Braithwaite wins iXS European Downhill Cup race in Ilmenau

For the first time since 2008, the iXS European Downhill Cup returned to university town of Ilmenau, Germany. The race, in its 14th edition, is also known as the "Absolute Abfahrt".

363 participants from 11 countries, including as far away as New Zealand, competed on a new course, which was in almost perfect condition, although it proved to be a hard ride due to the dry weather as the loose soil did not offer much traction. The route was wide enough that chosing the fastest lines was a difficult challenge.

Brit Thomas Braithwaite (Hope Technology) proved to be the rider most comfortable with the conditions. After qualifying fastest, he was the last rider to start in the finals for the first time in his career.

He stood up well to the pressure, winning the race with an advantage of 2.7 seconds and a time of 2:05. Local hero Rick Balbierer (BerGaMont) came in as surprise second with Johannes Sütter (ProPain) in third.

The elite women's category was won by Miriam Ruchti (dr-gravity union), who continued her winning streak in Ilmenau as she had already won the last two races held here. Harriet Rücknagel (OnTheEdge) finished in second and Sandra Rübesam (Giant Germany) in third, which meant that the podium was exactly the same as in 2008.

Unfortunately, Antje Kramer (Axo Giant) got injured during the practice sessions and will not be able to race next week's German Championships to be held in Rittershausen.

The under17 category was won by Riku Länsiö (HyPy), who edged out Matthew Scott (Uplift Scotland) and Julian Hibben (Rose/dr-gravity union). Finishing in second allowed Matthew Scott to further extend his overall lead.

The fastest master's class rider was Hynek Cizinský (MAD), beating Heinz Hostettler (BanditBike.ch) for the win. After having posted the fastest time in the seeding run, Wilfred van de Haterd (NOX Cycles) finished in third, which puts him in the overall lead.

