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Premont and Absalon tops in MTB World Cup

By Rob Jones, Special to VeloNews.com
Published: Apr. 24, 2005
Absalon is back on track for another good year
Absalon is back on track for another good year
Photo: Rob Jones

As top road racers were taking on the ProTour’s edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, just down the road, the mountain bike World Cup season opened at the Formula One circuit in Spa Francochamps, Belgium.

The rain that had been threatening all Saturday night was replaced by bright sunshine, and under that blue sky, Canada’s Marie-Hélène Prémont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) and Frenchman Julien Absalon (Bianchi-Agos) became the first in the 2005 season to don the blue leader's jerseys for the World Cup.

The organizers made some modifications overnight to the 6.1-kilometer course, removing one muddy stretch, and sending the riders out on a shortened circuit for their first lap to spread out the field a bit before the technical portions of the circuit began. The women did a start loop and three full laps, while the men tacked on two extra full laps.


Photo: Robert Jones

Prémont, the silver medalist at the Athens Olympics behind Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida), made her move in the first long lap, charging by Dahle, her team mate Irina Kalentieva and Maja Wsoszczowska (Lotto) on the first steep climb. Only Dahle could stay with Premont, and she struggled.

"I thought that I would start the year slower than I did" commented Prémont. "I felt good, but you never know how your form is at the beginning of the season. I knew this would be a good course for me - the climbs were tough. On the hills I could tell that I was getting ten or twelve seconds on Gunn-Rita (Dahle), so I knew that was where I had to build a gap."

By the second lap Prémont was 20 seconds ahead of Dahle, and gaining ground on every climb, eventually winning by 43 seconds. Dahle's incredible World Cup winning streak - through the entire 2003 and 2004 seasons - was finally broken.

"My goal was a top-3 result, but you are never satisfied if you don't win." said Dahle. "She (Prémont) was much stronger than me on the steep hills. Maybe doing a road World Cup four days before took a little bit out of me; this is a new experience for me. You have to try different things, but I knew Marie-Helene would be my biggest challenge."

Kalentieva rode steadily in third place, finishing three minutes back, followed by Sabine Spitz, in her new Specialized colors, at 4:05.

Big field and one star
The sheer size of the men's field - 178 starters - meant that a good start was a necessity. Two top contenders had some early bad luck - defending World Cup champion Christoph Sauser (Siemens Cannondale) crashed in the mud, flipping over his bars and losing at least 25 spots, while Liam Killeen (Specialized) flatted shortly after the start loop was completed. Sauser had one of the most impressive rides of the day, motoring back up to fourth, but Killeen remained mired in the high teens for the remainder of the race, eventually finishing 16th.

At the front, it was a battle between Olympic and world champion Absalon and local Belgian favorite Roel Paulissen (Giant). Paulissen managed to gain a slight advantage on the second lap, but Absalon realized that he was descending much faster than the others, and used this advantage to open a gap on the third lap. His lead quickly grew in the fifth lap as Paulissen faded, and the Belgian champion was nearly caught at the end by Jean-Christophe Peraud (Lapierre International). Sauser roared through the remnants of the field on the final lap, passing compatriot Thomas Frischknecht (Swisspower), beating him by 13 seconds to earn fourth place.

"I'm really happy that I was able to do well here" said Absalon. "I had many things to do all winter, many obligations after the Olympics, so I was not sure how I would go. For me this was a perfect track; I love roots and slippery trail.

"On the third lap it was Roel, Lado (Fumic - Fumic Bros. Racing) and me together. I could tell that I was descending faster than they were, so I went to the front at the top of the biggest downhill and got a gap of 10 or 15 seconds. After the climb Roel came back, and I did the same thing on the second downhill, and again on the next one, and then I stayed away."

Race Notes
Prémont is the first North American woman to win a World Cup in Europe since Alison Dunlap (Luna) in 1997, and the first North American woman to win a World Cup since Chrissy Reden in 2001. Prémont fit the race around year-end exams for her Pharmacy degree, with an exam the day before she left for Belgium, and two more this week when she gets home.

Sauser was racing only his first cross-country of the year. Previous racing was at the Cape Epic in South Africa. "It is totally different there - very long and steady, no warm up required. I was very strong but I need to work on more speed."

Nicole Cooke (Great Britain), the former junior world champion started well, but faded in the final lap, dropping from top-8 to 13th.Men
1. Julien Absalon (Fra) Bianchi Agos, 1:57:53
2. Roel Paulissen (Bel) Giant, at 1:19
3. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Lapierre International, 1:38
4. Christoph Sauser (Swi) Siemens Cannondale, 1:53
5. Thomas Frischknecht (Swi) Swisspower Mountainbike-Team, 2:06
6. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Siemens Cannondale, 2:15
7. Juan.Antonio Hermida (Esp) Multivan Merida Biking Team, 2:26
8. Sergiy Rysenko (Ukr), 2:36
9. Miguel Martinez (Fra) Commencal Oxbow, s.t.
10. Lado Fumic (Ger) Ladobrothersracing.com, 3:03Women
1. Marie-Helene Premont (Can) Rocky Mountain Business Objects
2. Gunn-Rita Dahle (Nor) Merida
3. Irina Kalentieva (Rus)
4. Sabine Spitz (Ger) Specialized
5. Maja Wloszczowska (Pol)
6. Marga Fullana (Esp) Be One
7. Mary McConneloug (USA) Seven Cycles

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