MTB cycling: At the start of the XCO Mountain Bike Worldcup 2017 in Nove Mesto, Nino Schurter was once again at the top of the podium. With his 21st World Cup victory, the Swiss confirms his role as a triumphant in the Olympic cross-country discipline. Great result for Sabine Spitz too: With second place, the German champion secures a very good starting position for the second race next weekend in Albstadt.
The MTB World Cup opener in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, was under a very auspicious star for the German women. Even though Annika Langvad from Denmark was able to win, three women from Germany are in the top 7. Sabine Spitz (Wiawis) finished the first MTB World Cup race of the 2017 season in second place, Adelheid Morath (Bikesportworld) was sixth ahead of Helen Grobert (Cannondale Factory Racing). A week before the home World Cup, an excellent starting position. The fans at the track in Albstadt can already look forward to an exciting race! Although the race in Nove Mesto did not start optimally for Sabine Spitz and she was only in 15th place at times, she slowly fought her way up the field to second place. A great performance by the three-time Olympic medalist! Behind Sabine Spitz, the Swiss Linda Indergand (Focus XC) finished the race in third place.
In the men's category, Olympic champion Nino Schurter once again impressively demonstrated his dominance. The Swiss crossed the finish line with a lead of 26 seconds in front of the Spaniard David Valero Serrano, who caused a surprise with his second place. Third was Frenchman Julien Absalon, who couldn't quite keep up with the high pace of the two leaders and thus remained in the chasing group. Manuel Fumic, who lost the connection in the first lap, had big problems. In the end, it was only right for the disappointing twelfth place, despite an exhausting race to catch up, with a deficit of more than three minutes. Ben Zwiehoff (Bergamont) was unable to finish the race due to a broken chain.