Saturday evening's 4X finals took place under the setting sun of Telluride in front of a large crowd out to see riders mix it up four at a time. But before the finals were run, the racers had to train on Friday, then practice again and qualify Saturday afternoon. And before any of that happened, Telluride's seriously flawed 4X course took two notable victims.

Kirt Voreis (USA, Haro/Lee Dungarees), crashed so hard during his training run that he was taken to the hospital for tests and treatment before returning to the venue to walk around in a daze the remainder of the weekend.

"I'm still trying to remember what happened," he said later.

Then Scott "Boom-Boom" Beaumont (GBR, Kona/Ford Focus) crashed during practice, dislocating his ankle and breaking his fibula, undergoing surgery at 3am Sunday morning.

These crashes, and those that occurred later in finals, illustrate what's wrong with this season's 4X courses, although it seems like no one is taking notice.

"It's the same thing every week," lamented series-leading Brian Lopes (USA, Fox/GT), who crashed out of the semifinal before commenting that the course was too fast.

MountainZone.com is a fan of fast, high-flying courses that test the limits of riders' skills, but when both of the world champions crash hard during the finals, several riders on the very first turn, we know there's a problem. "It was too fast," said winner Eric Carter (USA, Mongoose).

And this John Tomac-designed track, which followed the hill's steep fall-line rather than take a less steep traverse route, was flawed. We hope the UCI and organizers get it together before a rider's career is ended.... or worse.

Jonnier Keeps it Interesting
Sabrina Jonnier (FRA, Intense Cycles) won her season's first 4X final Saturday, but it was bittersweet after champions Anne-Caroline Chausson (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale) and Katrina Miller (AUS, Jamis) crashed into each other on turn one.

"I'm sorry for Anne," said Jonnier. "I was behind Katrina on the outside line of turn one and Anne was on the inside, they crashed into each other and I got the lead."

Chausson and Miller hit each other and both went down, but while Miller went on to finish 3rd, Chausson not only didn't finish her run, she didn't even get up. Medical personnel rushed in and, after several tense minutes, eventually put her on a backboard and transporting her to the hospital for treatment and observation.

April Lawyer (USA, Maxxis) had earned a spot in the final four as well, and earned a career's best 2nd place in the final, while the consistently fast Tara Llanes (USA, Yeti/Pearl Izumi) raced in the small final, winning that run for 5th place overall.

As the two battle each other for both the DH and 4X titles, Jonnier's win here moves her to within 20 points of Chausson in the overall standings. Former champion Miller trails in 3rd place.

Carter Just Wants to Have Fun
Eric Carter (USA, Mongoose) passed on the World Cup season's first two events in Europe saying he wanted to time his peak properly and that, frankly, he wasn't all that interested in the World Cup.

"I just want to have fun and race my bike," he said. "I'm having a great time and winning so everything's good!"

Carter won his second-consecutive World Cup 4X, this time beating an all-star trio of 2nd place Cedric Gracia (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale), 3rd place Greg Minnaar (RSA, Global Racing Team) and 4th place Nathan Rennie (AUS, Yeti/Pearl Izumi).

The action was fast and furious. The course may have been dangerous, but the race was entertaining for sure.

Current series leader, and defending dual champion, Brian Lopes (USA, Fox/GT) missed out on the finals after crashing hard in the semi-finals.

"I don't know what happened," he said as he described casing a final jump near the finish. He was down for some time after knocking the wind out of himself, but eventually got up to race his small final, which he won.

Even though he has yet to win a 4X final, Lopes holds the series lead with 115 points to Gracia's 106 with one race remaining. Carter is 3rd overall.

— Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Correspondent