Hurikova and Boudny win Czech cross country titles

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The 18th edition of the Czech national championship took place in Karlovy Vary, the famous spa resort in the western part of the country.

On a rainy day, Tereza Hurikova took an easy victory over Pavla Havlikova. During the five-lap race, she established a gap of over four minutes.

There was more drama in the men's race. Soon after the start, Jaroslav Kulhavy, the number-one ranked Czech mountain biker, gave up due to an illness he caught earlier this week. Some were surprised to see Zdenek Stybar, the cyclo-cross world championship runner-up, take the lead. But as the race progressed, he faded, and on the last lap, he fell far enough back to miss out on a podium spot as he finished fourth.

The duo of Pavel Boudny and Jiri Novak (both from Odlo Specialized) put in a brilliant ride to destroy the rest of the field. Boudny took the win over Novak, and Milan Spesny won bronze, one week after he finished sixth at the European Championship.