Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Mt Hood Classic Photo ©: Swift |
MTB index page for all MTB content
Bundesliga XCO - Bike the Rock - HC
Heubach, Germany, May 17, 2009
Kurschat celebrates a birthday win
Osl rides to solo victory
 |
Elisabeth Osl (Central Ghost Pro Team) and Wolfram Kurschat (Topeak Ergon Racing Team) won the third round of the MTB-Bundesliga International in Heubach, Germany. Kurschat defeated Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Jean-Christophe Péraud (Team Massi), while Osl crossed the finish line of the hors categorie (HC) race after a long solo ride ahead of Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon Racing Team) and Nathalie Schneitter of Switzerland.
"Incredible," was the only word Absalon found to describe Kurschat's performance on the climbs during the laps of Heubachs 4.3-kilometer course. "On the second lap, he joined me at the top of the climb, and again on the third lap and the fourth lap. On the fifth lap, when I got a 50-second gap, I though, ok, now I won't see him again, but he did bridge back up. And he did the same again on lap six."
The French star Absalon kept getting away on the four-minute downhill section, but birthday boy Kurschat kept catching back up on the climb.
 |
On the seventh and final lap, Kurschat passed Absalon in the middle of the climb, and that's where the race was decided. Absalon was losing air in his tire and instead of catching him on the downhill like had been happening, Kurschat's gap grew to 1:59.
"In the middle of the race, I thought that I would have no chance today. I kept my rhythm, and I couldn't do anything else," said Kurschat, who noticed that the spectators at the top of the climb kept singing "Happy Birthday" each time he passed. Race day was his 34th birthday and the day he'd take his second win of the season.
"It's maybe the toughest race we do," said Absalon, who looked at his bike's computer and noted that he had climbed 1600m during the eight laps.
Péraud (Massi), who finished third, said he felt somewhat tired. "They were too strong for me. I had to ride my own pace and keep the chasers away." Péraud secured third place ahead of Moritz Milatz (Multivan-Merida) and the young Fabian Giger (SKS-MiG).
Marco Aurelio Fontana and Roel Paulissen (Cannondale Factory Racing) found themselves playing a race of catch-up after both went off course on the first lap, apparently mis-directed by a marshall, on the first lap. The pair still managed to work their way back up from last place to sixth and seventh respectively.
Osl goes it alone
 |
In the women's race, the victory went to Elisabeth Osl (central GHOST Pro Team). The up and coming star rode solo from the very beginning of the race.
"I just decided to go," Osl said and climbed away. Irina Kalentieva (Topeak-Ergon), who resides near the Heubach race course, tried to follow, but was unable to stick to Osl's pace. The Russian Kalentieva has won the Bike the Rock race three times and has a lot of fans in the area.
"My training is targeted for the Madrid World Cup. I could not go at a high intensity today so I had to ride my own rhythm," said Kalentieva. "When Natalie (Schneitter) closed the gap, the race became exciting."
Schneitter had a chain problem on the first lap and afterward, she had to chase. In the last lap, she caught Kalentieva and went into the downhill ahead of her. Just before the final corner, Kalentieva passed Schneitter for second.
"That was her experience," Schneitter said. "It's not great to lose second place so close to the finish line, but I'm happy with my chase effort."
While Schneitter and Kalentieva were fighting for second place, "Lisi" Osl was celebrated her victory and watched the duel on the big video screen. "It looks good for Madrid, even though it is a very different kind of race. I enjoyed the competition today. The atmosphere was fantastic."
Hanna Klein (Rothaus-Cube) defended her overall lead in the series with a fourth place today. Anja Gradl (central GHOST Pro Team) was strong on the uphills but crashed a few times on the downhill. She finished fifth.
Sepp Freiburghaus won the men's under 23 race in a solo effort. He finished ahead of Sebastian Szraucner and Connor McConvey.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by
- The start of the women's race.
- Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon Racing Team) finished second, racing in front of her local crowd.
- Women's podium
- The men start the Bike the Rock race.
- The men round the first corner on the first lap.
- Wolfram Kurschat (Topeak Ergon Racing Team) on his way to a win.
Images by
- The men's podium from above.
