June 29/02 8:41 am - 4-Cross Story and Results

Posted by Editor on 06/29/02
 

Mont Sainte-Anne World Cup 4-Cross

Several thousand enthusiastic spectators were on hand for the very entertaining 4-Cross World Cup at Mont Ste Anne. In a combination of mountain biking and BMX, a whole series of jumps and bermed corners provided lots of fun.

From the start, the course drops from the ramp into a large left hand berm. The strategy for the majority of the winners was to be the first into this turn. It also meant several crashes as riders jockeyed to be that first person. From here there was the first of several double jumps, more berms and then a huge double jump where the better riders were several metres in the air. In the early rounds Cedric Gracia (Volvo-Cannondale) was high enough to have time to turn his front wheel completely backwards and then back again before landing. The crowd went nuts at this display.

Further down the course was the most difficult portion. From a double jump there was a big sweeping left berm with a nasty transition into a right berm. The transition was very tight and there were several crashes and also lots of rider contact. Yet another jump led into the short sprint for the finish.

Through the preliminary rounds the strong riders were Gracia, Brian Lopes, Mike King, Eric Carter and Wade Bootes. For the women Anne-Caroline Chausson and Sabrina Jonnier were the dominant riders.

Gracia sailed through the first two rounds, but in the semi's he crashed when trying to catch up to the very fast Lopes (GT Bicycles) and Bootes (Trek Volkswagen). Carter won the other semi with Michal Prokop (Team Be One) in second. The final was a very tight race with Carter pulling off a fine holeshot for the win. "I always like to put on a good show at Mont Sainte Anne. This is a prime event so I'm very motivated here. The course was really tight at the first turn so I wanted to make sure that I was in there first. Even at that there was more passing than I anticipated." The surprising Michal Prokop was second, with Lopes in 3rd and Bootes in fourth. Lopes was disappointed with the course, "Not that great, but I haven't liked any of them yet. They just don't listen to the riders. I don't even care any more. Nothing ever changes." As for the race itself, "Eric got a really good start. I dropped in behind him then I clipped out of my pedal and lost second as well."

For Chausson it was yet another race win. "I had very good race. It was a very fast course and I was able to ride smoothly." Miller was happy to take second. "It was good. I had fun racing. It was a challenging course. In the final Anne just snapped me out of the gate. Once she gets a length on you, that's it. She's just too strong. There's no catching Anne, I'll settle for second."

Men
1. Eric Carter (USA) Mongoose
2. Michal Prokop (Cze) Be-One
3. Brian Lopes (USA) GT
4. Wade Bootes (Aus) Trek VW

20. Jordie Lunn (Can)

Women
1. Anne-Caroline Chausson (Fra) Volvo Cannondale
2. Katrina Miller (Aus)
3. Sabrina Jonnier (Fra)
4. Lisa Sher (USA)