Video: 4X Pro Tour Round 6 Leibstadt

4X ProTour – Round 6 – Leibstadt, Switzerland

Round 6 of the 2014 4X ProTour saw the riders heading to Leibstadt in Switzerland. Leibstadt is a small town in northern Switzerland, very close to the German border. The cycling club: VC Leibstadt, are totally focused on 4X racing and it was great to finally take a round of 4X ProTour there. The track is at the heart of the town and it is great to see a community getting behind the facility. A permanent Bensink start gate, pro line doubles, rhythm section, massive turns and an on site marquee where the races are shown live to the fans! It really is a great set up and well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area.

On Friday, riders started arriving and getting to grips with the track. Local rider Simon Waldburger had made some changes to the track over the winter months and it definitely made the track more technical. The new pro line was tough, but the riders were getting it mastered by Friday night.

Being Swiss National Day, the whole community came down to the track in the evening for a ceremony, hosted by the town’s mayor. Bands, choirs, great food and fireworks signified Swiss Day and got the weekend started perfectly.

Saturday morning and it was race day. With the sun shining, riders signed on and riders briefing completed, it was time for qualifying to begin. The women were first up. It was great to see Rachel Friedrich racing again. The mountain bike world will remember her as Rachel Seydoux from the 90’s and 2000’s. Setting a time of 45.86, she clearly hadn’t lost any speed since her last race as she sat in the hot seat for a while. Then Lucia Oetjen lined up. Out of the gate she looked really fast and on the track she was mistake free. Across the finish line with a time of 44.41, Lucia took the fastest time.

Next up it was the men. Simon Waldburger, understandably, set the early benchmark time with a 36.952 time. He was the first rider below 37 seconds. Next up it was Charly Gaillard. The French Elite BMX rider has raced here in Leibstadt before and again this year looked to be flying. With a great lap Charly took the lead with 36.47. Next was Scott Beaumont. Fresh from the BMX World Championships, this track looked like it would really suit Scott. A perfect, smooth lap and Scott was the first rider under 36 seconds with a 35.69 time. Quentin Derbier was the final rider on course. The Frenchman always looks fast and without a doubt it looked like this lap would challenge for the fastest time. Across the line and it was just enough – 35.54.

So, with qualifying all done racing began at 18.00. There were some clouds looming and thunderstorms forecast, so the riders were ready to get started! In the first race of the night, Derbier unclipped straight out of the gate. Storming back from 4th, at the finish line he was safely though to the next round. Beaumont also made a mistake in the first round. Missing the gate completely, he also battled back to take the win and transfer through.

By the semi finals we were down to the fastest 8 riders. Semi final 1 and it was Quentin Derbier in gate 1, Marco Muff in 2, New Swiss 4X National Champion Jan Kissling in 3 and Ingo Schleck in 4. The gate dropped and Derbier just got to turn 1 leading. Muff and Kissling were battling for 2nd all the way around the track. In the last turn it was tight but by the finish line Muff took 2nd place to move into the final with Derbier.

In the 2nd semi final, Beaumont took gate 1, Gaillard in 2, Jonas Gauss in 3 and Adrian Weiss in 4. The gate dropped and Clearly Beaumont made a mistake (it turned out he wheelspun out of the gate). Gaillard took the lead and Beaumont battled into 2nd by the first turn. Heading towards the pro line straight Gaillard and Beaumont were clear. Beaumont then passed Gaillard into the final turn and these 2 were into the final.

So it was final time. First up were the women. In the small final, Lea Rutz led the race from start to finish to take the win and with it 5th position for the day. Next it was the main final. Oetjen in 1, Friedrich in 2, Geraldine Fink in 3 and Michelle Vollenweider in 4. The gate dropped and Oetjen and Friedrich were bar to bar. Diving inside in turn 1, Oetjen took the lead. Friedrich was close for the whole lap, but just could not find a way past. Oetjen took the win ahead of Friedrich with Fink in 3rd and Vollenweider in 4th. Some great racing from the women all day and hopefully we will see them all racing again at more 4X ProTour events in 2015.

Finally it was time for the men. In the small final Jonas Gauss took the win and a deserved 5th place for the day after some great racing in the early rounds. The main final then lined up on the gate. Derbier took gate 1, Beaumont in 2, Gaillard in 3 and Marco Muff in 4. The gate dropped and Beaumont got the snap. On the first straight it was tight and a touch of handlebars between Beaumont and Gaillard took them both a little wide in turn 1. Derbier dived inside and was gone with a good sized lead. Muff was in 2nd with Gaillard in 3rd and Beaumont in 4th. In the last turn Gaillard tried to make a move but it did not pay off. It was Derbier with the win from Muff, Gaillard and Beaumont. An awesome final race and a great showcase for 4X ProTour and the track in Leibstadt.


Men’s Results – Round 6 – Leibstadt, Switzerland

1st – Quentin Derbier
2nd – Marko Muff
3rd – Charly Gaillard
4th – Scott Beaumont
5th – Jonas Gauss

Leibstadt_FinalResults_EliteMen

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Leibstadt_FinalResults_EliteMen

Women’s Results – Round 6 – Leibstadt, Switzerland

1st – Lucia Oetjen
2nd – Rachel Friedrich
3rd – Geraldine Fink
4th – Michelle Vollenweider
5th – Lea Rutz

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Leibstadt_FinalResults_EliteWomen

So that was it from Switzerland. A great event and hats off to the Leibstadt organisers for hosting a fantastic race. The next event for the 4X ProTour are the finals. We are heading to Bulgaria for the first time for round 7 which will be hosted at Pamporovo Bike Park on August 23rd. We can’t wait to get racing at this new venue.

Overall Ranking 2014

Ranking 4XProTour2014 Men by Chris Roberts

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Ranking 4XProTour2014 Men by Chris Roberts