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Sunshine Cup #5 - Race Under the Sun - 1
Limassol - Yermasogia, Cyprus, March 16, 2008
2007 Results Results Final Standings
Locomotive Soukup and Switzerland's Henzi grab wins
Kugler & Henzi take the overall titles
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The wins of Austrian Christoph Soukup and Swiss Petra Henzi gave no surprises at Limassol-Yermasogia for round five of the Sunshine Cup. For Henzi, her win, ahead of Adelheid Morath and Tereza Hurikovas meant she also claimed Sunshine Cup overall title. Henzi's Fischer-BMC team-mate Andreas Kugler finished second in the men's race and claimed the overall title while Sweden's Magnus Darvell placed third
In the men's race, young German rider René Tann started fast together with Soukup. But within the first of six 5.8 kilometer laps, Magnus Darvell and Andreas Kugler were closing the gap. Tann soon found himself riding about 100 meters behind Soukup, Kugler and Darvell, but in lap three, Tann came back and overdid it by passing the trio to gain a position he would not be able to sustain.
"Then Kugler put his foot on the gas pedal and I went with him," Soukup reported after the race. Kugler said that he didn't attack but rode only a little bit faster. At this point Darvell was sitting in fourth position behind Tann and was not able to react. Kugler and Soukup came into a duel for the win.
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Soukup was stronger on the long uphill section. So he decided to attack on the climb and made a gap. "Soukup for sure was stronger in the ascent. The locomotive took two gears higher and then he was away. But at least I'm happy with the overall title as well as with the complete four weeks racing and training in Cyprus. It couldn't have been better," Kugler said.
Soukup was afraid of Kugler catching him on the descent. The Swiss indeed did make up some ground, but Soukup's first season victory was safe, and he took the win by 1'14" over Kugler.
"I'm happy with the victory. It was a successful end of a good training camp," Soukup said.
Darvell was glad to make it to the podium. "For half of a lap, I tried to catch them again but it didn't work out. But I'm satisfied to be on the podium for the first time," he said.
A stone stops Hurikova
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The first decisive action in the women's race happened in the first lap. After just three kilometers Adelheid Morath, Petra Henzi and Tereza Hurikova went into a downhill section. Hurikova tried to pass, took an alternative line and rolled over a stone which caused her a flat and more than six minutes.
Morath showed strong form on the uphill sections but Henzi made it her race on the downhill parts. In second lap, Morath could not close the gap to the marathon world champion. So Henzi did the rest of the four laps solo and finished first with a margin of 1'20" over the 23 year-old German.
"My first goal today was to secure the overall. But I had a lot of fun, especially in the winding downhill," said Henzi. On the final day of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup the sun shined twice for her.
Considering her overall title, Henzi was happy with a good start for Fischer-BMC. "It's very positive for the team winning both [men's and women's] overall titles. Our goal was to have a good training camp on Cyprus. The races were a plus to get the race rhythm and it worked out."
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Rothaus-Cube racer Morath admitted that she did the downhill section very carefully. "I didn't want to take any risk but I also am still missing some technical skills. In the climbs, I felt very strong. It's too bad what happened to Tereza. I would like have competed with her."
The Czech woman had a long run to get to the tech zone for help with her repair. "That made my legs very hard, and I needed to recover from running. Mentally it was hard to motivate myself knowing that I have no chance to take the win," Hurikova said after crossing the finish line as third with six minutes and three seconds behind Henzi.
Race organizer Mike Hadjioannou shared positive thoughts after the conclusion of the series' final round. "It was a very successful series with a lot of important riders. We got a good feedback for the changes we made. So we are looking forward to 2009," Hadjioannou said.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Armin M. Küstenbrück armin@kuestenbrueck.de
- The start of the men's race.
- On the start loop of the men's race for round five of the Sunshine Cup.
- Wonder if Christoph Soukup (Fuji Bikes) got to enjoy the view on his way to a win?
- Christoph Soukup (Fuji Bikes) and Magnus Darvell descending on their way to the finish
- Magnus Darvell rides the stairs of the village square.
- A Russian national team rider races in Yermasogia.
- Men's round five podium: Maxim Gogolev, Andreas Kugler, Christoph Soukup, Magnus Darvell, Rene Tann
- Team-mates Petra Henzi and Andreas Kugler (Fisher BMC) celebrate their overall wins.
- Petra Henzi (Fisher BMC) on her way to winning the race and the overall series.
- Tereza Hurikova (Ceska Sporitelna) had to run far to get to the pits after an untimely flat tire.
