Today’s race was starting really well for the Multivan-Merida rider, who saw himself riding second behind the explosivity of the young Alexis Vuillermoz. In the second of the six laps, Hermida crashed after losing his front wheel on a wet root. The crash was hard, but the pain in his shoulder would not be the problem for the race. The headache for Hermida came in the form of technical problems. As Hermida explained “I have stood up after the crash and have seen my handlebar was not straight. I thought it was broken, and that is really dangerous, so I have started to keep thinking on it. I have decided to stop in the technical area and check it in order to avoid major problems. I have realized it was not the handlebar, but the head set or fork tube”.

Hermida entered back in the race and started to go forward, but his problems in the head set were increasing and he was forced to stop again, losing a lot of postions. “I have had to stop again, as I could not handle the bike in those conditions. I have lost a lot of time and I have gone back in the race around the 20th position. It was not one of those super days, but I was feeling quite comfortable, regardless of the trip to Australia. I have put a hard pace and I have started to go forward, trying to minimize the lose in the overall. I am happy and surprised of finishing just 3 minutes after the winner, with all the problems I have gone through.”.

Hermida has fiinished 13th, what takes him down to the 4th position in the overall standings, with one World Cup still to be raced. It will be in Schladming where the final podium will be decided next weekend. Hermida will try his best to gain a podium spot that he has achieved already 4 times in the Elite category, with 2 second places and 2 third positions.