Local places fifth at world championships in Italy

Laguna Beach resident Brian Lopes finished fifth last week at the Mountain Bike 4X World Championships in Italy.

The contest was held Saturday in the mountain town of Val Di Sole in northern Italy.

In his qualifying run for the event, Lopes, the defending world champion, finished in eighth place, attributing his “less-than-stellar” qualifying result to his “conservative approach.”

Before live television cameras Saturday, Lopes flew through his qualifying heats with ease but ran into some trouble in the semifinal round. When Roger Rinderknecht pushed Lopes out in the second turn, followed by a move by Ross Milan, Lopes was eliminated from finals contention. Lopes has won four career world titles.

“” Mike Sciacca