Kulhavy too strong for everyone

Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy was the top rider for the second day in a row during stage two of the the Afxentia race. He beat Emil Lindgren and Jan Skarnitzl in the 41-kilometer point-to-point race and kept his overall lead. In the women's 32km competition, Annika Langvad took the win ahead of Elisabeth Brandau and Alexandra Engen. Langvad is now leading the race overall.

For the first half of the men's race, it was a hard battle in the Macheras Mountains. Nicola Rohrbach , who later flatted, and German Karl Platt (Bulls) set the pace, bringing more and more riders into difficulty. Then when Jaroslav Kulhavy (Rubena Birell Specialized) took over, most were left behind for good.

Emil Lindgren (Rabobank-Giant) tried hard to follow the Czech, but he had no chance of doing so today. Kulhavy rode strongly, undeterred by the rain, which started half an hour before he finished.

"This kind of race is not really good for me, but I felt very good and I'm happy," said Kulhavy. "This win is very important for me. My training after the cyclo-cross season was free of any problems, and I feel well."

"On the uphill, he was too strong for me," said Lindgren after crossing the finish line 43 seconds behind Kulhavy. "Jaroslav was very strong, he did a good job. He attacked in the first feed zone and got away. I tried to keep him in sight, but when we went into the uphill singletrack, I lost about a minute. In the downhill, I guess I made some time up, but then I lost 10 seconds again."

Among the chasers, Sunshine Cup round one winner Jan Skarnitzl (Dimp-Giant) could not hold the pace of Lindgren. He finished third, 1:15 later than Lindgren. With the ranking on day two the same as on day one, the overall classification also stayed the same with Kulhavy still leading.

For the first half of the race, Roel Paulissen was with the lead group, but the marathon World Champion suffered some back problems and would finish fourth. Jiri Friedl (Merida) was fifth, but held onto fourth overall in the GC.

Asian champion Kohei Yamamoto of Japan finished sixth in his best Cyprus Cup perfomance yet. "I had good legs today, and I enjoy my time on Cyprus," he said.

Going into the final stage tomorrow, Kulhavy leads with a 1:05 advantage over Lindgren and 2:31 over Skarnitzl.

Bad luck for Stevkova and Anishova

In women's competition, Annika Langvad (HMTBK) demonstrated that she is willing defend the orange leader's jersey of Cyprus Sunshine Cup overall. After a time trial yesterday that did not suit her, she climbed well today and got away from Elisabeth Brandau (Haibike) approximately halfway through the race.

Riding solo, Langvad gave everything and extended her lead until the finish, where she had a comfortable 4:12 advantage. Brandau took the second spot, while Alexandra Engen (Rothaus-Cube) was the first of the chasers to finish at 7:42.

Janka Stevkova (CPEpic-Dohnany) flatted while in third place and then lost a lot of time to finish in fifth.

Russian Ekaterina Anishova (Primorsky District) suffered a similar fate - a flat tire. "I had to run about five kilometers," she said, disappointed with her 19th place, 42:04 down.

"It was wonderful today. I didn't know how strong Elisabeth was. At the beginning, it was my tactic to stay with her. But then I got a gap on the uphill section and I rode away."

"I haven't been training enough to give it all," said Brandau. "My pulse was high, but my legs didn't want to go. I couldn't stay with Annika, but I'm happy with my second place."

At the end of the day, Langvad leads the GC by 2:53 over Brandau and 7:27 over Engen. If everything goes well for Langvad, the Danish rider should be able to keep her race lead tomorrow.

