Giant riders collected two more medals at the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships

Giant riders collected two more medals in the final day of competition at the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Australian Paul van der Ploeg won a rainbow jersey in the elite men’s Eliminator race, while Swiss rider Jolanda Neff followed up her gold medal in the women’s Under-23 XC race with a silver in the elite women’s Eliminator.

The Eliminator is an XC-focused event that pits four riders against each other, similar to four-cross racing. The fastest two riders in each heat advance, while the other two are eliminated. The track has climbs, descents and technical sections. The Eliminator format was introduced to World Cup competition last year and made its World Championships debut at the 2012 MTB Worlds.

Van der Ploeg, a well-rounded racer who competes in road and XC competition, advanced through the men’s rounds and beat out three others in the finals.

“It was exciting to come away with the win,” Van der Ploeg told Cyclingnews.com. “Last year I raced all the World Cup Eliminators but this year I took a step back from the World Cup and have been racing the road in Australia and Asia.”

In women’s racing Neff advanced through the rounds racing on her Liv/giant Obsess Advanced featuring new 27.5-inch wheel technology. The finals came down to a tight battle between Neff and Alexandra Engen of Sweden, but Neff was edged out at the line.