The Multivan Merida Biking Team enjoyed one of its most successful racing weekends of all time. The team boasted wins at four different races thanks to Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå, José Hermida, Jochen Käss and Moritz Milatz.
Dahle Flesjaa returned to racing at a marathon race named after her in Montebelluna. The event also doubled as the Italian National Marathon Championships. It was the Norwegian's first race after having a baby this spring.
"When I arrived at the finish, I did not realize I had won right away, as I thought that the strong Italian riders were all ahead of me. I'm still completely surprised as I did not expect such a result," said Dahle Flesjå, whose experience helped her properly pace herself throughout.
Dahle Flesjå doesn't know yet which races are next. "First I have to see how I recover from this effort, and then I'll continue with my build-up. Within a few days, I should be able to judge which races are a realistic option and make sense."
At the Wetter German MTB Bundesliga race, Moritz Milatz took another win for the team. He finished ahead of the young Fabian Giger. The two teamed up early in the race to drop all the others, and after a tack on the penultimate lap, Milatz built up a lead of more than a minute on Giger.
"I did not want to attack right from the start, but instead planned to do so on the penultimate lap," said a confident Milatz of his strategy. "I think I'm on track for the second half of the season. The European and World Championships are his next priorities.
In Czech, José Hermida and Ralph Näf finished one-two at Nové Mesto na Morave during the latest round of the Czech Cup. From the gun, Hermida took the lead, and along with Näf, the pair shut the door on the chances of any other racers. Näf dropped his chain on the last downhill, so Hermida took the opportunity to ride to a solo victory.
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Finally, the Multivan Merida team enjoyed a successful end to the Trans Germany stage race. The team won six out of seven stages and took the team classification by a large margin. Jochen Käss and Hannes Genze may have put their stamp on the race, but the overall victory went to France's Thomas Dietsch, who successfully defended his overall title.
"At this year's Trans Germany, 11 of a total 21 podium spots were occupied by the Multivan Merida Team," said Team Manager Andreas Rottler. "Even if we could not win the race's overall, we're still very happy with the result. Six stages and the victory in the team ranking are outstanding outcomes for a newly-formed marathon team."
