Kulhavy time trials to win Afxentia opening stage

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Czech mountain bikers dominated the first stage of the Afxentia stage race on Friday. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized Factory Racing) and Tereza Hurikova (Sabine Spitz-Haibike Pro Team) took the leaders' jerseys after winning the 5.6-kilometer individual time trial. Kulhavy won in front of his surprising compatriot Ondrej Cink (Merida Biking Team)and Sweden's Emil Lindgren (Rabobank-Giant). Hurikova was faster than her German teammate Sabine Spitz and Danish rider Annika Langvad (Fujibikes Rockets).

On a sunny day in the mountains, the course was a bit more slippery than the riders had expected after their training rounds on the lap.

In the women's competition, Tereza Hurikova came out on top. Upon reaching the finish line, she was surprised to have won, especially with a large gap of 33 seconds.

"I didn't expect to win," said Hurikova. "If you have no contact to the other riders, you have no idea how fast you are. And my heartrate was not that high. My stay on Cyprus this year is like Christmas time."

Spitz paced herself in the time trial for a solid second place. "I felt good. For sure there is something to improve, but it was really okay," she said. "I tried not to over pace in the first half of the lap and it worked out so far."

Marathon world champion Langvad said, "Oh, that hurt. But I think now my legs are open for tomorrow. I had to push myself hard. I like the course, I can find a good rhythm on it."

Czech Republic goes one-two in men's race

In men's race, Czech domination by Jaroslav Kulhavy was expected, but not by the 21-year-old Ondrej Cink. World champion Kulhavy had won the first round of the Sunshine Cup in Voroklini.

"I had a good run," said Kulhavy. "Legs felt very good, and it's good to have that win before the point to point race tomorrow. The setup of my bike was also better than in Voroklini."

Cink said, "I knew that I could do one fast lap, I felt very good, but I never expected to be on the podium. It's a big surprise for me. Marathon racing is not my special preference. I'll try to stay in the front group tomorrow and then see, what happens in the singletrack."

Lindgren knew that he could do a fast lap and proved it with a third place on the day. "It was very slippery today, more than I expected after the training," said Giger. "I suffered a lot after the winter training, it was very, very hard. For this weekend, I want to get the much training as possible and a good feeling for the World Cup opener."

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