MALVERN'S Liam Killeen scored his best result in World Cup XC racing with second place at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada.
Christophe Sauser won the event, giving Liam's Specialized Factory Team a 1-2 in the penultimate round of the UCI World Cup.
In hot and muggy conditions, the pair split away early and were able to hold off a challenge from Olympic and World champion Julien Absalon, four laps from home.
Although the Frenchman closed the gap to 15 seconds at one point, the leaders doubled that in one lap and then pulled a minute a lap ahead in the last two laps.
Liam's Swiss team-mate then made a small break, which he was able to hold till the finish.
"I just didn't have that last little bit of strength to get back on Susis' wheel," said Liam, who had changed his feeding plan for the race and was happy with the result.
Leaderboard: 1 Christophe Sauser (Specialized) 2.00.29, 2 Liam Killeen (Specialized) 2.00.39, 3 Julien Absalon (Bianchi-Agos) 2.03.24, 4 Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida) 2.03.59, 5 Seamos McGrath (Canada) 2.06.37.
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