MTB cycling: Sabine Spitz is going full throttle into her last Olympic season. After excellent preparations in winter, the European marathon champion will start in the internationally well-attended Afxentia mountain bike stage race in Cyprus on Thursday.
For the German professional cyclist, Cyprus has developed into one of the most important training destinations over the many years of her active career. The native of Baden used the stage race, which was declared with the highest UCI status, very often for an extremely early start to the season. So it's hardly surprising that Sabine Spitz is looking forward to starting the Afxentia Stage Race. This year, however, another emotional circumstance plays a major role: At this year's Olympic Games in Rio, the cyclist from Bad Säckingen will get a taste of Olympic flair for the last time as an active participant.
The start in Cyprus is therefore also an excellent form indicator for the Olympics, especially since there are two other active Olympic champions in the starting field. In addition to Sabine Spitz, Norway's Gunn-Rita Dahle and France's Julie Bresset will also be competing for world ranking points in the Afxentia mountain bike stage race. However, the native of Baden lowers expectations in advance and pointed out in the press release that she always needs a few races for her rhythm.
The MTB stage race, named after a Cypriot freedom fighter, will be held for the 20th time this year. The participants can look forward to four tough and intense days of competition in the mountains of Cyprus. The Afxentia Stage Race starts with the prologue in Lefkara. The individual time trial over six kilometers is followed by two long-distance stages of around 50 kilometers each. The end of the event marks the cross-country race in the Machairas Forest on Sunday.
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