The first round of the Elite World Cup in Aalter kicked of the 2012 season in style; Sunday’s Finals and Super Finals were of an unprecedented intensity and the media coverage organised by Kenny Belaey meant that they were seen around the world by an audience bigger than ever before. Gilles Coustellier and Vincent Hermance managed to repeat their Semi-Final performances from the day before and take the lead in a series which has already challenged the Elite riders and pushed them to their limits. Kenny Belaey’s staff, as promised, put on the most media-friendly and well-covered World Cup in the history of trials, but also one of the most difficult! That had a few of us worried to begin with; is a course of such difficulty really the best way to attract the media? The first 26” final lap saw almost nothing but accidents, some of them particularly violent, and fives, which is certainly not the best image for our sport. However, this first Super World Cup enjoyed unprecedented success an popularity all the same. Despite unfavourable weather conditions, the spectators were out in force, lining the sections and ensuring an excellent atmosphere. The organisation that went into the event was monstrous, with support coming from Kenny big backers, Volkswagen and Red Bull.
From a sporting perspective, as well as the impressive victories by Gilles Coustellier and Vincent Hermance, everyone will surely remember the phenomenal performance from Tribal Zine and Enter Bike’s Jack Carthy. The fifteen year old, who is still in his second year of the Cadet class and will ride in the Junior category in the World Championship, was riding in his first ever World Cup and still managed to shake up the established hierarchy in the most difficult of conditions! We’ve been behind Jack for a long time now and have always known that he would be capable of big things on the Elite circuit, but even we were blown away by what he managed to do in Aalter this weekend. Here are the full results, podiums and photos form the Super Final. More details and photos coming soon!
Elite 26" - Gilles Coustellier takes the lead, ahead of Kenny Belaey and… Jack Carthy!
The rain made things much more difficult for the 26” Final and Super Final of the Aalter World Cup, as if things weren’t already hard enough for the riders; the sections would have been difficult enough in the dry, with some ultra-technical passages through the logs and rocks and huge moves throughout. The scores from the first lap of the final speak for themselves: There were fives left, right and centre, punctuated by some very nasty falls. Gilles Coustellier (Koxx) had a couple of bad falls, on the big jump in the pipes section and on the graffiti wall in section six, where his fork snapped, and finished with 25 points on his first lap. The organisers decided to take out some of the more difficult passages for the second lap, including the big kicker onto the huge blue A. Kenny Belaey (GT Bicycles) was in the lead going into the second lap. The second round will be decisive and the duel between Gilles and Kenny will be tight. Gilles, recomposed after his first lap, dropped just eight points on his second. Kenny made also an excellent second lap, but fell heavily in its last section (section 1). He blew out his tyre at the end of the first section and tried to get through it all the same, but as he was on his rear wheel on the Volkswagen his tyre squirmed, throwing him head first onto the rocks below. He picked himself up a few minutes later, but was visibly suffering from the pain of the crash. Everybody was wondering if he could take the start of the Super Final three quarters of an hour later. Jack Carthy (Enter-Bike) not only qualified in third place for the Super Final in his first ever World Cup, but managed a second lap of just one point – the best Elite lap of the whole competition! The young Brit is absolutely phenomenal and everyone who saw him ride is in absolute awe of his talent. There is a great future ahead of him. Despite his young age, he is already fighting on equal terms with his elders, with impressive skill and determination. His clean or nothing attitude and absolute focus will, without doubt, serve him well in the coming rounds. He is in his element and is already riding to win at the highest level. Aurélien Fontenoy (Inpulse) gave his all and also managed to qualify for the first ever World Cup Super Final, which would reach unparalleled levels of intensity, with the public following the riders around the four sections, cheering them on and willing them to do their best. The World Champion, once again, showed his mettle and left his competitors in his wake, finishing on just two points to guarantee the victory. Kenny, spurred on by his public, managed to hold on to second place, despite being in obvious agony from the injuries sustained in his earlier crash. We have since found out that he has broken his wrist and cracked his elbow and will have already been operated on; That makes his exploits all the more admirable – riding to hat standard with a broken arm demands not only great talent and determination, but a real desire to win. Respect! We wish you a speedy recovery Kenny! Jack Carthy continued on his incredible trajectory, beating everyone but Gilles in the Super Final and finishing in third place on the podium.
Full 26" results
The 26” Elite podium
Gilles Coustellier, leader of the Elite 26” World Cup
The four Elite 26” Super Finalists in action
Elite 20" - Supermance takes the lead in the World Cup, ahead of Abel Mustieles and Benito Ros!
The rain that had cursed the 26” competition had started to fall again, but the organisers took out some of the more dangerous passages to make things a bit easier for the riders. The first lap was very difficult all the same, with just three riders managing to get through most of the sections and to distance themselves from the pack: Supermance (Koxx) and the two Spaniards that he was so anxious to beat. But the two Spaniards, Abel Mustieles (Monty) and Benito Ros (Koxx) are still weakened by injury, with Abel letting go of his handlebars in pain on several occasions, so Vincent can’t rest on his laurels just yet. The fourth rider to qualify for the Super Final was Carles Diaz (Speed Race), who broke back into the top ranks with style. He was, all the same, quite a way behind the top three – a fact which meant that he was able to ride the Super Final sections with very little pressure and put on a bit of a show. Vincent Hermance suffered a mechanical problem half way through the sections, but he swapped bikes and perfectly managed the rest of the competition. Before he even entered the final section, in which he would fall victim to the slippery concrete, his victory was assured and he allowed himself a small celebration. The Koxx team’s ‘free spirit’ had beaten the challenge that he had set himself and taken the lead in the 20” World Cup! Bravo Vince!
Full 20" results
The Elite 20" podium
Supermance, the new leader of the 20” World Cup
The four Elite 20” Super Finalists in action
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