4X Finals: - km
MTB World's 4X: Alvarez and Buhl upset
The men's podium: Roger Rinderknecht, Rafael Alvarez and Mickael Deldycke (Rob Jones/Canadiancyclist.com)
Rafael Alvarez (Spain) and Melissa Buhl (USA) were crowned men's and women's four cross champions in Val di Sole, Italy this evening.
The men's final saw Alvarez pitted against top favourite Jared Graves (Australia), Roger Rinderknecht (Switzerland) and Mickael Deldycke (France). Graves had been fastest out of the gate in every race and he managed it again in the final, hitting the first corner just ahead of Deldycke and Rinderknecht. But Deldycke missed his line and forced Graves over the side, with Rinderknecht unable to avoid the pair. All three crashed, leaving Alvarez with the easiest of runs to the finish. Rinderknecht was able to make the best of it to finish second with Deldycke taking the bronze after Graves crashed again.
In the women's race, favourite Anneke Beerten (Netherlands) was looking good until both she and Romana Labounkova (Cze) rode off course at the halfway point. American Melissa Buhl powered past them to win the gold with a clear lead over another Czech rider, Jana Horakova. Labounkova was able to recover for the bronze medal.
For full results, report and photos, visit Cyclingnews.com.
4X FINALS RESULTS
| Elite women | ||
| Big Final | ||
| 1 Melissa Buhl (United States Of America) | ||
| 2 Jana Horakova (Czech Republic) | ||
| 3 Romana Labounkova (Czech Republic) | ||
| 4 Anneke Beerten (Netherlands) | ||
| Small | ||
| 5 Caroline Buchanan (Australia) | ||
| 6 Lucia Oetjen (Switzerland) | ||
| 7 Anita Molcik (Austria) | ||
| 8 Mio Suemasa (Japan) | ||
| Elite men | ||
| Big Finals | ||
| 1 Rafael Alvarez De Lara Lu (Spain) | ||
| 2 Roger Rinderknecht (Switzerland) | ||
| 3 Mickael Deldycke (France) | ||
| 4 Jared Graves (Australia) | ||
| Small Finals | ||
| 5 Brian Lopes (United States Of America) | ||
| 6 Scott Beaumont (Great Britain) | ||
| 7 Romain Saladini (France) | ||
| 8 Ross Milan (United States Of America) |
