Cink and Neff win Cyprus Sunshine Cup in Voroklini

The second and final round of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup - in Voroklini - ended with a Czech duel. Ondrej Cink (Multivan Merida) won ahead of Jan Skarnitzl (SRAM Rubena Trek). Third place went to Thomas Litscher (Multivan Merida). In a close finish in the women's race, Jolanda Neff (Giant Pro XC) passed Blaza Klemencic (Felt Feenstra) to take her second CSC win. Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (Multivan Merida) was third. Both Cink and Neff were also crowned overall Sunshine Cup winners.

Men

The men's race came down to a battle between two Czech riders after Rudi van Houts (Multivan-Merida) lost the contact with Cink and Skarnitzl. Prior to that, his teammate José Antonio Hermida had suffered from a flat tire and also came off the lead group. Their other teammate Julian Schelb had crashed and broke a spoke in his rear wheel.

From lap three onward, Cink and Skarnitzl increased their advantage up to as much as 30 seconds while Thomas Litscher tried to reconnect with the chase group. He had struggled a bit on the first lap, but then found his rhythm.

Cink and Skarnitzl stayed together until the final lap. Then Cink took the advantage on an uphill singletrack.

"He was stronger there every lap, and I could not close the gap again," said Skarnitzl. "It was a great race, and I am satisfied with that result. Ondrej was very strong."

The victorious Cink crossed the finish line 17 seconds earlier and of course was happy about his first season win.

"During the week, I felt tired and even yesterday not so good. But today, everything was perfect. I felt super for the whole race and could do what I want," said Cink. "It was a very, very good day for me."

Behind them both, Litscher caught van Houts and left him behind. After the first lap, Litscher was going as fast as leading duo and finally took the third spot on the podium.

"Finally it worked out and that makes me calm. My first lap was not really good, but then I was able to push," said Litscher, who finished 35 seconds after the leaders. "I need concentrate on myself, then it pays off."

Van Houts was a bit unlucky about missing the top three, but not unhappy with his race. "On the uphill, they were stronger, so I tried to be in front when it went into the downhill, so I could make the gap to the rest. Later it was a fight against Wolfram Kurschat. It's a bit a shame to loose the podium at the end," said van Houts.

Kurschat was okay with his first race appearance of the season The 38-year-old Topeak-Ergon rider talked about missing the power to continue pushing after the climbs, compared to the riders already were racing the Afxentia last weekend.

"Finally I am happy with my debut," the German said after six laps of 6km each and the start loop of 3.2km.

In the overall classification of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup, it was the same Czech double. Cink took the orange jersey for the first time, ahead of Skarnitzl.

Women

The second Sunshine Cup victory of Jolanda Neff within two weekends was obviously was deserved. The 21-year-old under 23 world champion punctured in the first of four complete laps. After changing her back wheel, she passed the finish line in seventh with 40 seconds to make up on the three women in the lead group.

Neff fought back and at the end of the following lap, she had already caught the leaders. In lap three, Neff and Klemencic (Feenstra-Felt) got away, Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (Multivan-Merida) followed eight seconds behind and Maja Wloszczowska (Liv Pro XC) was a further 15 seconds back.

Neff and Klemencic increased the gap and in the last downhill and it came down to an exciting finish. Klemencic was leading and Neff not able to pass, even she probably could have gone faster.

They reached the asphalt and there was a fast corner. "Blaza took the outside line and found the gap to pass her," Neff said.

"I felt pretty strong on the uphill and was okay in the downhill. But Jolanda, she is so fast on the downhill, I had no chance," said Klemencic, who was a bit unhappy about having to race on her training bike. "Unfortunately I didn't get my new bike yet to get used to it. For the race, I am fine with the result."

Neff was smiling after the finish. "Super cool, that I could make it after having this flat tire. I tried to ride my pace. It couldn't go better than to win the whole Cyprus Sunshine Cup," said Neff. Her two wins gave her the CSC overall.

Nine-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa said, "I felt strong, but I am not in shape. Of course, I should be happy to make it on the podium, but the body is not so far. I had to control myself and ride on strength. It went pretty well on the uphill and in the technical parts. First podium gives me motivation, it was a good fight with the girls."

