The men's U23 race took place in typically Scottish conditions
Left Jakob Fuglsang won in U23 men Right Karin Moor took the women's Elite Trials title
Massive crowds for the floodlit 4X spectacular
Day 4 rolled in along with low mist and the obligatory rain. Ah well, it is Scotland after all. Still, it didn't affect the racing and today there were four World titles up for grabs. Word on the street was that the Swiss were out hunting for more medals. Would they succeed, or would their plan of domination be finally thwarted? We soon found out...
A good start for the Swiss in the Women's Elite Trials, with Karin Moor completing the eight tough sections to take the title, a clear three points off silver medallist Gemma Abant Condal of Spain. Moor's sister Mireira took the bronze. GB's sole representative was our National Ladies Champion Lois Morgan, who in her first UCI World Champs rode well to pick up 6th overall.
Next it was the turn of the Under-23 men's XC race to be decided and on paper the Swiss rider Nino Schurter was the man to beat. He started off fast, rapidly stringing the field out behind him as he took an early lead. However by lap four he'd been joined by Dutch rider Jakob Fuglsang. Sensing that Schurter was starting to pay for that fast start, Fulsgang dug deep and opened up a gap, leaving him a clear run for the finish and the ultimate prize. Schurter hung on to 2nd, with Czech rider Jaroslav Kulhavy picking up 3rd.
Later in the evening it was the 4X finals, a great floodlit spectacle that set out to wow the massive crowds lined along the new course. British interest was in the Atherton brothers Gee and Dan, Lewis Lacey, Will Longden and Scott Beaumont. Beaumont did the best in the knockout fight, coming home eventually to take 7th spot. British rider Joey Gough finished in the same spot in the women's final.
However the crowned champions of the night were Brian Lopes and Jill Kinter, America grabbing its first gold medals of the week.
As a final finale as the medals were presented the crowd were treated to an awesome display of fireworks to round off a near perfect day. It had even stopped raining by this time...