The next round of the iXS European Downhill Cup will take place on August 14-15. It will be the first time the series visits Czechia in Spicák.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Thomas Braithwaite (GBr)0:02:05.40
2Rick Balbierer (Ger)0:00:02.75
3Johannes Sutter (Ger)0:00:03.35
4Andreas Sieber (Ger)0:00:03.47
5Josua Hein (Ger)0:00:04.05
6Daniel Wolfe (Irl)0:00:04.16
7Tommy Kiesewetter (Ger)0:00:04.65
8Tommy Herrmann (Ger)0:00:06.27
9Richard Leacock (NZl)0:00:06.35
10Frank Schneider (Ger)0:00:06.38
11Frank Hedwig (Ger)0:00:06.40
12Felix Wunderlich (Ger)0:00:06.67
13Christian Muller (Ger)0:00:07.40
14Andre Wagenknecht (Ger)0:00:07.59
15Roman Roschi (Swi)0:00:07.76
16Freddie King (NZl)0:00:07.79
17Erik Irmisch (Ger)0:00:07.87
18Martin Frei (Swi)0:00:07.92
19Joe Barnes (GBr)0:00:08.08
20Andreas Krieger (Ger)0:00:08.17
21Robin Van Goubergen (Bel)0:00:08.29
22Alasdair Maclennan (GBr)0:00:08.39
23Dominik Mai (Ger)0:00:08.56
24Jasper Jauch (Ger)0:00:08.63
25Manuel Schatz (Ger)0:00:08.85
26Gerard Wolfe (Irl)0:00:09.05
27Kevin Falko Dewinski (Ger)0:00:09.33
28Fabian Heim (Ger)0:00:09.58
29Rene Schmidt (Ger)0:00:09.59
30Michael Schnell (Ger)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Philipp Bünnemann (Ger)0:00:09.94
32Jordan Doig (GBr)0:00:10.05
33Janick Lieberherr (Swi)0:00:10.16
34Ronan Taylor (GBr)0:00:10.55
35James Rennie (NZl)0:00:10.77
36James Hoggan (NZl)0:00:11.49
37Marcel Basener (Ger)0:00:11.61
38Mark Scott (GBr)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Stefan Bax (Ger)0:00:11.91
40Wolfgang Eysholdt (Ger)0:00:12.58
41Marvin Lenz (Ger)0:00:13.18
42Mark Balbierer (Ger)0:00:13.29
43Benjamin Prescher (Ger)0:00:13.30
44Randy Van Goubergen (Bel)0:00:13.32
45Daniel Jahn (Ger)0:00:13.88
46Markus Hillmann (Ger)0:00:14.06
47Daniel Vogt (Ger)0:00:14.38
48Jonathan Debus (Ger)0:00:14.61
49Marcel Grau (Ger)0:00:14.69
50Christoph Schnettler (Ger)0:00:14.75
51Fabian Fader (Ger)0:00:14.76
52Jelmer Aeschlimann (Swi)0:00:14.78
53Ian Schaad (Swi)0:00:15.16
54Benjamin Oluoch (Ger)0:00:15.27
55Michael Jolk (Ger)0:00:15.34
56Merlin Lotz (Ger)0:00:15.38
57Oliver Morris (GBr)0:00:15.41
58Robin Seifahrt (Ger)0:00:15.46
59Felix Heine (Ger)0:00:16.04
60Joseph Nation (NZl)0:00:16.31
61Roel Vernelen (Bel)0:00:16.40
62Karsten Wegerhoff (Ger)0:00:17.01
63Primoz Ravnik (Slo)0:00:17.33
64Malte Stoehr (Ger)0:00:17.35
65Oliver Berger (Ger)0:00:17.36
66Toni Tillmann (Ger)0:00:17.61
67Christoph Isecke (Ger)0:00:17.91
68Cornelius Pachmann (Ger)0:00:17.98
69Sven Unger (Ger)0:00:18.16
70Nicolas Cherik (Swi)0:00:18.53
71Robin Moelders (Ger)0:00:18.55
72Matteo Mertens (Ger)0:00:18.82
73Jonas Linnemann (Ger)0:00:18.83
74Christian Schaumburg (Ger)0:00:19.02
75Fabio Gangi (Ita)0:00:19.09
76Max Kruse (Ger)0:00:19.31
77Marco Hermann (Ger)0:00:19.61
78David Lischka (Ger)0:00:20.13
79Johannes Haegele (Ger)0:00:20.17
80Daniel Rossmann (Ger)0:00:20.19
81Marcel Lauxtermann (Ger)0:00:20.25
82Arie Schindler (Ger)0:00:20.61
83Florian Hachmann (Ger)0:00:20.89
84Andre Guenther (Ger)0:00:20.96
85Christian Vogt (Ger)0:00:21.90
86Sam Baker (NZl)0:00:22.01
87Jochen Rehwald (Ger)0:00:22.09
88Tristan Pfarr (Ger)0:00:22.58
89Robin Woellner (Ger)0:00:22.69
90Johannes Schorr (Ger)0:00:23.13
91Henning Schipper (Ger)0:00:24.52
92Philipp Gerken (Ger)0:00:25.09
93Philipp Börner (Ger)0:00:25.93
94Max Fischer (Ger)0:00:25.99
95Tilmann Herrnberger (Ger)0:00:26.33
96Mario Kranz (Lie)0:00:27.02
97Florian Drexel (Ger)0:00:27.56
98Felix Diehl (Ger)0:00:27.60
99Sebastian Gerk (Ger)0:00:31.45
100Pascal Klehr (Ger)0:00:32.39
101Marc-Oliver Vaccaro (Ger)0:00:33.73
102Felix Herdzina (Ger)0:00:34.32
103Peer Gumin (Ger)0:00:36.90
104Sven Liebscher (Ger)0:00:37.13
105Sebastian Sternemann (Ger)0:00:40.29
106Hermes Schade (Ger)0:00:41.21
107Jan Smetana (Ger)0:00:42.38
108Alexander Klein (Ger)0:00:44.38
109Martin Young (GBr)0:00:49.90
110Arne Dehn (Ger)0:00:58.80
111Gino Schlifske (Ger)0:01:29.46
112Nino Antic (Cro)0:01:48.35
DNFMarc Jersch (Ger)Row 112 - Cell 2
DNFMarcus Neumann (Ger)Row 113 - Cell 2
DNSDave Goris (Bel)Row 114 - Cell 2
DNSFalco Ruppert (Ger)Row 115 - Cell 2
DNSDaniel Karl (Ger)Row 116 - Cell 2
DNSThilo Kemper (Ger)Row 117 - Cell 2
DNSMaximilian Bender(Ger)Row 118 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Miriam Ruchti (dr-gravity union)
2Harriet Rücknagel (OnTheEdge)
3Sandra Rübesam (Giant Germany)
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Under 17 men
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Riku Länsiö (HyPy)
2Matthew Scott (Uplift Scotland)
3Julian Hibben (Rose/dr-gravity union)
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Master men
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Hynek Cizinský (MAD)
2Heinz Hostettler (BanditBike.ch)
3Wilfred van de Haterd (NOX Cycles)

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