- Women's podium for round five: Polspoel Maaike, Adelheid Morath, Petra Henzi, Tereza Hurikova, Githa Michiels
- Women's overall podium: Polspoel Maaike, Petra Henzi, Tereza Hurikova
Results
Elite men 1 Christoph Soukup (Aut) Fuji Bikes 1.54.21 2 Andreas Kugler (Swi) Fischer-BMC 1.14 3 Magnus Darvell (Swe) Rietumu Banka 2.42 4 Maxim Gogolev (Rus) 4.19 5 Rene Tann (Ger) German National Team 4.40 6 Michael Weiss (Aut) KTM Mountainbiker 4.54 7 Bjorn Brems (Bel) Belgium National Team 5.08 8 Aleksey Medvedev (Rus) 6.57 9 Christof Bischof (Swi) Bikin' Cyprus MTB Team 7.06 10 Mattias Nilsson (Swe) 7.43 11 Max Oste MacDonald (Swe) 7.47 12 Jirí Novák (Cze) 8.33 13 Dries Govaerts (Bel) Belgium National Team 10.19 14 Denis Vorontsov (Rus) 10.44 15 Nicolas Rohrbach (Swi) Central Ghost Pro Team 11.32 16 Pavel Boudnı (Cze) 13.57 17 Andras Melts (Hun) Corratec 14.58 18 Jirí Hudecek (Cze) 16.05 19 Andi Weinhold (Ger) German National Team 16.16 20 Alexander Fedotov (Rus) CCL Karo Film 16.18 21 Anton Gogolev (Rus) 16.40 22 Vladislav Neroznaks (Lat) Apollon 17.16 23 Marios Athanasiadis (Cyp) Omonoia 22.28 Behind two laps 24 Anton Fomin (Rus) 25 Oscar Ekstam (Swe) Falu CK Behind three laps 26 Pavel Blagikh (Rus) Russian National Team 27 Francesco Panza (Ita) AEL Behind four laps 28 Timotheos Skettos (Cyp) Omonoia 29 Nikolay Zagulaev (Rus) CCL Karo Film Behind five laps 30 Jan Hynek (Cze) 31 Michael Weiss (Aut) Ciclopia DNF Andi Eyring (Ger) German National Team DNF Maxim Zhurkin (Rus) Russian National Team DNS Giorgos Fattas (Cyp) AEL DNS Alexis Eleutheriadis (Cyp) Lefkosia Cycling Club DNS Dmitriy Medvedev (Rus) Elite women 1 Petra Henzi (Swi) Fischer-BMC 1.35.59 2 Adelheid Morath (Ger) German National Team 1.20 3 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Ceska Sporitelna 6.03 4 Maaike Polspoel (Bel) Belgium National Team 6.19 5 Githa Michiels (Bel) 7.07 6 Barbel Jungmeier (Aut) Ciclopia 9.26 7 Ksenia Chernykh (Rus) 10.05 8 Oxana Rybakova (Rus) 15.19 9 Ekaterina Melnikova (Rus) MGFSO Cube 15.27 10 Evgenia Belozerova (Rus) 21.44 11 Elena Gogoleva (Rus) 23.26 Behind three laps 12 Yelena Petrova (Lat) Apollon Junior men 1 Stepan Stepanov (Rus) Karo-Film 1.08.13 2 Pavel Prvadein (Rus) Karo-Film 0.37 3 Kiriakos Sketos (Cyp) Omonoia 17.13 4 Michalis Kitis (Cyp) P. O. Nikosia 17.22 Behind one lap 5 Loukas Teodorou (Cyp) Iraklitos DNS Aristotelis Nicolaou (Cyp) Dopi DNS Andreas Nikou (Cyp) Omonoia Junior women 1 Irina Maiysheva (Rus) 1.06.48 2 Maria Babanova (Rus) 1.46 Cadet men 1 Axileas Kiriakidis (Cyp) Dopi 1.01.28 2 Irinaios Koutsiou (Cyp) Iraklitos 1.19 3 Angelos Kiriakou (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. 7.14 4 Leontios Katsouri (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. 9.05 5 Mamas Kiriakou (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. 16.52 6 Aleksis Charalampous (Cyp) P. O. Nikosia 24.20 7 Pavlos Farmakas (Cyp) Apollon 31.11 DNF Loizos Theofanous (Cyp) Dopi DNS Stavros Ioulianou (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. Cadet women 1 Gianna Lagou (Cyp) D.O.P.I 55.32 2 Christina Elefteriadou (Cyp) Apollon 6.51 3 Kostantina Gkraour (Mda) D.O.P.I 10.10 DNS Kwstantina Kiriakou (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. DNS Andria Hristoforou (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. Girls U15 1 Mirto Skouroupati (Cyp) Apollon 1.08.33 Boys U15 1 Filipos Grigoriou (Cyp) D.O.P.I 39.43 2 Kiriakos Papacharalmpous (Cyp) Apollon 8.06 DNS Kipros Stilianou (Cyp) Apollon Masters 1 1 Phillppe Weingartner (Swi) 56.31 Masters 2 1 Michalis Hadjikonstantas (Cyp) AEL 1.13.04 2 Kipros Papacharalmpous (Cyp) Apollon 12.54 DNS Sofoullis Achilleos (Cyp) S.Po.Ko. Final standings Elite men 1 Andreas Kugler (Swi) Fischer-BMC 