Wloszczowska was happy with her first season appearance. "I had a lot of health problems this winter. So it's good to be in the front group, already in the first race. Even if it was too fast for me, I decided to keep up as long as possible. Of course, I am happy with the victory of my teammate," she said.

Sabine Spitz confessed that she could not push so well in Voroklini."Today I was not able to reach my top heartrate. Probably I was not completely fresh. I missed the front group and then had to ride solo."

Record number of participants

More racers than ever competed in Voroklini: 86 men and 38 women in the elite races.

"We are really glad about this improvement and are looking forward to next year. The success of this year gives us motivation to work on some details for 2015. Thanks to all the support we got from the communities, Cyprus Tourism Organization and Cyprus Cycling Federation and also thanks to all the positive comments," said organizer Mike Hadjioannou.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ondrej Cink (Cze) Multivan Merida1:39:50
2Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Sram Rubena Trek0:00:17
3Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida0:00:36
4Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida0:01:00
5Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team0:01:42
6Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Giant Pro XC Team0:02:31
7Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Merida Wallonie0:02:43
8Sergiy Rysenko (Ukr) Ukraine National Team0:02:57
9Preimanis Matiss (Lat) DPA0:03:47
10Simon Scheiber (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team0:03:56
11Karl Markt (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team0:04:05
12Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Goldwurst-Power/Stockli0:04:22
13Ola Kjoren (Nor) Norwegian National Team0:04:30
14Alexey Medvedev (Rus) Full Dynamix0:04:44
15Ruben Scheire (Bel) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda0:05:10
16Gregor Raggl (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team0:05:16
17Robby De Bock (Bel) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda0:05:16
18Matthias Wengelin (Swe) SCS Racing Team0:05:37
19Axel Lindh (Swe) SCS Racing Team0:05:57
20Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida0:05:57
21Oleksandr Geraschenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team0:06:42
22Julian Schelb (Ger) Multivan Merida0:07:12
23Ivan Smirnov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye Nadezdy0:07:13
24Thijs Zuurbier (Ned) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda0:07:34
25Sebastian Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team0:07:39
26Hamish Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team0:07:45
27Kornel Osicki (Pol) Kross Racing Team0:08:20
28Jason Bouttell (GBr) Velopro0:08:34
29Christopher Maletz (Ger) Fujibikes Team0:08:51
30Anton Gogolev (Rus) Impuls0:09:06
31Egger Greog (Ger) Lexware Racing Team0:09:14
32Steven James (GBr) Hargroves Cycles Rt-Specialized-Trant-Next-Elliot's0:09:22
33Marek Konwa (Pol) Polish National Team0:09:28
34Lee Williams (GBr) Gateway Racing0:09:46
35Oleksii Zavolokin (Ukr) Ukraine National Team0:09:49
36Ryo Saito (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team0:09:55
37Filip Eberl (Cze) Remerx Merida Team Kolin0:10:01
38Simon Schilli (Ger) Racextract.Wekstream/Powersports Offenburg0:10:09
39Lucien Besancon (Swi) Wheeler-Ixs0:10:13
40Lucian Logigan (Rom) Ideal Geiger Team0:10:52
41Marios Athanasiades (Cyp) Omonoia0:10:52
42Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) DPA0:11:19
43Reinis Andrijanovs (Lat) DPA0:11:36
44Oprea Ovidiu Tudor (Rom) Ideal Geiger Team0:11:47
45Sondre Kristiansen (Nor) Norwegian National Team0:12:00
46Edvard Vea Iversen (Nor) Norwegian National Team0:12:02
47Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team0:12:16
48Zdenek Vobecky (Cze) Evelen Rubena Test Team0:12:52
49Artem Aleksandrov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye Nadezdy0:13:48
50Urban Ferencak (Slo) Salcano Alanya0:14:39
51Pieter Geluykens (Bel) Merida Wallonie0:14:54
52Sanghoon Na (Kor) Elfama-Fdr0:15:02
53Gosse Van Der Meer (Ned) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda0:15:09
54Jakob Hartmann (Ger) Sc Rosenheim0:15:35
-1 LapOle Hem (Nor) Norwegian National Team0:15:43
-1 LapChristos Loizou (Cyp) Apoel0:15:48
-1 LapNicolas Fischer (Swi) JB Felt Team0:15:56
-1 LapDaniel Voitl (Ger) Bike Junior Team0:15:56
-1 LapSeiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team0:15:58
-2 LapsRuslan Boredksii (Rus) Olimpiiskiye Nadezdy0:16:04
-2 LapsAlexander Polyakov (Rus) Shvsm-Samara0:18:00
-2 LapsArtem Shevtsov (Ukr) Ukraine National Team0:18:09
-3 LapsFabian Costa (Aut) Hai Powerbike Team0:18:55
-3 LapsGiorgos Fattas (Cyp) CosmopolisRow 63 - Cell 2
-3 LapsAlexandros Vrochides (Gre) SMF TeamRow 64 - Cell 2
-3 LapsRoy Beukers (Ned) Feenstra-Felt-KendaRow 65 - Cell 2
-3 LapsShun Matsumoto (Jpn) Team Scott JapanRow 66 - Cell 2
-3 LapsAleksei Krylov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye NadezdyRow 67 - Cell 2
-4 LapsAlexey Lomilov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye NadezdyRow 68 - Cell 2
-5 LapsAleksandr Krasnov (Rus) Sdyusshor SestroretskRow 69 - Cell 2
-3 LapsJesper Andersson (Swe) Team Corratec SwedenRow 70 - Cell 2
-4 LapsCristian Losonczi (Rom) Ideal Geiger TeamRow 71 - Cell 2
-4 LapsCharun Molla Amet Ali Oglu (Gre) SMF TeamRow 72 - Cell 2
-4 LapsSamuel Stean (GBr) Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Motors CyclingRow 73 - Cell 2
-4 LapsMichalis Karatzis (Cyp) PolRow 74 - Cell 2
-4 LapsAnastasios Tsakalos (Gre) PanathinaikosRow 75 - Cell 2
-4 LapsDemos Paltayian (Cyp) PolRow 76 - Cell 2
DNFDmytro Titarenko (Ukr) ISD MTB TeamRow 77 - Cell 2
DNFDmitrii Medvedev (Rus) Full DynamixRow 78 - Cell 2
DNFPeteris Janevics (Lat) DPARow 79 - Cell 2
DNFNicolas Daniels (Bel) Merida WallonieRow 80 - Cell 2
DNFAnton Sintsov (Rus) Titici Lgl Pro TeamRow 81 - Cell 2
DNFDimitrios Antoniadis (Gre) SMF TeamRow 82 - Cell 2
DNSPantelis Christoforou (Cyp) Agios MnasonRow 83 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jolanda Neff (Swi) Liv Pro XC Team1:18:56
2Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda0:00:06
3Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida0:00:50
4Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) Liv Pro XC Team0:02:19
5Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro0:02:42
6Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost0:02:55
7Lene Byberg (Nor) Norwegian National Team0:03:19
8Adelheid Morath (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro0:03:47
9Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost0:04:34
10Yana Belomoina (Ukr) Ukraine National Team0:04:42
11Katarzyna Solus-Miskowicz (Pol) Polish National Team0:04:53
12Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost0:05:41
13Vera Andreeva (Rus) Rusvelo Team0:06:21
14Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro0:06:39
15Paula Gorycka (Pol) Polish National Team0:06:53
16Monika Zur (Pol) Polish National Team0:07:35
17Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Specialized Racing0:07:43
18Lisa Mitterbauer (Aut) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda0:07:53
19Alice Pirard (Bel) Merida Wallonie0:08:08
20Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) Ebe-Racing-Team0:08:22
21Iryna Popova (Ukr) Ukraine National Team0:09:08
22Jovana Crnogorac (Srb) Salcano Alanya0:09:23
23Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) Polish National Team0:09:37
24Michelle Hediger (Swi) Fischer Bmc0:09:42
25Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) ISD MTB Team0:10:09
26Ekaterina Anoshina (Rus) Rusvelo Team0:11:28
27Nadezhda Antonova (Rus) Rusvelo Team0:11:42
28Anastasiya Hoda (Ukr) Ukraine National Team0:11:42
29Ingrid Sofie Boe Jacobsen (Nor) Norwegian National Team0:12:44
30Elena Gogoleva (Rus) Shvsm-Samara0:15:51
31Kristina Kirillova (Rus) Rusvelo Team0:16:05
32Guzel Akhmadulina (Rus) Uor 2-Karo-D0:17:19
-1 LapMarina Filippova (Rus) Karo-SetroretskRow 32 - Cell 2
-1 LapDina Gordiuk (Ukr) Ukraine National TeamRow 33 - Cell 2
-3 LapsJelena Petrova (Lat) Bikin'cyprusRow 34 - Cell 2
DNFVendula Kuntova (Cze) Remerx-Merida Team KolinRow 35 - Cell 2
DNFChantal Eheim (Swi) JB Felt TeamRow 36 - Cell 2
DNFAntri Christoforou (Cyp) OmonoiaRow 37 - Cell 2
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Elite men final Sunshine Cup standings
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Ondrej Cink (Cze) Multivan Merida190pts
2Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Czech National Team175Row 1 - Cell 3
3Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida148Row 2 - Cell 3
4Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida147Row 3 - Cell 3
5Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Giant Pro XC Team130Row 4 - Cell 3
6Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Merida Wallonie118Row 5 - Cell 3
7Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida110Row 6 - Cell 3
8Simon Scheiber (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team109Row 7 - Cell 3
9Sergiy Rysenko (Ukr) Ukraine National Team109Row 8 - Cell 3
10Ruben Scheire (Bel) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda106Row 9 - Cell 3
11Alexey Medvedev (Rus) Full Dynamix99Row 10 - Cell 3
12Karl Markt (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team97Row 11 - Cell 3
13Ola Kjoren (Nor) Norwegian National Team96Row 12 - Cell 3
14Robby De Bock (Bel) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda94Row 13 - Cell 3
15Preimanis Matiss (Lat) DPA94Row 14 - Cell 3
16Gregor Raggl (Aut) Otztal Scott Racing Team89Row 15 - Cell 3
17Kornel Osicki (Pol) Kross Racing Team79Row 16 - Cell 3
18Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) ISD Team79Row 17 - Cell 3
19Ivan Smirnov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye Nadezdy76Row 18 - Cell 3
20Hamish Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team69Row 19 - Cell 3
21Sebastian Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team69Row 20 - Cell 3
22Lee Williams (GBr) Gateway Racing68Row 21 - Cell 3
23Thijs Zuurbier (Ned) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda67Row 22 - Cell 3
24Iversen Edvard Vea (Nor) Norwegian National Team62Row 23 - Cell 3
25Peteris Janevics (Lat) DPA54Row 24 - Cell 3
26Anton Gogolev (Rus) Impuls54Row 25 - Cell 3
27Lucien Besancon (Swi) Wheeler-Ixs54Row 26 - Cell 3
28Simon Schilli (Ger) Racextract.Wekstream/Powersp51Row 27 - Cell 3
29Egger Greog (Ger) Lexware Racing Team51Row 28 - Cell 3
30Zdenek Vobecky (Cze) Evelen Rubena Test Team48Row 29 - Cell 3
31Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) DPA48Row 30 - Cell 3
32Sondre Kristiansen (Nor) Norwegian National Team47Row 31 - Cell 3
33Anton Sintsov (Rus) Titici Lgl Pro Team45Row 32 - Cell 3
34Reinis Andrijanovs (Lat) DPA43Row 33 - Cell 3
35Marios Athanasiadis (Cyp) Omonoia38Row 34 - Cell 3
36Lucian Logigan (Rom) Ideal Geiger Team38Row 35 - Cell 3
37Steven James (GBr) Hargroves Cycles Rt-Specialized33Row 36 - Cell 3
38Oleksii Zavolokin (Ukr) Ukraine National Team32Row 37 - Cell 3
39Oprea Ovidiu Tudor (Rom) Ideal Geiger Team30Row 38 - Cell 3
40Ryo Saito (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team29Row 39 - Cell 3
41Christos Loizou (Cyp) Apoel24Row 40 - Cell 3
42Artem Shevtsov (Ukr) Ukraine National Team23Row 41 - Cell 3
43Artem Aleksandrov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye Nadezdy20Row 42 - Cell 3
44Ole Hem (Nor) Norwegian National Team18Row 43 - Cell 3
45Nicolas Daniels (Bel) Merida Wallonie16Row 44 - Cell 3
46Urban Ferencak (Slo) Salcano Alanya15Row 45 - Cell 3
47Pieter Geluykens (Bel) Merida Wallonie14Row 46 - Cell 3
48Sanghoon Na (Kor) Elfama-Fdr13Row 47 - Cell 3
49Gosse Van Der Meer (Ned) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda12Row 48 - Cell 3
50Jakob Hartmann (Ger) Sc Rosenheim11Row 49 - Cell 3
51Dmytro Titarenko (Ukr) ISD Team10Row 50 - Cell 3
52Ruslan Boredksii (Rus) Olimpiiskiye Nadezdy7Row 51 - Cell 3
53Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team6Row 52 - Cell 3
54Alexander Polyakov (Rus) Shvsm-Samara4Row 53 - Cell 3
55Fabian Costa (Aut) Hai Powerbike Team2Row 54 - Cell 3
56Roy Beukers (Ned) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda1Row 55 - Cell 3
57Pantelis Christoforou (Cyp) Ayios MnasonRow 56 - Cell 2 Row 56 - Cell 3
58Constantinos Thymides (Cyp) IrakleitosRow 57 - Cell 2 Row 57 - Cell 3
59Demos Paltayian (Cyp) PolRow 58 - Cell 2 Row 58 - Cell 3
60Charun Molla Amet Ali Oglu (Gre) SMF TeamRow 59 - Cell 2 Row 59 - Cell 3
61Dimitrios Antoniadis (Gre) SMF TeamRow 60 - Cell 2 Row 60 - Cell 3
62Alexandros Vrochides (Gre) SMF TeamRow 61 - Cell 2 Row 61 - Cell 3
63Shun Matsumoto (Jpn) Team Scott JapanRow 62 - Cell 2 Row 62 - Cell 3
64Cristian Losonczi (Rom) Ideal Geiger TeamRow 63 - Cell 2 Row 63 - Cell 3
65Alexey Krylov (Rus) Olimpiiskiye NadezdyRow 64 - Cell 2 Row 64 - Cell 3
66Aleksandr Krasnov (Rus) Caro-SestroretskRow 65 - Cell 2 Row 65 - Cell 3
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Elite women final Sunshine Cup standings
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jolanda Neff (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team200pts
2Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda165Row 1 - Cell 3
3Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro155Row 2 - Cell 3
4Gunn-­-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida155Row 3 - Cell 3
5Adelheid Morath (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro150Row 4 - Cell 3
6Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost126Row 5 - Cell 3
7Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost124Row 6 - Cell 3
8Lene Byberg (Nor) Norwegian National Team120Row 7 - Cell 3
9Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro117Row 8 - Cell 3
10Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost116Row 9 - Cell 3
11Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Czech National Team110Row 10 - Cell 3
12Jovana Crnogorac (Srb) Salcano Alanya101Row 11 - Cell 3
13Alice Pirard (Bel) Merida Wallonie93Row 12 - Cell 3
14Lisa Mitterbauer (Aut) Feenstra-Felt-Kenda92Row 13 - Cell 3
15Iryna Popova (Ukr) Cycling Club Roma MTB Team85Row 14 - Cell 3
16Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) Ebe-Racing-Team84Row 15 - Cell 3
17Nataliia Krompets (Ukr) ISD Team82Row 16 - Cell 3
18Michelle Hediger (Swi) Fischer Bmc81Row 17 - Cell 3
19Ekaterina Anoshina (Rus) Rusvelo Team77Row 18 - Cell 3
20Antri Christoforou (Cyp) Omonoia73Row 19 - Cell 3
21Elena Gogoleva (Rus) Shvsm-Samara,Willier Veloma70Row 20 - Cell 3
22Anastasiya Hoda (Ukr) Ukraine National Team70Row 21 - Cell 3
23Marina Filippova (Rus) Caro - Sestroretsk63Row 22 - Cell 3
24Chantal Eheim (Swi) JB Felt Team58Row 23 - Cell 3

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