In the men's race, three more riders are in the top ten: Andreas Kugler in 5th, Sandro Spaeth in 7th and Lukas Buchli in 8th. Urs Huber from Zurich, the current leader in the iXS Bike Classic, is by far the youngest rider in the top 10 - good prospects for Switzerland over the marathon distance. Huber only lost the silver medal by one second to Riis Andersen from Denmark.

Süss's title win in the women's race is anything but a surprise. The rider from Aargau was one of the clear favorites, she has won all races of the iXS Bike Classic so far and has also shown respectable performances in the Cross Country World Cup. She won the European Championship race with a lead of over five minutes.Official press release:

Austrian Alban Lakata took the title of European Marathon Champion at the GONSO Albstadt MTB Classic. After 95 kilometers, he won in 3:28:30 hours, 38 seconds ahead of Peter Riis Andersen (Denmark) and 40 seconds ahead of Urs Huber (Switzerland). Karl Platt (Osthofen) came fourth with a difference of 2:01 minutes. Switzerland's Esther Süss won the women's race ahead of Pia Sundstedt (Finland), Antonio Wipfli (Switzerland) and Bianca Knöpfle (Hubertshofen).

On the fast course in Albstadt, a three-man lead group, initiated by Karl Platt, formed in the men's field, which also included Andersen and the Swiss Andreas Kugler. After half the distance, there were 45 seconds between the trio and a seven-man chasing group. But there were some riders who didn't want to accept the fight for fourth place. After around 50 kilometers, four riders rode up, including Huber, Lakata and top favorite Thomas Dietsch (France). Hannes Genze (Sindelfingen) was no longer in the race at this point, who, to his own surprise, had felt "very strong" and remained passive in the chasing field in favor of his Alb-Gold teammate. Genze was knocked off his bike by a competitor on the straight, crashed and had to retire with a flat tire and bent handlebars.

Lakata overcomes nervousness
Things didn't stay calm for long after the finish. "I didn't have good legs at the start, maybe also because I was very nervous because I was expected to be the favorite. But after the halfway point I had super good legs," said Lakata at the finish. He used these good legs, together with Huber, to attack after around 60 kilometers. Lukas Buchli (Switzerland) went with him and the trio passed the timekeeping with a lead of 20 seconds, 23 kilometers before the finish.

While Buchli was unable to keep up the pace and fell back, Andersen mobilized with all his might from the chasing group and managed to catch up with the leading duo. "That probably disqualified me for the win," Andersen later grinned at his feat of strength. But he had no other option. Lakata used his strength and pulled away on the last small climb. "I went full throttle again. I didn't want to let it come down to a sprint," said Lakata and spoke of his "greatest success" to date.

Andersen defeated Urs Huber in the sprint and was very happy with silver. "I wouldn't have thought that this morning. I had a medical exam the day before yesterday and have hardly been able to train for long," said Andersen, who has ridden close to international medals on several occasions. The Dane was the last remaining Alb-Gold rider after Tim Böhme (Freiburg) and local hero Torsten Marx (Hechingen) dropped out for health reasons and Jochen Käß (Weil im Schönbuch) left the race after 70 kilometers to rest up for the Cross-Country World Championships next week. Swiss rider Urs Huber didn't care what color the medal was in the end. "I really wanted a medal and I felt very good. For me, this is my greatest success to date," said Huber.Sweet(es) solo after Sundstedt's defect
There were two duels in the women's race. Esther Süss and Pia Sundstedt fought for gold. The Finn lost air in her front wheel after around 40 kilometers. Süss waited at first, but when Sundstedt changed the front wheel, she was gone. Never to be seen again. Süss was left with a long solo run, in which she always feared that she would be caught by the ex-road rider. "I had to fight because I thought Pia could still come on the last stretch. But I also have to say that I had extremely good legs today," said Süss at the finish, which she reached in an almost unrestrained jubilant pose. "I worked a long time for this success," she said, relieved.Sundstedt admitted that she was a little disappointed. "But I don't want to complain about a medal," said the 32-year-old. She believed that it would have been "very, very close" without the defect. You wouldn't have expected Antonia Wipfli to come third. Nor did she herself. "I would never have expected this, it's the biggest success of my career so far. I had good legs right from the start." Wipfli was able to distance herself from the second big surprise, Bianca Knöpfle (Hubertshofen), in a downhill. "I couldn't follow her there. I rode the gap closed but it cost me too much energy," said the regular road rider Knöpfle, who is a guest mountain bike rider for Team Rothaus-Cube.

Jakob Nimpf wins first U23 marathon title
The Austrian Jakob Nimpf surprisingly won the title of European U23 marathon champion for the first time, even for himself. Nimpf was only aware of his excellent starting position towards the end of the race. "I came here without a goal because I had a lot of exams as a medical student," said the surprise winner, who left his compatriot Daniel Federspiel and the long-time leader Vivien Legastelois (France) behind him.

Local hero Marcel Reiser (Tieringen) was the best German for a long time in eighth place before he crashed. He then struggled with dizziness and later also suffered a puncture, which forced him to retire.

Ranking of the European Marathon Championships, men:
1st Alban Lakata (AUT), 3:28:30
2nd Peter Riis Andersen (DEN), +0:38
3rd Urs Huber (SUI), +0:39
4th Karl Platt (GER), +2:01
5th Andreas Kugler (SUI), +2:43
6th Thomas Dietsch (FRA), +3:25
7th Sandro Spaeth (SUI), +3:26
8th Lukas Buchli (SUI), +4:34
9th Israel Baticon Nunez (ESP), +4:54
10th Johannes Sickmüller (GER), +5:41
24th Christof Bischof (SUI), +17:14
25th Friedrich Dähler (SUI), +17:18
26th Ivan Planzer (SUI), +17:29
27th Thomas Litscher (SUI), +17:32
28th Konny Looser (SUI), +17:34

Ranking list European Marathon Championships, women:
1st Esther Süss (SUI), +4:02:33
2nd Pia Sundstedt (FIN), +5:38
3rd Antonia Wipfli (SUI), +7:52
4th Bianca Knöpfle (GER), +12:04
5th Erika Dicht (SUI), +14:27
10th Milena Landtwing (SUI), +26:26
21st Corina Gantenbein (SUI), +44:21

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