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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128341
you get the worst gate. "Gate three was such a disadvantage and that 's where it all ended for me," Adams added . "They need to look at it and maybe reward the guys who are on the pace and going good. Maybe they could do something with a time-trial from the practice, or something like that, to let the quickest guys have the pick of gate positions. That would make something of practice as well." The fight to finish in the top eight (and win an automatic spot in the 2005 Grand Prix) saw Jonsson move into sixth place 10 points ahead of the ninth-placed Andersen - though top British rider Lee Richardson lost ground, slipping to 10th, and is now six points behind Bjarne Pedersen , in eighth position. The pre-main portion of the meeting started in remarkably uneventful fashion and gave little hint of the racing to follow. Each of the first four races was won from a useful-looking inside gate, and an unhappy former World Champion, Mark Loram, found himself immediately sent into an eliminator. Loram looked to be heading out in heat six but dived inside Bo Brhel going into the second lap, and then reeled in and passed Lukas Dryml as well on the last bend. That put Brhel and wild card Izak Santej out of the meeting, joining Jesper B. Jensen and Ales Dryml, who had been eliminated in heat five. Jensen had looked promising in the early stages of the race but was overtaken by Mikael Max and eventually dropped to the back . Richardson and Bjarne Pede rsen made it two wins out of two to secure easy passages into the main event, but Ryan Sullivan finished behind Piotr Protasiewicz after a superb heat-eight battle, which also involved Kaj Laukkanen - and Jonsson also faced an eliminator. The Swede safely navigated heat I I, battling throughout with Jarek Hampel, but Lukas Dryml and laukkanen were left well behind and out of the meeting, and the following race saw the shocking elimination of Sullivan, who was caught on the last bend by home hero Matej Zagar: The Aussie's hopes of a top-eight finishing position now hang by a thread - and also out of contention was Loram, who was never a factor in the race. The first clashes of the seeded riders in heats nine and 10 were won by Tomasz Gollob, who made an impressive move ......... ~ inside Hancock and Andersen in turn four, and Rickardsson, who left Crump and Adams battling for the minor places in a clear statement of intent. Gollob, however, couldn't carry that form into the main event, and he was relegated to third place by Zagar and Rune Holta in heat 13. Crump and Adams did manage to correct the ir setups and win the next two races, and Rickardsson was never threatened by Nicki Pedersen or the rest of the heat 16 field , the Swede looking strong . Gollob's evening had promised much from his first ride , but he was destined to make an early ex it, overtaken by Bjarne Pedersen in heat 17, as Max again survived an eliminator, which also saw Protasiewicz's meeting come to an end . The second of the pair of eliminators saw disappointment for British star Scott Nicholls , a semifinalist in the last three GPs, who was ruled out at the expense of fellow countryman Richardson and Hancock. Adams took his second straight win in heat 19 to secure a straightforward passage to the semis, and behind them Jonsson had the crowd on its feet with a spectacular ride , chasing Nicki _. __ 1__ --- ....._ rvr. ~ Pedersen and passing him on the inside going into the last bend. And the pressure then built on Crump - serene in heat 14, the Australian was forced into third place thanks to a clever cutback from the on-form Andersen , who went from fourth to second on the last lap to join the impeccable Rickardsson in the semis . The season-long battle between Hancock and Nicki Pedersen continued in heat 21, with the American moving through on the inside , and both made the semis at the expense of Rune Holta and Max, and Richardson's hopes of a top-eight finishing position were dented when he t railed in at the back of heat 22, Zagar's highly praiseworthy meeting coming to an end with Bjarne Pedersen and a relieved Crump going through . Only Hampel had won from gate three all meeting. and only three other races had seen its occupant take second place, so there was clear frustration in the Aussie's camp when the white helmet was drawn . And when Andersen flew from the start of the first semi to head Crump, Hancock and Adams. it looked like the tit le leader was almost N~UlC