Hynek and Bigham win AlpenTour Trophy overall

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On the fourth and last stage of the 14th AlpenTour Trophy, Greek rider Ilias Periklis dominated the field over 56 kilometres. On the last descent, he got away from the Czech overall winner, Kristian Hynek. Previous race winner Alban Lakata kept his second place in the general classification.

Under sunny skies, a quick move decided the race right after the start. Three riders - Periklis, Hynek and the Danish rider Soeren Nissen - rode away from the peloton and conquered the Hauser Kaibling mountain. Until the last descent down the Planai hill, only Periklis and Hynek were able to stay away.

"All day I was petrified of having a mechanical and didn't risk a thing on the last downhill section. I am more than happy with my second stage placing and of course my first overall win here at the AlpenTour Trophy," said Hynek. "This is the biggest achievement so far in my career. The AlpenTour Trophy is one of the most important MTB stage races in the world and means a lot of UCI points." Hynek was fourth last year.

Behind Hynek and Lakata, Swiss rider Thomas Stoll claimed the third place overall.

Lakata was able to keep his second place overall after a sixth place today, right behind Hermann Pernsteiner. "I feel like I am too heavy and struggled a bit on the hills today. However, I feel strong for the upcoming European Marathon Championships in the Czech Republic. On the other hand, a second placing overall is not bad at all," said Lakata, who has won the race twice before.

Last year, Russian Alexey Medvedev claimed the AlpenTour Trophy title just a few days before he won the European Marathon Championships, so perhaps Hynek's overall win will be a good omen for him for this year's European Marathon championships.

Pernsteiner, 21, finished his first major mountain bike stage race in Schladming as the second-best Austrian in the general classification in seventh place overall. "I can't believe this - it's insane! After my U23 European championship runner-up finish last year, this is another big success for me!"

In the elite women's field, Sally Bigham continued her winning streak with a fourth stage win and took out the overall classification ahead of Nadia Walker from Switzerland and the Dutch rider Monique Zeldenrust.

In the masters field, Dutch Olympic Champion Bart Brentjens again demonstrated that he is one of the fastest mountain bikers worldwide. With a photo-finish against second Max Friedrich, he claimed the stage and overall title ahead of third Georg Koch from Austria.

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