It will be a tough race for favorite Sina Frei, even though an important competitor, the German Ronja Eibl, suffers a defect on the first lap that costs her more than two minutes.
In a leading group of four, Frei had to contend with junior world champion Laura Stigger, Loana Lecomte and the Spaniard Rocio Garcia Martinez.
"There were always small attacks, especially from me and Laura," explained Frei at the finish. But there were no real gaps. The climbs in the Anthropos bike park are not steep and difficult enough for that.

"I think all the attacks took their toll," says the Swiss rider, who started the race as defending champion. Sometimes the pace dropped off and she slowed down because nobody wanted to take the lead on the flat section.
"I then tried to keep the pace high to push the others to their limits," she explains her strategy. The decisive factor was probably a mistake that Laura Stigger made. She slips and falls. A bleeding right knee is evidence of this mishap.

This gives Sina Frei the opportunity to open the gas tap. Loana Lecomte follows her, but the Frenchwoman is unable to maintain her position. Laura Stigger turns up the pace again, passes Garcia Martinez and in the final lap she also catches Lecomte.
"It was an interesting race," says Frei, who is making history with her fourth European Championship gold. Never before has a mountain biker managed to win the European title in all four U23 years.

Nicole Koller finishes seventh (+2:17) and is disappointed after her recent fourth place in the U23 World Cup. "The legs were actually good," she said, shaking her head. "She can actually do more," says national coach Edi Telser, patting her on the back in consolation.