Women's 4X final: - km
World Cup women's 4X: Labounkova takes win
Anita Molcik practicing the day before the final in the sunshine (Luke Webber)
Czech's Romana Loubounkova rode safely to secure the win ahead of favorite Anneke Beerten (MS Intense Factory Racing), but it was Dutchwoman Beerten who claimed the overall World Cup title, ending her season on a high note.
Beerten's achievement capped off a a season-long campaign of wearing the leader's jersey, which she assumed in the very first round in Maribor.
The evening's racing started under clouds before a wave of heavy rain hit the shortened Schladming course. Predictably, the rain rolled off of the top of the soil, producing a slick set of heats from the quarter finals onward. Swiss rider Rachel Seydoux was one of the first favourites to get knocked out due to a crash. She was soon followed by Anita Molcik (4 Elements Yeti/Hotec/Rsp) and Mio Suemasa (MS-Intense Factory-Racing).
The final itself was a close but clean race with the wet track forcing riders to make a cautious way to the finish or face an uncomfortable night's sleep that would follow a crash.
Celebrations are already underway here in Schladming for the first champions, and tomorrow will feature the downhill competition. If heavy rains continue, the course will be transformed and an already treacherous descent will become more trying, especially over the exposed roots.
WOMEN'S 4X FINAL RESULTS
| Big final |
| 1 Romana Labounkova (Cze) |
| 2 Anneke Beerten (Ned) MS-Intense Factory-Racing |
| 3 Jana Horakova (Cze) Suzuki-RB |
| 4 Angelika Hohenwarter (Aut) |
| Small final |
| 5 Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team |
| 6 Lucia Oetjen (Swi) |
| 7 Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center |
| 8 Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) |
For full results see Cyclingnews.com