415 pts 2 Roel Paulissen (Bel) Vredestein Cannondale 380 3 Maxim Gogolev (Rus) Russian National Team 330 4 Magnus Darvell (Swe) Rietumu 286 5 Dries Govaerts (Bel) Scott USA 282 6 Christoph Soukup (Aut) 260 7 Alexander Wetterhall (Swe) 253 8 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Czech National Team 249 9 Christof Bischof (Swi) Bikin' Cyprus 249 10 Sergiy Rysenko (Ukr) 247 11 Bjorn Brems (Bel) Belgian National Team 245 12 Stefan Sahm (Ger) Team Bulls 244 13 Anton Gogolev (Rus) 244 14 Nicolas Vermeulen (Bel) Belgian National Team 232 15 Marios Athanasiadis (Cyp) Omonoia 231 16 Milan Spesny (Cze) Czech National Team 227 17 Vladislav Neroznaks (Lat) Apollon 221 18 Francesco Panza (Ita) AEL 220 19 Mattias Nilsson (Swe) Sweden 204 20 Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls 202 21 Anton Fomin (Rus) 202 22 Alexander Fedotov (Rus) CCL Karo-Film 201 23 Jiri Friedl (Cze) Merida Biking Team 194 24 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 193 25 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Full Dynamix 190 26 Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Dimp Giant Team 189 27 Igor Bogdan (Ukr) 177 28 Yevhen Medevetskyy (Ukr) 176 29 Andriy Gumenyuk (Ukr) 176 30 Aleksey Medvedev (Rus) 171 31 Nikolay Zagulaev (Rus) CCL Karo-Film 170 32 Nicolas Rohrbach (Swi) 166 33 Timotheos Sketos (Cyp) Omonoia 163 34 Andreas Lieberherr (Swi) RBT Giarneriand 161 35 Andras Melts (Hun) 159 36 Andriy Khripta (Ukr) 156 37 Michael Weiss (Aut) 153 38 Mikael Salomonsson (Swe) 152 39 Denis Vorontsov (Rus) 151 40 Pavel Blagikh (Rus) CCL Karo-Film 149 41 Karl Markt (Aut) 145 42 Ilias Periklis 143 43 Oscar Ekstam (Swe) Sweden 143 44 Max Oste MacDonald (Swe) 135 45 Tim Wijnants (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 129 46 Pavel Boudny (Cze) 118 47 Lars Bleckur (Swe) 116 48 Josef Kamler (Cze) 108 49 Jiri Hudecek (Cze) 104 50 Andi Weinhold (Ger) 97 51 Dmitriy Medvedev (Rus) 95 52 Maxim Zhurkin (Rus) CCL Karo-Film 93 53 Roland Plank (Aut) 93 54 Emil Lindgren (Swe) Full Dynamix 85 55 Dror Pekatch (Isr) Israel 78 56 Jan Hynek (Cze) 77 57 Tomas Trunschka (Cze) 75 58 Rene Tann (Ger) German National Team 75 59 Ian Field (GBr) Bikin' Cyprus 71 60 Michael Weiss (Aut) KTM Mountainbiker 70 61 Billy-Joe Whenman (GBr) 69 62 Jiri Novak (Cze) 61 63 Paul Beales (GBr) 57 64 Alexander Wetterhall (Swe) 56 65 Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Sweden 54 66 Matthew Stevens (GBr) 53 67 Eyring Andy (Ger) 52 68 Luke Smith (GBr) 51 69 Huseyin Balli (Tur) Turkish National Team 38 70 Huseyin Esengil (Tur) Turkish National Team 37 71 Mustofd Ceudet (Tur) Turkish National Team 35 72 Besim Tel (Tur) Turkish National Team 34 73 Mehmet Silbmsor (Tur) Turkish National Team 33 74 Giorgos Fattas (Cyp) AEL 30 75 Alexis Eleutheriadis (Cyp) P.O.L 26 Elite women 1 Petra Henzi (Swi) Fischer-BMC 433 pts 2 Maaike Polspoel (Bel) Belgian National Team 361 3 Tereza Hurikova (Ger) Czech National 355 4 Githa Michiels (Bel) P.R.T.Team 348 5 Ksenia Chernykh (Rus) 327 6 Elena Gogoleva (Rus) 299 7 Ivonne Kraft (Ger) MBC Bochum 288 8 Natalia Krompets (Ukr) ISD 281 9 Evgenia Belozerova (Rus) Russian National Team 236 10 Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 231 11 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Sweden 223 12 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Central Ghost 200 13 Barbel Jungmeier (Aut) Ciclopia 193 14 Irina Slobodyan Iryna (Ukr) Ukranian National Team 187 15 Ekaterina Melnikova (Rus) MGFSU-Cube 186 16 Oxana Rybakova (Rus) Russian National Team 185 17 Yelena Petrova (Lat) 176 18 Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost International 165 19 Morath Adelheit (Ger) 165 20 Elena Gaddoni (Ita) 140 21 Maria Osl (Aut) 70
