In the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator (XCE) World Championships in Graz, Austria, on Sunday 5 September, Germany’s Simon Gegenheimer took his first title at the age of 32. At 19, Italy’s Gaia Tormena reclaimed the rainbow stripes she first won in 2019.
“I just did it, I am so happy,” said new XCE men’s UCI World Champion Simon Gegenheimer. “I worked so hard for it for the past 10 years… I had so many medals but not the top one!”
In the warm late summer sunshine the quickfire races for men and women lit up the city’s Karmeliterplatz on a tough, tight circuit that saw the best action from the world’s best riders, with lung-bursting performances rewarded and even the smallest mistakes paid for. Here’s how the racing unfolded.
Tormena back in the rainbow jersey
In Heat 1 of the women’s quarter-finals, fastest qualifier Gaia Tormena (ITA), in 01:00.73, hit the first corner and pulled away, with Didi De Vries (NED) also going through. From Heat 2 Sweden’s Ella Holmegård and Germany’s Marion Fromberger (4th fastest qualifier) progressed, as did second fastest qualifier Barbora Prudkova (CZE) and home rider Katharina Sadnik coming through Heat 3. From Heat 4 it was Iryna Popova (UKR) and Noemie Garnier (FRA).
In the first semi-final Tormena led out Fromberger, who both distanced De Vries and Holmegård. The second semi-final saw Garnier pull out a lead from Popova up the hill on the first lap before Prudkova dived up the inside going into the wall ride… and put herself into the main final.
Holmegård (third in the UCI Mountain bike Eliminator World Cup standings) won the small final from De Vries, before the four women in the main final lined up for the medal ride-off: Tormena, Fromberger, Garnier and Popova.
Gaia Tormena did not want a repeat of 2020’s photo-finish – where she lost out to Isaure Medde (FRA), and led out from the start. Behind her, it was an elbow-to-elbow before Garnier claimed silver for France and Popova took bronze for the Ukraine. With a perfect season so far in the UCI World Cup, Tormena continued that form and reclaimed her rainbow stripes, celebrating with big wheelies and an even bigger smile.
“In 2019 I didn’t know how it worked, but now I'm just super-happy!” said Gaia Tormena. “You always have to overtake your limits.”
Masterful men’s competition
The four fastest qualifiers – Lorenzo Serres (FRA), in 00:57:45, Jeroen Van Eck (NED), +0.09-sec, Anton Olstam (SWE) and Felix Klausmann (GER) – all made it through the 1/8 finals along with a quality field including reigning and multiple UCI World Champion Titouan Perrin Ganier and Hugo Briatta (both FRA) and UCI World Cup overall leader Simon Gegenheimer. There was also a rare Eliminator appearance from celebrated Olympic track sprinter Jeffrey Hoogland (NED).
In the first quarter-final, Serres tangled with another rider going into a 2nd lap left-hander and couldn’t regain momentum, leaving local rider Daniel Federspiel and Gegenheimer to progress. Sweden’s Edvin Lindh pipped 4th fastest qualifier Felix Klausmann (GER) in the second quarter-final, while 1-2 in the third quarter-final were Dutch Champion Van Eck and France’s Killian Demangeon. Meanwhile Perrin Ganier suffered a mechanical, putting paid to his chance of keeping his rainbow jersey. Olstam led Briatta over the line the fourth quarter-final, the Frenchman just pipping Hoogland who had held 2nd for most of the race!
The men’s first semi-final saw Gegenheimer lead Federspiel, until Lindh attacked then slid out on a fast corner, impacting both riders. The mishap enabled Klausmann to come through for a German 1-2 into the main final. In the second semi-final European Champion Van Eck led into the first corner, with Olstam on his heels. The French pair of Briatta and Demangeon stayed in contention throughout, but were ultimately unable to catch the front two.
Despite being “very tired from the semi-final” Briatta beat Demangeon by 0.1sec in the small final, for a French 5th and 6th. But there were no Frenchmen in the main final – it was raced by Germany’s Gegenheimer and Federspiel, the Netherlands’ Van Eck and Sweden’s Olstam.
Van Eck’s fast start gave him the early lead, with Gegenheimer breathing down his neck. After the Dutchman powered up the last climb, the number 1 in the UCI World Cup standings, Gegenheimer, found enough energy to force it into the last corner, and finally took the UCI World Championship top spot over his friend and rival who is placed number 2 in the UCI World Cup standings.
“Jeroen was so strong I couldn't believe I could catch him,” said Gegenheimer. “In the last lap I had to focus on the final corner.”
With the conclusion of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Championships, attention will turn to the next round of the UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup powered by Kuwait at Winterberg, Germany, on 12 September.
Illustration: © GEPA Sports Photography
