The hotly-contested men’s World Cup XC series got even hotter at Fort William. Some threatening spots of rain after the start looked like they might start to make the already challenging Witch’s Trail course even more interesting, but the wetness held off and a classic race ensued.

Off the start it was the Siemens-Cannondale duo of Roel Paulissen and Christoph Sauser making the running, just as they did in Houffalize last week. Working together, they managed to put a useful gap into the pack. A slow start by Round 1 winner, and the winner of this event last year, Filip Mierhaeghe (Specialized) gave him some work to do, but it wasn’t long before he’d worked his way up to a reasonably secure third spot.

At least, it looked fairly secure, but he was on his own and behind him was a group of six riders. In that group was Britain’s Liam Killeen, showing that Round 2’s top ten position was no flash in the pan.

With a lap to go, Sauser had made his move, leaving Paulissen to fend for himself. With a substantial cushion ahead of the chasing Mierhaeghe, though, the series leader’s second spot was never really under threat. Sauser pulled out a minute and a half on his team-mate by the finish, with Mierhaeghe holding off the chasing pack for third.

That pack stayed together until the very end, and to the delight of the huge crowd at the finish, it was Killeen who popped out the front of it in the sprint to the line. He snatched fourth place by just two seconds from Jean-Christophe Peraud. It’s a career-best finish for Killeen and his future is undoubtedly bright. It gives you an idea of his potential when you realise that he’s six years younger than Paulissen and Sauser and eleven years younger than Mierhaeghe…

Sauser and Paulissen worked together from the start	Mierhaeghe got himself up to third but couldn’t get any further
Paulissen makes his break	Liam Killeen on his way to a brilliant fourth place