2023-06-25 13:51:00
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The St. Galler and the Zuricher ensure further Swiss EM medals in Kraków. Jolanda Neff just missed precious metal.
Lars Forster has won silver in the cross-country race at the European Games in Poland. The St. Gallen only had to admit defeat to Vlad Dascalu in the Krynica-Zdroj Hill Park. He was the first Romanian to win EM gold in mountain biking.
After the duo had dictated what happened over the entire distance, Dascalu pulled ahead decisively on the final lap. Forster, European champion of 2018 and 2021, was no longer able to counter. In the end, he was a clear 14 seconds behind.
Italy’s Luca Braidot took bronze. The other Swiss had nothing to report in the fight for precious metal. With Thomas Litscher (8./+1:08) and Marcel Guerrini (9./+1:16) another duo from Swiss Cycling made it into the top 10. With Nino Schurter and Mathias Flückiger there were two prominent Swiss as well as the Briton Tom Pidcock not at the start.
Krynica-Zdroj (POL). European Championships. cross country. Men (23.4km): 1st Vlad Dascalu (ROU) 1:19:41. 2. Lars Forster (SUI) 0:14 behind. 3. Luca Braidot (ITA) 0:19. Also the other Swiss: 8. Thomas Litscher 1:08. 7. Marcel Guerrini 1:16. 14. Joel Roth 1:57. 16. Simon Walter 2:05. 30. Andri Frischknecht 3:16. 31. Alexandre Balmer 3:30. – 76 drivers started, 58 classified.
Free shines with bronze
For women, Sina Frei had previously brought precious metal to Switzerland. The 25-year-old from Zurich finished third and secured her first European Championship medal among the elite. In the juniors Frei had become European champion several times.
Jolanda Neff also showed a strong race, but dropped back to 5th place in the meantime in the third lap. In the end, the Olympic champion was fourth, 15 seconds short of bronze. Neff had won the European title in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Pieterse alone in a wide field
At the front, Puck Pieterse drove a lonely race. The 21-year-old Dutchwoman won her first elite title with a lead of 26 seconds over Austrian Mona Mitterwallner. Pieterse took the lead following a good 2 kilometers and always led the race. In a strong field, practically all the top riders from the World Cup, including Loana Lecomte, Pauline Ferrand Prevot (both FRA) and Anne Terpstra (NED), were at the start. Last year’s Swiss overall World Cup winner Alessandra Keller had to sit out due to illness.
Krynica-Zdroj (POL). European Championships. cross country. Women (20km): 1. Puck Pieterse (NED) 1:18:26. 2. Mona Mitterwallner (AUT) 0:26 behind. 3. Sina Frei (SUI) 1:05. 4. Jolanda Neff (SUI) 1:20; Also the other Swiss women: 9. Steffi Häberlin 2:48. 11. Linda Indergand 3:08. 14. Nicole Koller 3:56. 23. Ramona Forchini 6:22. – 56 started, 53 classified.
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