes Eliminator To Make It Lopes Proof
Posted Date: 5/11/2012
“The Mountain Bike World Cup saw new faces on the top step of the podium of the Eliminator at Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic and that’s just what the UCI had planned. The UCI and Euro race promoters obviously didn’t want a 40-year-old American winning their event so they totally changed the event from what took place at round one (won decisively by Brian Lopes).
The roadie-style Eliminator was completely different from round one in Houffalize, Belgium. Where the Belgian race had short, steep climbs, technical descents and narrow singletrack, Nove Mesto was wide open, with pavement and dirt forest roads. This led to multiple sprints and some photo finish results in the heats. Alexandra Engen dominated the women’s competition, while a brilliant mid-race attack by Sepp Freiburghaus caught all of his rivals off guard, allowing the Swiss rider to take the win.”
To read the FULL article & see more pictures go to MBA
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