Sauser storms into yellow jersey at Bike Four Peaks

Image 1 of 17

Two-time World Champion Christoph Sauser (Specialized) clinched the opening stage of the Bike Four Peaks mountain bike stage race. After a total of 69km and 1,900 metres in elevation from Ruhpolding (Germany) to Lofer (Austria), the Swiss rider out sprinted everyone in the pack of six riders to finish in a time of 2:40:22. 2013 European Champion Alban Lakata (Topeak Ergon Racing) took second and Tim Boehme (Team Bulls) were third. Fourth through sixth went to Centurion-Vaude athletes Daniel Geismayr, Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Kaess.

During the race, it didn't look like Sauser was likely to win the stage. After the neutralised start section, which was extended to 20km due to the heavy rain fall over the past days, the 37-year-old missed a sharp left turn and was all of the sudden blocked in the big field.

"I initially thought that's it, I have no chance. But I'm a person who never gives up. I was for sure the pro who put the most effort in in order to catch up again." However, the marathon ace was still more than one minute behind at the second feed zone right at the foot of the second climb to Loferer Alm.

But when some incidents occurred within the five-member leading group consisting of Lakata, Boehme, Kaufmann, Kaess and Geismayr, who had broken away after the first KOM on the Winklmoos Alm which was won by Lakata, Sauser managed to draw level again.

"We lost some precious seconds due to the crashes of Kaess and Geismayr. We waited for them as capitalizing on something like his is a no-go. In the end, 'Susi' was back again. Then it went down to a pretty narrow final sprint. I'm pleased with making it on the podium today," said Lakata.

That Sauser finally nailed it on the home stretch after a long and exhausting solo pursuit race was a very special payoff. "It was kind of a redemption. Being forced to tackle the upcoming even tougher stages with a deficit would have been very hard for me," said Sauser.

Loevset wins women's stage

While Sauser will enter the race's second 75km stage from Lofer to Kirchberg in Tyrol with a very small advantage in the GC, Borghild Loevset has already a comfortable lead on the women's side.

The Norwegian racer crossed the finish line in 3:03:29 and thus some 11 minutes ahead of runner-up Anja Gradl (Team Bulls). Bettina Uhlig rounded out the podium as third in 3:19:33.

"It was tough," said Loevset, who will also compete in the upcoming world championships in Kirchberg end of June. "I felt very tired in the climb to Loferer Alm but luckily everything turned out alright."

Masters

Among the 40+ racers, Andreas Strobel took over the lead in the master category with a time of (2:46:21). The German Centurion-Vaude racer was followed by fellow countryman Carsten Bresser (Craft-Rocky Mountain) at 2:47:23 and Austria's Reini Woisetschlaeger at 2:51:34.

In his first year as 50+ competitor, Heinz Zoerweg underlined his strength, finishin in 2:52:10. He not only claimed the green jersey for being the grand master leader but also impressively placed 31st in the overall ranking. The Austrian is already more than 12 minutes ahead of Reinhard Braun, who finished in second position. Henrik Cohen took third.

Full Results for stage 1 and GC after stage 1