By Susan Westemeyer
It was "a successful weekend" for Equipe Nürnberger, the team said modestly. Edita Pucinskaite won the World Cup race in Bern, Switzerland, while Claudia Häusler won the German national road mountain championship.
Pucinskaite, who won the Giro d'Italia last year, won the World Cup race "Berner Rundfahrt" after a solo attack 12 km before the finish. Her teammates Andrea Graus and Eva Lutz finished fifth and sixth.
"That was a super weekend for us," said directeur sportif Jens Zemke. "The good form was hinted at in San Marino and we had all hoped for a podium place. Our girls dominated the race and Edita is a worthy winner of the Bern World Cup."
The Lithuanian, who is also former world champion and Tour de France winner, won with about 20 seconds advantage over Marianne Vos (DSB Bank) and Oenone Wood (T-Mobile).
The Equipe had its first success of the weekend on Saturday, as German road champion and defending champion Häusler won the road mountain title, for the fifth time. The 21-year-old beat Hanka Kupfernagel of TF Charlottenburg and Tina Liebig, of Getränke Hoffman.
"I was very nervous before the start and had an enormous amount of respect for the other pros, especially Kupfernagel," Häusler said. "Hanka can really go, and would have been unbeatable in a sprint out of the leading group. That's why I had to try to get rid of the other two riders on the last ascent. It was my only chance."
