World Mountain Bike ChampionshipsSweden, 11-18 September, 1999 |
Sep 15 - World MTB Teams ChallengeSpain won the first relay MTB World Championship in Åre, Sweden. Roberto Leazun, Marga Fullana, Carlos Colonna and José Antonio Hermida made up the team that left France 20 seconds behind with Canada getting the bronze at 2.37. The relay team consists of one male junior, one elite woman, one U23 male and one male elite rider and they ride one lap each in any order one lap each, in Åre the distance was 9.6 kms for each cyclist. The final lap proved very exciting since four teams handed over their arm straps within a few minutes: USA, Spain, France and Canada. Alison Dunlap, USA, left the transistion 35 seconds ahead of Canada's reigning world champion Alison Sydor, Spain's male elite rider Hermida was 2.42 behind while France's U23 World Champion Miguel Martinez trailed this group at 3.26. Denmark and Austria were also within 30 seconds but with less competitive riders. Herrida and Martinez passed the two women and the Frenchman was closing in all the time until he crashed and lost his armband for some seconds. At the finish he was 20 seconds behind. Well, staying on the bike is an essential part of this sport! The fight for the bronze was more than just that. It was two top riders trying to tell us all who we should look out for in the individual cross country race later on. In the last climb Sydor passed Dunlap and got a gap of 33 seconds coming in 2.37 after Spain. Revenge on Sunday? Other Race Results:
|