BIKING: Switzerland sweeps Pump Track titles

SPRINGDALE -- David Graf knew something went awry when he completed the first round around the Runway Bike Park pump track.

Graf, 29, exploded off the start line against Eddy Clerte in the final round of the Red Bull World Pump Track Championships on Saturday. But when Graf moved to the center of the track, he realized something must have happened to take Clerte out of contention.

Clerte slipped off his bike pedal at the start of the race and never recovered as Graf zipped around the track and pocketed a $6,000 payday.

"I didn't realize he'd slipped a pedal, but when I crossed the midline, I saw how far back he was and I knew something happened," Graf said. "I knew I was in front of him, but not by that much."

Clerte said his foot just slipped off the pedal as he was trying to get a fast takeoff in the rainy conditions.

Switzerland's Graf has been racing BMX bikes since he was a toddler, winning a number of championships. The win Saturday was the first world championship for pump track racing.

Graf made his way to the championship by defeating Hannes Slavik, Giacomo Fantoni, Asuma Nakai and Barry Nobles. Nobles made his way through Friday's Last Chance Qualifier and powered his way to the semifinals, ultimately winning third place.

Clerte outpaced Amais Gomez, Edzus Treimanis, Mark Ducat, Helvis Babris to reach the final.

Christa Von Niederhausern, the No. 1 seed in the qualifying round, dominated the competition en route to the women's title and a $6,000 payout and make it a clean sweep for Switzerland. Von Niederhausern defeated Merel Smulders, 19, in the final to win her first world title at the age of 20.

"Because I won the qualification and started against the No. 16, it took a lot of pressure off me," Von Niederhausern said. "So that helped me to be able to see how the track would be with it wet. So I just tried to go faster each time.

"I just tried to have fun and do better each lap. I think the final lap was my best one. I was just really relaxed."

The women's semifinal was a family affair as sisters Merel Smulders went head-to-head with sister Laura Smulders. It was the younger Smulders who took the win over her 24-year-old sister, who was an Olympian in 2012 and earned a bronze medal.

Earlier this season at the BMX World Championships, Laura bested Merel to win the gold and Merel earned the silver.

"I've raced against her before, but today I was able to beat her," said an excited Merel Smulders, who earned a $2,500 payday for her second-place finish. Laura Smulders finished third and earned $1,000.

Graf was the No. 3 seed after the qualifying round.

"This feels so great," Graf said. "The level of competition here is so high. When you watch practice, like when I go to a pump track to practice, I do lines nobody else does. But here, there are 30 guys doing the same lines. It really builds up the pressure because everyone can go really fast."

Sports on 10/14/2018