Results
Elite men 1 Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team 1.59.40 2 Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea 1.59 3 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Team Massi 2.56 4 Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 3.25 5 Fabian Giger (Swi) SKS M.I.G. Team 3.36 6 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing 8.25 7 Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale Factory Racing 8.51 8 Christoph Soukup (Swi) Merida Biking Team 9.18 9 Guiseppe Lamastra (Ita) Hard Rock FRW A.S.D. 11.13 10 Thomas Litscher (Swi) SKS M.I.G Team 11.19 11 Bjorn Brems (Bel) Team Saeco 11.20 12 Torsten Marx (Ger) DS-Rennsport 11.28 13 René Tann (Ger) Team FUJI-BikeS Europe 12.41 14 Olaf Rochow (Ger) Team Fuji Bikes Europe 12.42 15 András Parti (Hun) SRM Stevens Team 14.15 16 Geoffroy Pierre Plantet (Ger) Lapierre International 14.49 17 Reuben Cueto Ruzafa (Spa) Orbea 15.52 Lapped 18 Christopher Maletz (Ger) Zweirad- Riese RT 19 Andi Weinhold (Ger) Team Fuji-Bikes Europe 20 Silvio Bundi (Swi) Giant Swiss Team 21 Dan Mcconnell (Aus) Torq Nutrition 22 Ben Henderson (Aus) benhenderson.com.au 23 Evgeny Pechenin (Rus) Format-Udmurtiya Team 24 Steffen Thum (Ger) Team MayerArbeitsbühnen 25 Hing Chun Chan (Ger) Hong Kong Team 26 Andrew Blair (Aus) Redshift 27 Achim Beckedahl (Ger) Team Endorfin-Solvis 28 Tobias Ullmann (Ger) Team Marin Bikes 29 Sebastian Weigel (Ger) Zweirad- Riese RT 30 Florian Meyer (Swi) MTB Cycletech Rennteam 31 Sebastian Mordmüller (Ger) Focus Bad Salzdetfurth 32 Alexander Speisekorn (Ger) MTB-Teck/Team nolte 33 Wilko Rochow-Borg (Ger) Team MayerArbeitsbühnen 34 Henrik Andersen (Den) HMTBK 35 Robert Michaelis (Ger) powerslide- racing 36 Torsten Walter (Ger) Orbea Deutschland 37 Johannes Thumm (Ger) MTB-Teck 38 Ulrich Theobald (Ger) RSV Vaihingen 39 Marc Odrosek (Ger) Team Storck 40 Johannes Közle (Ger) Team Cmtb 41 Felix Gniot (Ger) KOCMO 42 John Groves (Aus) Rollin Cycles 43 Alexey Belokrylov (Rus) Format-Udmurtia-Team 44 Boris Vasilyev (Rus) Format-Udmurtia 45 Hannes Diether (Ger) Rhein-Neckar-Racing Elite and Under 23 women 1 Elisabeth Osl (Aut) central GHOST Pro Team 1.30.25 2 Irina Kalentyeva (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team 4.50 3 Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) 4.51 4 Hanna Klein (Ger) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team 6.50 5 Anja Gradl (Ger) Central- GHOST- Pro Team 8.31 6 Julie Krasniak (Fra) Team Look-julie-57 8.38 7 Adelheid Morath (Ger) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team 10.22 8 Nina Wrobel (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team 11.06 9 Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Team Lapierre International 11.28 10 Barbara Benkò (Ger) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team 12.41 11 Sarah Koba (Swi) Giant-Swiss-Team 13.42 12 Silke Schmidt (Ger) Fuji Bikes Europe 15.27 13 Annie Last (GBr) Great Britain 15.56 14 Tatjana Dold (Ger) Fuji-Bikes Europe 16.51 15 Elena Giacomuzzi (Ita) Caprivesi 16.51 16 Ivonne Kraft (Ger) Team HaiBike 22.05 Lapped 17 Katherine O'Shea (Aus) Torq Nutrition 18 Stephanie Wiedner (Aut) DS-Rennsport 19 Melanie Späth (Irl) Cycleways 20 Vera Andreeva (Rus) RUS 21 Nadine Rieder (Ger) FBI racingteam.youngstars 22 Lily Matthews (GBr) Great Britain 23 Annika Langvad (Den) HMTBK 24 Gesa Brüchmann (Ger) Stevens-Racing-Team 25 Colleen Rothe (Ger) RV 1896 Ampfing Under 23 men 1 Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thömus Racing Team 1.54.56 