Just a week before the World Championship in Andorra, the Wilier-Vittoria MTB Factory Team warmed up in Switzerland at the Swiss Bike Cup in Basel, testing themselves on a fast and relatively non-technical course.
All the races ended in a more or less close sprint, with the biggest smile belonging to Giada Specia, who secured a spot in the trio that battled for victory, finishing in 2nd place, just behind local favorite Steffi Häberlin. Sofie Heby Pedersen, showing signs of improvement, finished in 5th place, 22 seconds behind the winner. A similar outcome unfolded in the men's U23 race, where Elian Paccagnella claimed a strong 3rd place in a group sprint that saw seven riders contending for the win. European champion Simone Avondetto, competing on a course less suited to his strengths, finished 6th within the lead group, with British rider Cameron Orr just behind in 10th, 10 seconds off the pace.
Meanwhile, in Krumbach, Austria, the Austrian National Marathon Championships took place on a 70 km course with 2300 meters of elevation gain. Daniel Geismayr put in a solid performance but had to concede victory to the strong Hermann Pernsteiner, a former Bahrain-Merida road cyclist, finishing 3 minutes and 55 seconds behind the winner.
"I really wanted to do well here, but unfortunately, I faced an incredibly strong opponent," Geismayr said. "Pernsteiner is a rider who has also excelled on the road, so I knew it would be tough to challenge him. I stayed with him as long as I could, but he had another gear on the climbs. It's a shame, but I have no regrets because my performance was more than good."
Comments