Litscher wins short race in Saalhausen
Engen fastest among the women





















Thomas Litscher (Felt-Ötztal-X-Bionic) won the short race of the International MTB Bundesliga in Saalhausen on Saturday. The Swiss rider finished ahead of Sweden's Emil Lindgren (Rabobank-Giant) and Dutchman Marco Minnaard (Rabobank-Giant). Swede Alexandra Engen was the fastest of a small women's field.
From the start, Litscher rode well as he marched through the six 400-meter rounds. Heiko Gutmann (Rothaus Poison-Bikes) tried to follow him, but he felt the fatigue of his earlier rounds.
"I wanted a little practice before the sprint at the Dalby World Cup," said Litscher. "When you go to the front, you have no dust in the lungs from the man in front."
Lindgren was second place at four seconds. The Swede has fought his way to that place from behind. "Thomas was too quick from the beginning, but in the end, I was probably just as fast," said Lindgren. "I'm happy, but last year, I was second, too. I like this position."
Minnaard had a strong last round, when he was able to pass three competitors. "In the beginning, I felt tired. I was surprised because I could 'do so well'," said Minnaard.
Markus Bauer (Lexware) powered to fourth in front of Markus Schulte-Lünzum (Focus-MiG) and Jochen Kaess (Multivan-Merida), who complained that he had been mistakenly placed in the second row and therefore had a clear disadvantage.
The men's short race was held with two semi-finals, in which each of the top 15 qualified for the final.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
In the women's short race, Alexandra Engen had a similar experience to that of Litscher. She went to the front right from the start. Behind the Swede, who had won the Münsingen sprint race, 'cross specialist Sabrina Swier (Focus-MiG) took the sprint for second place narrowly ahead of Elisabeth Sveum (Merida Smart Safety).
There were only eight women at the start.
(Report translated from mtb.rad-net.de).
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandra Engen (Swe) Rothaus Poison-Bikes | 0:23:35 |
| 2 | Sabrina Swier (Ger) Focus-MiG | 0:00:03 |
| 3 | Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) Merida Smart Safety | 0:00:03 |
| 4 | Annika Langvad (Den) Easton Rockets | 0:00:04 |
| 5 | Kajsa Snihs (Swe) IK Jarl Rattvik | 0:00:06 |
| 6 | Mona Eiberweiser (Ger) Ghost Racing | 0:00:17 |
| 7 | Hanna Klein (Ger) Rothaus Poison-Bikes | 0:00:29 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt-Ötztal-X Bionic | 0:38:44 |
| 2 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:00:04 |
| 3 | Marco Minnaard (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:00:06 |
| 4 | Markus Bauer (Ger) Lexware Racing Team | 0:00:08 |
| 5 | Markus Schulte-Lünzum (Ger) Focus MIG Team | 0:00:08 |
| 6 | Jochen Käss (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:00:09 |
| 7 | Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) Easton Rockets | 0:00:09 |
| 8 | Ola Kjoeren (Nor) Fokus Danica | 0:00:09 |
| 9 | Wenzel Böhm- Gräber (Ger) Focus MIG Team | 0:00:11 |
| 10 | Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:00:12 |
| 11 | Julian Schelb (Ger) Lexware Racing Team | 0:00:15 |
| 12 | Heiko Gutmann (Ger) Rothaus Poison-Bikes | 0:00:15 |
| 13 | Alexander Speisekorn (Ger) Best-Bike-Parts/Progress | 0:00:16 |
| 14 | Henrik Kippernes (Nor) Fokus Danica | 0:00:17 |
| 15 | Håkan Löfström (Swe) IK Jarl Rättvik | 0:00:19 |
| 16 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) USA National Team | 0:00:23 |
| 17 | Sascha Bleher (Ger) Focus M.I.G Team | 0:00:25 |
| 18 | Christopher Kamphaus (Ger) RC Victoria Neheim | 0:00:27 |
| 19 | Michael Schweizer (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 0:00:28 |
| 20 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team | 0:00:29 |
| 21 | Ole Quast (Ger) Harvestehuder RSV | 0:00:29 |
| 22 | Kerry Werner (USA) USA National Team | 0:00:30 |
| 23 | Fabian Strecker (Ger) Lexware Racing Team | 0:00:30 |
| 24 | Thomas Pfrommer (Ger) Team HAICO Racing | 0:00:31 |
| 25 | Andi Weinhold (Ger) Easton Rockets | 0:00:32 |
| 26 | Adrian Sauer (Ger) SC Hausach Neumayer Tekfor | 0:00:42 |
| 27 | Rick Reimann (Swi) JB Felt Team | 0:00:43 |
| 28 | Tobias Rotermund (Ger) MTB Race Team Höxter Merida Bike | 0:00:48 |
| 29 | Matthias Pfrommer (Ger) Team HAICO Racing | 0:00:49 |
| 30 | Christopher Maletz (Ger) Easton Rockets | 0:00:50 |
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Giro d'Italia Women abandons – Mikayla Harvey among trio of riders not on start line for stage 4 time trial
Tracking all the riders who have dropped out of the Italian Grand Tour -
'The road to victory is not always immediate' - Anna van der Breggen turns back the years in race against the clock at Giro d’Italia Women mountain time trial
Short-handed Team SD Worx-Protime ready to defend maglia rosa -
'I rode with one eye for an hour and a half' – Could I survive the elite Unbound Gravel 200 as an indoor cyclist?
What started as a challenge to see if I could complete gravel's biggest race with a training plan based almost completely indoors turned into a battle for survival as the mud piled up and storm clouds rolled in -
'I missed the moment to go really deep' – Marlen Reusser refuses to blame bike choice for heavy Giro d'Italia Women mountain time trial loss
'A minute that Anna is faster is a lot – chapeau' says world time trial champion after taking second in Nevegal