Engen said she had better legs today - even after a bad start. After an encouraging word from Melanie Spaeth, she picked up several places and started feeling good. "I will see what happens tomorrow, but the main thing is getting in some good training," said Engen.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Rubena Birell Specialized1:49:03
2Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team0:00:44
3Jan Škarnitzl (Cze) Dimp Giant0:01:59
4Roel Paulissen (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:03:10
5Jiri Friedl (Cze) 2010 Merida Biking Team0:03:15
6Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) V.C.Lapomme Marseille0:04:09
7Christoph Soukup (Aut) 2010 Merida Biking Team0:04:29
8Periklis Ilias (Gre) Greek National0:04:59
9Thomas Dietch (Fra) Team Bulls0:05:09
10Frank Schotman (Ned) Stappenbelt-Specialized MTB Team0:05:15
11Jiri Hudeuk (Cze) Dimp Giant0:05:31
12Henrique Avancini (Bra) ISD Cycling Team0:05:33
13Stefan Sahm (Ger) Bulls Team0:05:50
14Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls0:05:50
15Anton Gogolev (Rus) Corratec Team0:06:14
16Bjorn Brems (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:06:22
17Thomas Litcher (Swi) Mig0:07:53
18Timofey Ivanov (Rus) Primorskiy District0:08:04
19Klaus Nielsen (Den)0:08:20
20Ondrej Cink (Cze) 2010 Merida Biking Team0:08:47
21Nicolas Vermeulen (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:08:58
22Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team0:09:14
23Ivan Rybarik (Cze) Merida Biking Team0:09:24
24Maxim Gogolev (Rus) Corratec Team0:09:50
25Lee Williams (GBr) Team Wiggle0:10:25
26Fredrik Edin (Swe)0:10:59
27Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Infotre-Leecougan0:11:14
28Alexander Blomqvist (Swe) Alingsas CK0:11:35
29Ivan Smirnov (Rus) Primorskiy District0:11:46
30Looser Konny (Swi) Team Stöckli-Craft0:12:02
31Lars Bleckur (Swe)0:12:16
32Tim Bohme (Ger) Team Bulls0:12:43
33Alexey Medvedev (Rus) Corratec Team0:13:58
34Magnus Darvell (Swe) Team Kalas0:14:01
35Pascal Hossay (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:14:06
36Ryan Sherlock (Irl) Cycleways0:14:40
37Henrik Andersen (Den) HMTBK0:15:06
38Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Team Firebike-Droessiger0:15:10
39Ivan Seledkov (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:15:17
40Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team0:15:23
41Dries Govaerts (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:15:38
42Artem Orlov (Rus)0:16:06
43Giorgos Fattas (Cyp) Limassol Club0:16:15
44Engeniy Nikolaev (Rus) Primorskiy District0:16:57
45Benjamin Wittrup Justesen (Den) Team T-Bikes0:17:08
46Casper Saltoft Kristiansen (Den) Team T-Bikes0:17:14
47Nicolas Jeantet (Ita) ISD Cycling Team0:17:39
48Hutter Michael (Swi) Pink Gili Swiss Biking Team0:18:53
49Pavel Pryadein (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:19:23
50Marios Athanasiades (Cyp) Omonoia0:19:51
51Evgeniy Vitmanovsky (Rus)0:20:20
52Lasse Brun Pedersen (Den) HMTBK0:20:37
53Maximilian Daum Philipp (Ger) Haibike0:20:59
54Tarp Jensen Simon (Den) HMTBK0:21:12
55Pierre Yves Facomprez (Fra) Team Look0:21:18
56Dmitry Medvedev (Rus) Corratec Team0:21:30
57Kasper Busk (Den) HMTBK0:22:17
58Nicolas Tachopoulos (Gre) Greek National0:22:38
59Vladislavs Neroznaks (Lat) Omonoia0:22:43
60Michalis Kittis (Cyp) Pol0:23:04
61Alexey Leontyev (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:23:22
62Georgios Pattes-Toumanis (Gre) Greek National0:24:25
63Skettos Kyriakos (Cyp) Omonoia0:25:28
64Jonsson Olof (Swe) O2 Orbea0:25:40
65Huber Alexander (Ger)0:27:18
66Johnni Nielsen (Den) Team T-Bikes0:30:32
67Igor Bogdan (Ukr)0:34:12
68Skettos Timotheos (Cyp) Limassol Club0:35:25
69Paul Beales (GBr) Orange Monkey Cycling Team0:39:34
70Alaxander Chioupin (Cyp) Olympiada0:39:58
71Loukas Theodorou (Cyp) Iraklitos1:23:16
72Anders Ljungberg (Swe) Team Firebike-DroessigerRow 71 - Cell 2
73Jan Jobanek (Cze) 2010 Merida Biking TeamRow 72 - Cell 2
74Oleksandr Kachanov (Ukr) ISD Cycling TeamRow 73 - Cell 2
75Mattias Nilsson (Swe) Team KalasRow 74 - Cell 2
76Anatoly Gavrilov (Rus) Dinamo MoscowRow 75 - Cell 2
77Heiko Gutmann (Ger) Rothaus-Cube MTB TeamRow 76 - Cell 2
78Fagerli Ole-Christian (Nor) RaumerrytterRow 77 - Cell 2
79Claus Crone (Den) Aarhus 1900 MTBRow 78 - Cell 2
80Andrews Christopher (GBr) Orange Monkey Cycling TeamRow 79 - Cell 2
81Kiriakos Papanastasiou (Cyp) DopiRow 80 - Cell 2
82Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) Srm StevensRow 81 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Annika Langvad (Den) HMTBK1:54:18
2Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) German National Team0:04:12
3Alexandra Engen (Swe) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team0:07:43
4Suzanne Clarke (GBr) Great Britain0:09:23
5Janka Stevkova (Svk) CK Epic0:10:02
6Julie Krasniak (Fra) Team Look0:12:55
7Melanie Spath (Ger) Cycleways0:12:57
8Anne Terpstra (Ned) Stappenbelt Specialized MTB Team0:16:35
9Maaike Polspoel (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:16:59
10Ksenia Chernykh (Rus) Orient Giant Russia0:19:35
11Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) Rijwielpaleis Mountainbike Team0:19:42
12Mosch Vanessa (Ger)0:20:22
13Elena Gogoleva (Rus)0:21:43
14Yana Klishina (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:23:26
15Githa Michiels (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:25:47
16Idit Shub (Isr) City Cycling Club0:30:45
17Alla Boyko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team0:32:25
18Darya Zaytsena (Rus) Karofilm0:39:53
19Ekaterina Anoshina (Rus) Primorskiy District0:42:05
20Irina Malysheva (Rus)0:43:17
21Jelena Petrova (Lat) Omonoia1:09:06
DNSBarbara Benko (Hun) Rothaus-Cube MTB TeamRow 21 - Cell 2
DNSZeldenrust Monique (Ned) Giant BeneluxRow 22 - Cell 2
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Junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonas Pedersen (Den) HMTBK1:45:05
2Anton Stephanov (Rus)0:02:55
3Alexey Krylov (Rus) Primorskiy District0:04:34
4Yuri Lebedev (Rus)0:11:13
5Egor Kropachev (Rus) Primorskiy DistrictRow 4 - Cell 2
6Ben Roff (GBr)0:11:52
7Egor Komin (Rus) Primorskiy District0:13:52
8Sergey Lahanov (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:15:35
9Ilya Bykov (Rus)0:16:43
10Nikita Chubukov (Rus) Karofilm0:17:58
11Leontios Katsouris (Cyp) Pol0:18:55
12Ilya Dushakov (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:19:33
13Artem Alexandrov (Rus) Primorskiy District0:21:19
14Andrey Shirobokov (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:27:54
15Alexey Solovyev (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:29:05
16Mamas Kyriacou (Cyp) Dopi1:13:04
17Eirinaios Koutsiou (Cyp) Iraklitos1:15:19
DNSAngelos Kyriacou (Cyp) DopiRow 17 - Cell 2
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Junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Emmas Ferner (Swe) Borlange CK2:22:59
2Josefine Grimbeck (Swe) CK Wano0:00:59
3Svetlana Poverina (Rus) Karofilm0:06:24
4Andrea Christoforou (Cyp) Omonoia0:06:58
5Valeriy Kuzmenko (Rus) Karofilm0:12:55
6Yulia Yakovleva (Rus) Primorskiy District0:13:48
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Masters 1
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Benoit Valentin (Fra) V.C.La Pomme Marseille1:56:42
2Morris Anthony (GBr) Evans Cycles Rt0:01:36
3Marios Antoniou (Cyp)1:27:05
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Masters 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mads Bodker (Den) T-Bike1:59:29
2Victor Korchagin (Rus) Giant - Russia0:03:04
3Michalis Xatzikonstantas (Cyp) Limasol Sporting0:58:40
DNSSoren Christensen (Den) HMTBKRow 3 - Cell 2
DNSZierke Frederik (Ger)Row 4 - Cell 2
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Hobby category
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kubis Lukas (Ger) Rkv Neuhausen1:48:50
2Rosel Jan (Cyp)0:20:08
3Marcus Lohman (Cyp)0:37:52
DNSVasos Andreou (Cyp)Row 3 - Cell 2
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Masters 2 Hobby
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mike Hadjiconstantas (Cyp) Limassol Club2:40:53
2Heyns Dan (Cyp)0:06:07
3Heiko Lohman (Cyp)0:47:57
4Lakis Karapateas (Cyp)1:37:41
5Christos Geros (Cyp)1:38:19
6Christakis Ioannou (Cyp)1:39:06
DNSMichalis Savva (Cyp)Row 6 - Cell 2
DNSZierke Frederik (Ger)Row 7 - Cell 2
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Elite men general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Rubena Birell Specialized2:10:06
2Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team0:01:05
3Jan Škarnitzl (Cze) Dimp Giant0:02:31
4Jiri Friedl (Cze) 2010 Merida Biking Team0:04:34
5Roel Paulissen (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:05:12
6Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) V.C.Lapomme Marseille0:05:42
7Christoph Soukup (Aut) 2010 Merida Biking Team0:05:49
8Periklis Ilias (Gre) Greek National0:06:43
9Jiri HudeuEk (Cze) Dimp Giant0:07:23
10Thomas Dietch (Fra) Bullls Team0:07:23
11Henrique Avancini (Bra) ISD Cycling Team0:07:27
12Frank Schotman (Ned) Stappenbelt-Specialized MTB Team0:07:45
13Karl Platt (Ger) Bullls Team0:07:47
14Stefan Sahm (Ger) Bulls Team0:07:57
15Anton Gogolev (Rus) Corratec Team0:08:14
16Bjorn Brems (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:09:17
17Timofey Ivanov (Rus) Primorskiy District0:09:48
18Klaus Nielsen (Den)0:10:02
19Thomas Litcher (Swi) Mig0:10:25
20Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team0:10:38
21Ondrej Cink (Cze) 2010 Merida Biking Team0:10:41
22Maxim Gogolev (Rus) Corratec Team0:10:57
23Nicolas Vermeulen (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:11:03
24Ivan Rybarik (Cze) Merida Biking Team0:11:56
25Lee Williams (GBr) Team Wiggle0:12:05
26Fredrik Edin (Swe)0:12:48
27Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Infotre-Leecougan0:13:20
28Alexander Blomqvist (Swe) Alingsas CK0:13:50
29Tim Bohme (Ger) Team Bulls0:14:26
30Ivan Smirnov (Rus) Primorskiy District0:14:46
31Looser Konny (Swi) Team Stfckli-Craft0:15:10
32Alexey Medvedev (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:15:46
33Lars Bleckur (Swe)0:15:53
34Magnus Darvell (Swe) Team Kalas0:16:21
35Pascal Hossay (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:17:12
36Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team0:17:31
37Ryan Sherlock (Irl) Cycleways0:18:18
38Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Team Firebike-Droessiger0:18:20
39Ivan Seledkov (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:18:23
40Henrik Andersen (Den) HMTBK0:19:26
41Artem Orlov (Rus)0:19:47
42Dries Govaerts (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:19:51
43Engeniy Nikolaev (Rus) Primorskiy District0:20:00
44Nicolas Jeantet (Ita) ISD Cycling Team0:20:02
45Benjamin Wittrup Justesen (Den) Team T-Bikes0:20:37
46Giorgos Fattas (Cyp) Limassol Club0:20:51
47Pavel Pryadein (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:22:23
48Casper Saltoft Kristiansen (Den) Team T-Bikes0:22:24
49Hutter Michael (Swi) Pink Gili Swiss Biking Team0:22:38
50Marios Athanasiades (Cyp) Omonoia0:23:09
51Dmitry Medvedev (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:23:31
52Evgeniy Vitmanovsky (Rus)0:24:11
53Maximilian Daum Philipp Maximillian (Ger) Haibike0:24:57
54Pierre Yves Facomprez (Fra) Team Look0:25:04
55Tarp Jensen Simon (Den) HMTBK0:25:19
56Lasse Brun Pedersen (Den) HMTBK0:25:32
57Kasper Busk (Den) HMTBK0:26:55
58Alexey Leontyev (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:27:03
59Vladislavs Neroznaks (Lat) Omonoia0:27:25
60Nicolas Tachopoulos (Gre) Greek National0:27:42
61Michalis Kittis (Cyp) Pol0:27:43
62Georgios Pattes-Toumanis (Gre) Greek National0:28:47
63Jonsson Olof (Swe) O2 Orbea0:29:18
64Skettos Kyriakos (Cyp) Omonoia0:29:47
65Huber Alexander (Ger)0:32:51
66Johnni Nielsen (Den) Team T-Bikes0:35:54
67Igor Bogdan (Ukr)0:39:41
68Skettos Timotheos (Cyp) Limassol Club0:40:35
69Paul Beales (GBr) Orange Monkey Cycling Team0:44:40
70Alaxander Chioupin (Cyp) Olympiada0:47:15
71Loukas Theodorou (Cyp) Iraklitos1:35:43
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Elite women general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Annika Langvad (Den) HMTBK2:22:32
2Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) German National Team0:02:53
3Alexandra Engen (Swe) Rothaus-Cube MTB Team0:07:28
4Clarke Suzanne (GBr) Great Britain0:09:24
5Janka Stevkova (Svk) CK Epic0:09:42
6Julie Krasniak (Fra) Team Look0:13:56
7Melanie Spath (Ger) Cycleways0:14:23
8Maaike Polspoel (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:17:32
9Anne Terpstra (Ned) Stappenbelt Specialized MTB Team0:18:30
10Ksenia Chernykh (Rus) Orient Giant Russia0:21:09
11Mosch Vanessa (Ger)0:21:15
12Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) Rijwielpaleis Mountainbike Team0:22:58
13Elena Gogoleva (Rus)0:23:12
14Yana Klishina (Rus) Dinamo Moscow0:26:47
15Githa Michiels (Bel) Belgian Cycling Team0:27:14
16Idit Shub (Isr) City Cycling Club0:35:54
17Alla Boyko (Ukr) ISD Cycling Team0:36:50
18Ekaterina Anoshina (Rus) Primorskiy District0:41:07
19Darya Zaytsena (Rus) Karofilm0:45:19
20Irina Malysheva (Rus)0:49:31
21Jelena Petrova (Lat) Omonoia1:20:58

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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews.  She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.

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