Fry (left) and Moseley about to hit it hard
Tasmanian Olympic hopeful Rowena Fry has put in a gutsy performance overnight at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 4 x Cross Country Eliminator in La Bresse in Northern France.The semi final was an super race with Fry crashing into a garage door after being clipped by Tracey Moseley who ended up head first into a barrier. After a career of ups and downs it’s good to see Rowena getting a massive result against the worlds best, giving her confidence for the rest of the season.
The eliminator format takes in a short course which is suited to powerful cross country and versatile 4 cross riders, who speed around the narrow course. Fry does not posses the power of the other riders but rode a good line around a tight curb to put herself in a position to qualify for the final. Up the final short punchy climb, whilst riding head to head with Moseley, they clipped bars and both careered off course. Fry was the quickest to recover, running the final 400 metres to finish second.
The final was a mere formality as Swedish 17 year old Jenny Rissveds lead from the front to win from fellow country woman Alexandra Engen and Swiss rider Kathrin Stirnemann. Fry had pulled up sore from a tough semi to finish fourth.
The full race coverage is available online here. The women’s semi finals start at 1.03.37 and the final at 1.22.07
