Ramona Forchini has won the gold medal at the Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships in Sakarya. The cross-country specialist from the canton of St. Gallen beat former world champion Maja Wloszczowska (36) from Poland on the home straight in north-west Turkey. Forchini had already shown that she is in excellent shape a week ago at the European Cross-Country Championships in Ticino. On Monte Tamaro, the 26-year-old from Wattwil in Toggenburg finished in twelfth place.

It is her first international marathon competition, which is why it felt crazy for Ramona Forchini. She had no idea what to expect at the marathon world championships in Sakarya. The cross-country specialist leads on each of the long climbs and keeps the pace high until the leading group shrinks to three riders. As neither Wloszczowska nor Forchini managed to break away in the final phase, it came down to a sprint in the stadium, where the Swiss rider had "more reserves", as she said.

Experienced compared to Forchini, this is Ariane Lüthi's tenth time in a world championship marathon race. But so far, the 37-year-old has never managed to win a medal. The athlete from Bern is now able to change that in Turkey and wins the bronze medal on her World Championship anniversary.