The farce surrounding the young Eliminator discipline was already apparent during the season. The competitions were separated from the Cross-Country World Cups and moved to the city centers. The result: small starting fields without big stars. Nobody in the city centers was interested in this, and the number of spectators was correspondingly low. The whole thing has now culminated in the World Championships in China, which should not have been allowed to take place according to the regulations: With eleven men and ten women, there were simply too few athletes at the start. Spectators? About the same number as athletes.

The World Championships in China are perhaps the final act in the drama surrounding the Eliminator discipline. However, the spectacle began as a comedy with high entertainment value. Back then, the sport was still called Four Cross. It was pure spectacle: roaring crowds and professional athletes characterized the competitions. Riders such as Roger Rinderknecht, Brian Lopes, Guido Tschugg, Michal Prokop, Cédric Gracia and Jared Graves were celebrated as stars. Then the sport disappeared from one day to the next: On September 22, 2011, the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced that the discipline would no longer be held as a World Cup. The reasons given were the high costs of the route and the negative impact on the environment. The comedy turned into a tragedy within seconds.

The Four Cross became the Cross Country Eliminator discipline. The hope was to achieve a greater impact with less effort. In vain. While the competitions were initially unable to step out of the shadow of the Olympic cross-country sport, an attempt was made to emancipate them by separating them from the official World Cup and holding separate events in city centers. It backfired, and six years after the caesarean section, the patient called Eliminator is now effectively brain dead. The sport is still around, but nobody is interested anymore. Meanwhile, not even the big athletes, who decided not to take part in the most important race of the season. Incidentally, Titouan Perrin Ganier and Coline Clauzure won. Ever heard of them? Exactly...

This was once the show you got to see at the Four Cross:

What has become of Four Cross six years later: