Kulhavy goes three for three and takes the overall

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Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy and Dane Annika Langvad won the second round of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup. Both took the final stage of the Afxentia stage race and the overall classification. In the men's cross country on Sunday, Kulhavy defeated Emil Lindgren and Periklis Ilias while in the women's race, Langvad beat Janka Stevkova and Alexandra Engen.

For a third day in a row, riders had to deal with bad weather conditions in the Macheras Mountains. It was again rainy and cold.

"I don't like to have the contact with the other riders in these difficult conditions," said the Czech of his early escape.

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Lindgren (Rabobank-Giant) could not follow Kulhavy early on, so he formed a chase group together with Ilias (ISD) and Sunshine Cup leader Jan Skarnitzl (Dimp-Giant) for a time. The latter had problems with chain suck and fell behind. Roel Paulissen (Cannondale) also chased.

Kulhavy couldn't extend his lead to more than 40 seconds. On the last two laps, Lindgren was able to make some time back, but it was too late to close the gap on completely to Kulhavy. The Czech made it three for three stage wins as well as secured the Afxentia overall ahead of Lindgren.

"It was a very long and cold race. I felt very strong today and tried to get away because I wanted to ride alone. I tried to control the race," said Kulhavy. "Now it's important to have good training to prepare for the first World Cup."

"Jaroslav did exactly the same as I did last year," said Lindgren. "I didn't have the legs to follow him. But in the last two laps, I got better but at the end he was too strong. tried to take no risks on the slippery downhills. I’'m satisfied with the second place. Next week we will see. If I have the legs, I will go for the win but we have wait and see."

Skarnitzl, despite his technical problems, hung onto fourth place on the day and third overall. He also kept the orange leader's jersey of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup on his shoulders.

Greek champion Ilias earned fourth in the Afxentia classification. Paulissen got fifth while Jiri Friedl had bad luck with a technical problem and couldn't finish the race.

"The race was really difficult for me. I had problems with my hands because it was very cold," said Illias. "I'm satisfied with my place. On the last lap, I lost contact to Emil because I couldn't control my bike because I was so cold."

"It was horrible today.. very difficult, no feeling in my hands," said Skarnitzl. "Then my chain sucked and I lost a lot of time. [It's] great to keep the overall jersey though."

Exciting last lap for Langvad

The beginning of the women's race mirrored the men's competition. But it was not the day's winner Annika Langvad (HMTBK) who got away. Elisabeth Brandau (Haibike) took the lead in the start lap and created a gap of about 20 seconds.

But then in the first of three complete laps, Brandau crashed on a downhill and got a puncture. That brought Langvad into the lead which she held until the finish.

"It was crazy, I had to run all the downhill sections because I couldn't brake. Now I'm happy to have the win," said Langvad. "Elisabeth was very strong. I could keep the distance to her constant and thought maybe I could catch her, but then she flatted. It was lucky for me today."

Until the last lap, it looked like it would be an easy win for Langvad, but then the Danish woman crashed and broke her rear brake lever. Without full brakes, the race quickly got "exciting" for the leader, and her gap shrunk from two minutes to just 31 seconds at the finish. It was little like at Sunshine Cup opener, when Langvad flatted in the last lap but was able to hold on for the victory.

Janka Stevkova (CKEpic-Dohnany) fought to gain back time as she battled Alexandra Engen (Rothaus-Cube) and Sue Clarke (Orange Monkey). After a bad start, Engen closed a gap to Stevkova with Clarke more or less on her back wheel.

The positions of these three riders changed throughout the race, until the last lap.

Stevkova made up seconds on a downhill and got away to secure the second spot while Engen was able to take third place like the previous day.

"Yesterday I had a slow puncture with five kilometers and I had to ride in on the rim," said Stevkova. "This cost me a lot of power. Today, I was too tired from that, and I was just glad to finish second."

"I had fun today. It took some time for me to get in it," said Engen. "Janka, Sue and I, we were switching places all the time. I felt tired but I think everyone else did, too. I feels better and better and this is the reason why I'm here."

Clarke thanked Engen for the encouragement she'd gotten during the race and also said, "I'm used to doing stage races on the road, so I know how it feels to race every day," she said.

In the Afxentia overall classification, Engen came closer to Brandau, but the German showed a fighting spirit. She held the time gap down and defended her second place by finishing in fifth position.

The final round of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup will be held next Sunday at Amathous.

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