Thum and Gegenheimer blitz time trial to gain early lead

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Steffen Thum and Simon Gegenheimer (Ultra Sports Rose Racing) fired the opening salvo on Sunday at the 2011 Brasil Ride, a seven-day mountain bike stage race in the Brazilian state of Bahia.

Thum and Gegenheimer turned the top time on a rocky and technical 12.4km stage 1 prologue, held in and around Mucuge, a small city in the state’s remote and rocky western interior, near the famed Chapada Diamantina National Park.

The German duo’s mark off 29:55 was 31 seconds better than second place finishers Tomas Vokrouhlik and Martin Horak (BMC), with Lukas Kauffmann and Christopher Maletz (Easton Rockets) another 13 seconds behind. Defending Brasil Ride champions Robert Novatny and Kristian Hynek (Future Cycling-Sweep) slotted fourth, at 0:56.

All contestants compete in teams of two, and must never be more than two minutes apart from their partner. Total distance for the week will approach 600km.

“We look like the strongest guys here,” said Thum, who is currently third in the UCI marathon series standings, with teammate Gegenheimer in fifth. “But that is just results from the past, so it means nothing yet.”

Meanwhile, Brian and Jenny Smith (Alpine Orthopedic MTB Team-Breezer- SRAM) eked out a narrow 15-second win, besting German Ivonne Kraft and Brazilian Mateus Ferraz (Brasil Soul-RC Bikes). It was a solid start for the Gunnison, Colorado-based husband-and-wife duo, who are back in Brazil to defend their 2010 title.

“We really wanted to win the first day,” said Smith, whose time was 35:49. “The competition looks a lot stronger this year, so we really wanted to show our strength right from the beginning.”

Missing from the day one action was the Topeak-Ergon pair of Jeff Kerkove and Sonya Looney, also of Colorado. Both riders are bike-less, after American Airlines managed to lose track of their bags during the flight from the States, south of the equator to Brazil. Looney was optimistically hopeful that her ride might turn up late Sunday evening, allowing her to at least jump in for stage 2. But Kerkove said his last conversation with the airline left him highly doubtful he’d see his bike anytime soon.

“Apparently the police have it, but someone lost the key to the room they are being stored in. Seriously, that’s what they told me,” said an incredulous Kerkove, who along with Looney, finished third in this race a year ago.

The women’s stage 1 went to the Brazilian duo of Adriana Nascimento and Sabrina Gobbo (Ladies Brasil Soul-RC Bikes), who stopped the clock in 44:10. There are only three women’s teams among a field of 103 teams, which also includes riders from 18 countries.

While the tough and technical prologue provided a small taste of what’s to come this week, Monday’s stage 2 ride from Mucuge to Rio de Contas is a full banquet of pain. On tap, a 145km grind with 3372 meters of climbing. Expect even the winners to log upwards of seven hours on the bike. Back markers will be out there for half a day.

“There is so much that can happen when you’re on the bike for that long,” said Hynek, who along with Novatny, used a similar second stage in 2010 as a springboard to overall victory. “It’s not something really any of the top riders here are used to. Last year was the first time I’d ever raced that long. Tomorrow will be the second.”

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