2 Sebastian Szraucner (Ger) Team Fuji-Bikes Europe 4.12 3 Connor McConvey (Irl) Felt international MTB Team 4.14 4 Andy Eyring (Ger) RWV Haselbach 5.27 5 Jaap Henk Moorlag (Ned) De Brink Ten Tusscher 5.38 6 Lachlan Norris (Aus) DiscoverTasmania.com 7.11 7 Markus Bauer (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 8.09 8 Erik Groen (Ned) De Brink Ten Tusscher Mountain 8.20 9 Manfred Reis (Ger) Team Marin Bikes 8.36 10 Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thömus Racing Team 8.53 11 Fabian Strecker (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 9.10 12 David Hofmann (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 11.10 13 Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thömus Racing Team 11.15 14 Heiko Gutmann (Ger) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team 11.17 15 Mirco Widmer (Swi) Fischer Junior MTB Team 11.17 16 Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) Team MayerArbeitsbühnen 11.25 17 Julian Schwendemann (Ger) Endorfin Solvis 11.27 18 Markus Knott (Ger) Team Marin Bikes 11.38 19 Rob Vangenechten (Bel) MTB Team Saeco 11.57 20 Sebastian Batchalor (Swi) Halfords 12.20 21 Marcel Braun (Ger) eleven/Radon Team 12.56 22 Rumen Voigt (Ger) Mühle Racing Team, RSV Team 13.10 23 Tristan Cowie (USA) USA Cycling National MTB Team 13.11 24 Matthias Hoi (Aut) Team Fuji Bikes Europe 30.51 Lapped 25 Marc Metzler (Swi) Pink Gili Swiss 26 Felix Euteneuer (Ger) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team 27 Robby DeBock (Bel) Team Univega 28 Florian Schön (Ger) Scott Genius Generation 29 Mitch Hoke (USA) USA Cycling National MTB Team 30 Andreas Muckenhirn (Ger) Bike Crew Münstertal 31 Danny Neumann (Ger) NRW Landeskader 32 Philipp Maximilian Daum (Ger) Team HaiBike 33 Pascal Hossay (Bel) Windose - Houffalize 34 Stephen Ettinger (USA) USA Cycling National MTB Team 35 Maximilian Holz (Ger) Univega Pro Racing Team 36 Jelmer Jubbega (Ned) De Brink-Ten Tusscher 37 Valentin Fiderer (Ger) Bergamont Race Team RSV Hochsc 38 Tommy Galle (Ger) Zweirad- Riese RT 39 Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls 40 Stephan Meier (Ger) Sabine Spitz Juniors 41 Colin Osborn (USA) USA Cycling National MTB Team 42 Tim Lemmers (Ned) De Brink - Ten Tusscher 43 Tom Ettlich (Ger) White Rock 44 Vincenz Demeni (Swi) 45 Philipp Ziegler (Ger) FxSports/SG Sparkasse 46 Timo Häfner (Ger) Team-Steinlach-Wiesaz 47 Benjamin Oesterle (Ger) MHW Cube Racing Team 48 Jan-Niklas Droste (Ger) Powerslide racing 49 Kai Kautz (Ger) Team Fischer & Wagner 50 Trevor Downing (USA) USA Cycling National MTB Team 51 Elias Neubert (Ger) RSV Team Auto-Riedel Schwarzen 52 Patrick Titus (Ger) Bike Junior Team 53 Tobias Trautmann (Ger) White Rock 54 Mario Waibel (Ger) Team Cmtb 55 Jeffrey Andris (Ger) MHW Cube Racing Team 56 Andreas Kleiber (Ger) Team 2-Rad Schubert Allgäupowe 57 Pierre Happel (Ger) Gecko Youngwild.de 58 Darrell Upton (GBr) Mammoth lifestyle 59 Kevin Kane (USA) USA Cycling National MTB Team 60 Sascha Nething (Ger) Team Bergamont 61 Kevin Waibel (Ger) Team Cmtb 62 Alexander Fischer (Ger) Sabine Spitz Juniors 63 Alexander Huber (Ger) FXX International Mountain 64 Hannes Wunsch (Ger) Sabine Spitz Juniors 65 Jonathan Roth (Ger) RMSV Langenbrand 66 Lukas Bruder (Ger) TuS Oppenau 67 Manuel Ritter (Swi) MTB Cycletech Rennteam 68 Markus Moeller (Ger) ATV Haltern 69 Timm Jander (Ger) Anton.Cuck/Scott 70 Martin Hankele (Ger) MSC Gerstetten Fun&Bike 71 Benjamin Merkel (Ger) RMSV Langenbrand 72 Simon Staufner (Ger) Team Cmtb 73 Christian Lindner (Ger) IBC Dimb Racing Team 74 Markus Chrost (Ger) ATV Haltern Junior men 1 Julian Schelb (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 1.23.20 2 Markus Schulte-Lünzum (Ger) SKS M.I.G. Team 2.31 3 Martin Gluth (Ger) Team Bulls 3.41 4 Marcus Nicolai (Ger) Team Bulls/TSV Dettingen 4.44 5 David Simon (Ger) racingteam.youngstars 5.52 6 Wenzel Böhm-Gräber (Ger) SKS MIG TEAM 6.20 7 Marco Tippmann (Ger) MTB-Teck Team nolte-küchen 6.22 8 Philipp Knüttel (Ger) SCMK Hirschau 7.07 9 Adrian Sauer (Ger) TuS Oppenau 7.52 10 Lukas Kuch (Ger) Team nolte-küchen 7.56 11 Anselm Wüllner (Ger) NRW Landeskader / Team Merida 8.10 12 Daniel Nientiedt (Ger) Ghost Racing Team 8.52 13 Benjamin Dorn (Ger) Stevens Racing Team 10.47 14 Lysander Kiesel (Ger) Capic Team/SSV Wildpoldsried 11.13 15 Marc Stutzmann (Swi) MTB Cycletech Rennteam 11.33 16 Claude Koster (Swi) MTB Cycletech Rennteam 11.35 17 Philipp Scheläschuß (Ger) TSV Böhringen Team Koch-Engine 12.00 18 Florian Grafmüller (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 12.12 19 Matthias Zink (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 12.32 20 Mike Bölts (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 12.51 21 Michael Forster (Ger) Zwillingscraft 13.30 22 Martin Schiefer (Ger) Corratec World Team 14.32 23 Johannes Wolf (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 14.51 24 Markus Zöller (Ger) Bergamont 15.16 25 Matthias Reichart (Ger) RV Lindau 15.41 26 Daniel Waibel (Ger) Team Cmtb 16.08 27 Dominik Ziegler (Ger) FxSports/SG Sparkasse 16.50 28 Michael Feinauer (Ger) MHW Cube Racing Team 17.45 Lapped 29 Frederik Kjeldsen (Den) Team T-Bikes 30 Felix Guenter (Ger) Bergamont Race Team RSV Hochsc 31 Jonas Müller (Ger) NRW Landeskader / Team Fuji-Bikes 32 Conrad Hüwe (Ger) White Rock 33 Sebastian Robin Ries (Ger) Mr.Bike/Cube 34 Martin Knöpfle (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 35 Max Weber (Ger) MHW Cube Racing Team 36 Severin Sägesser (Swi) Thömus Racing Team 37 Florian Müller (Ger) SCMK Hirschau 38 Joseph Kuhn (Ger) SSV Mounty Altenberg /TBR Bike 39 Falk Baron (Ger) Biker-boarder.de 40 Jan-Eric Müller (Ger) MHW Cube Racing Team 41 Jan-Nils Preus (Ger) RFC-Rossbach 42 Marcus Macicek (Ger) BikeSportBühne Bayreuth/Merida 43 Simon Fankhauser (Swi) MTB Cycletech Rennteam 44 Jago Fechtmann (Ger) Conway/Bikeshop-Waibstadt 45 Marius Reiber (Ger) Gecko YoungWild 46 Paul Schumacher (Ger) RSC wiesbaden 47 Florian Schön (Ger) Radfreunde Hilpoltstein 48 Kai Genhes (Ger) Radio AUTIV Racing Bayreuth 49 David Büschler (Ger) Bike Aid 50 Julian Kreis (Ger) Bike Team Mertens/TVM 51 Micha Mayer (Ger) Team-Steinlach-Wiesaz 52 Sascha Bleher (Ger) SKS Made in Germany Team/TSV 53 Pascal Hempel (Ger) Team-Steinlach-Wiesaz 54 Robert Traupe (Ger) Bergamont 55 Marc Bohnerth (Ger) Landeskader Saar Team Rotwild Junior women 1 Mona Eiberweiser (Ger) SKS M.I.G.Team / Ski & Bike 58.45 2 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) ACB REIMS 3.34 3 Vanessa Mosch (Ger) NRW Landeskader / Orbea MTB 5.10 4 Helen Grobert (Ger) Lexware Racing Team 6.36 5 Julia Haase (Ger) TSV Böhringen Team Bergamont 7.25 6 Elisa Ries (Den) Vaude Simplon Team/TSV Detting 7.47 7 Regina Genser (Ger) Bike Junior Team/ BSB Bayreuth 10.05 8 Sarah Bosch (Ger) Ghost Racing Team 13.36 9 Vanessa Tempcke (Ger) Radfreunde Hilpoltstein 14.04 10 Laura Schuon (Ger) VBC Waldshut-Tiengen/Hoppe 19.25 11 Leonie Back (Ger) NRW Landeskader / Team Merida 19.43 12 Stephanie Frank (Ger) SF 03 Romrod / Team Bergamont 21.09 13 Franziska Rödel (Ger) RSC Hengen 25.12
