WC#1 RESULTS & Freecaster.com Interview
MARIBOR, Slovenia- Saturday, May 10, 2008:
After a qualifying run that got him 6th place, Lopes went on to tackle his first heat, which proved to be disheartening. As Brian broke out of the gate in true Lopes-style, he led the pack down the first set of jumps and into the hard-DH-like left-hander. As he approached the rigid gate...his handlebars hit it, which caused him to spin-out, but NOT enough to cost him the race. So ready to attack the riders that passed him, Brian went to pedal...only to feel his rear tire loose, as his rear skewer had come undone, which DID cost him the race: which was won by Will Longden (ENG).
In an interesting turn of events, which this WC seemed to be bursting of, along with crashes and passes, Will was DQed for missing a gate and Brian was told he was back in and ordered to go back to the top for another run. The confused race official thought Brian had come in 3rd. After some discussions, in various languages, they realized that Brian came in 4th and was not affected by Will's disqualification. Good times!
In the end, the WC podium reflected the uniqueness of the race itself as Rafa Alvarez (ESP), a "not your usual suspect" and first timer to WC finals, stood in the number 1 spot.
Mens Results:
1. ALVAREZ Rafa
2. TSCHUGG Guido
3. FISCHBACK Johannes
4. SLAVIK Tomas
Check out the Interview Brian did for Freecaster.com
Posted by paula on May 10, 2008 02:17 PM