Race Report: 4X Pro Tour 5 - Eisenhuttenstadt, Germany

The 2022 4X ProTour moved on to Eisenhuttenstadt in Germany on Saturday for round 5. This track is the home of pro rider Klaus Beige and it’s fair to say the track represents the current style of 4X tracks. Massive jumps, high speed, wall rides and a real shot in the arm for the sport. Whilst hardtails are extremely rare now, trail bikes are pushing the speed and style of the tracks on now.

The weekend started on Friday with the first practice session. 2 hours of practice for the riders to work on lines and hit the jumps. It was plenty of time to master this new track on the 4X ProTour. The track was in perfect condition. The weeks of dry weather had left it extremely dusty. The riders were sectioning the track and mastering the features.

Qualifying

Saturday morning and it was qualifying. The weather conditions were perfect. Blue skies and a couple of showers in the morning made the track prime. It was time to get qualifying started and see who would be the fastest.

Qualifying started with the women. The big news of the weekend was World Champion Michaela Hajkova was away at Crankworx and couldn’t get a flight back in time. So it was going to be a fresh winner at this round. British number 1 Josie McFall looked fast throughout practice and took the fastest time with a great lap.


Next up were the men. The battle for the fastest time and vital lane choice in the racing.


Home town rider Klaus Beige was fast and set the early marker. Gustaw Dadela crashed in practice breaking a bone in his hand, but it wasn’t enough to stop him! 7th in qualifying for the gutsy Polish rider. Veteran Scott Beaumont stopped the clock fractions slower than Beige but it was defending World Champion Tomas Slavik that took the fastest time.

Racing

After qualifying there was a chance for race bikes to be checked over before racing began at 15.00.


The early heats of racing were action packed as riders were fighting to qualify through to the knockout rounds.

In the semi finals however the cream began to ride to the top. In semi final 1, World Champion Tomas Slavik took control, winning the race and booking his place in the final along with countryman Tomas Brozik. In semi final 2 it was Klaus Beige taking the win from Boom Boom - Scott Beaumont and secured their spots in the final.

Finals

In the men’s small final it was a battle between Christoph Herms and Kamil Bandurowski until disaster struck and they both crashed out. This allowed Gustaw Dadela an easy roll to the finish to claim 5th.

In the women’s final, Josie McFall made an incredible start and took the win for the day, giving her a full points haul and making the race for the overall title close going into the final 2 rounds at Val Di Sole in 3 weeks.


The last race was the mens final.

Tomas Slavik took gate 1, Klaus Beige 2, Scott Beaumont on 3 and Tomas Brozik on 4. The gate dropped and it was Beaumont from gate 3 with the holeshot, but going into the first turn he ran out of space as Slavik moved tight into the lead. Slavik was tight into turn 2 and pulled away. Behind him Beige followed Slavik tight in turn 1 and was able to get in front of Beaumont with Brozik 4th. Heading into the wall ride, Beige messed up the first pro double and that in turn messed Beaumont on the wall ride. The battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th was tight but positions held across the finish line.

Results

We would just like to say a huge thank you to Klaus Beige and his team at MSV Bikepark. This guy simply went above and beyond to produce a great day of 4X. The entertainment, atmosphere, track, riding and fans were simply perfect.

Thank you to the 4X riders and teams; you guys are showing the world what is possible on our mountain bikes.


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