European Championships Graz: Hat-trick of titles for Sina Frei, Colombo second
Sina Frei rides to a start-finish victory in temperatures of over 30 degrees. Her supposedly toughest rival, Alessandra Keller, had to retire from the race on the second lap. She had had gastrointestinal problems the night before and therefore had no chance. Sina Frei quickly cranks through the 4.2 kilometers in Stattegg on her own and extends her lead more and more. It grew to 1:30 minutes over Tovo.
"It was one of the toughest races I've ever ridden, even though I had such a big lead. The heat was extreme and it was hard to drink enough. It was only on the last lap that I was able to enjoy it a bit," explained Frei about her fourth European Championship title in a row. She had also won one in the juniors in 2015.
"It means a lot to me because it shows that I'm consistent," says the happy winner after cooling down with water. Nicole Koller finished eleventh (+6:46) and was rather disappointed.
Colombo secures third Swiss medal - Dubau takes the title
Filippo Colombo was in the leading group in temperatures of over 30 degrees when Frenchman Joshua Dubau attacked on the second of six laps. "That was mega fast and I wasn't sure whether I should go with him because my legs weren't so good at first."
Colombo decides against it and stays in the chasing group. Dubau extends his lead to 35 seconds, but he can never be sure. Colombo's legs start to turn better from the third lap and he benefits from the pace work of the two Dutchmen Milan Vader and David Nordemann on the mountain.
This trio finally fought for silver and bronze. Shortly before the end of the fifth lap, Nordemann suffers a puncture on a jump and drops back. This made it a duel for silver in the final lap.
"I knew that I could win against both of them if I went into the technical passage first. So I went all out on the flat and was the first into the singletrail," explained Colombo. The man from Ticino then managed to do the same against Vader and quickly opened up a gap. "I'm happy with my race, it's my first international medal," commented Colombo.
Noah Blöchlinger confirms his performance so far this season in 17th place (+4:03). He loses the sprint for 16th place by a wafer-thin margin to Frenchman Antoine Philipp. Joel Roth finishes 20th (+4:41) at his first U23 World Championships.
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