At the European cross country mountain bike championships in Moscow, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå (Norway) won her sixth European championship title.
No presents were being handed out to the riders at the European championships. Due to the pouring rain, the races turned into true mudbaths. Dahle Flesjå was not deterred by the miserable conditions, however. Despite having been plagued by a sickness at the beginning of the week, the Norwegian beat her strongest competitors Esther Süss (Switzerland)and Sabine Spitz (Germany).
"Today's conditions reminded me of the world championships in Kaprun in 2002, where I got crowned as world champion for the first time. I like these kind of conditions and managed to ride fluidly throughout the race," Dahle Flesjå said.
"Now I am very happy to have defended the European title." Dahle Flesjå won the most recent World Cup in La Bresse, France.
Behind the winner, the battle was for second place with Süss taking it by just one second over Spitz.
"The bronze medal is a huge success for me, but I lost silver due to a technical problem in the final meters," said Spitz, who had issues with her brakes in the mud. The pads wore out in the muddy conditions.
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