Lindgren takes the win in Saalhausen

Two Swedish mountain bikers won the third round of the German National Series MTB - Bundesliga. Emil Lindgren (Rabobank-Giant) secured the win ahead of Ralph Näf (Multivan-Merida) and Michiel van der Heijden (Ned) while Alexandra Engen (Ghost-Factory Racing) won the women’s race in front of Anja Gradl (Team Bulls) and Anika Langvad (Fujibikes Rockets).

Lindgren was the lucky third man in the battle for victory in men’s race. The Rabobank-Giant rider was in the leading group, together with Germany’s U23 Julian Schelb (Lexware Racing) and Näf (Multivan-Merida). Näf used his technical skills to hold onto Lindgren and Schelb, catching up on the muddy downhill sections.

With two laps to go, Näf attacked as Schelb suffered a rear puncture. Näf was able to gain some seconds on Lindgren and went into the the last lap with a small advantage.

Entering the second of two downhill sections within the five kilometer lap, Näf punctured at the same point as Schelb had on the earlier lap leaving Lindgren to overtake and riding to his first Bundesliga victory.

"I had a solid race without any problems. Ralph was very strong in the downhill but I kept on going when he was in front. I’m happy to get the win, Saalhausen is always a good place to be for me", Lindgren said.

Näf was understandably disappointed with the result. "Can I please win a race one time", he asked rhetorically. "It was a perfect race for me before the puncture. I don’t know how it could happen in this part of the course. I thought, this cannot be happening", Näf said.

U23 world cup overall winner Michiel van der Heijden (Rabobank-Giant) earned the third spot on the podium, profiting from Schelb’s flat tire.
One of the favourites, Manuel Fumic (Cannondale Factory Racing) crashed in the very first lap on a slippery descent. In the third lap he had to change the back wheel due to a flat tire and when closing the gap to fifth place Jochen Käß (Multivan-Merida) he flatted again in the very last lap.

"For sure I am disappointed, but the shape is good", he said.

Alexandra Engen on an "Olympic performance"

Two hours before the blue and yellow Swedish flag was already on the top step of the podium, Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory Racing) continued her strong Olympic form, where she finished sixth, to take the leading position on the opening lap in Saalhausen.

Engen increased her lead against Annika Langvad (Fujibikes Rockets) and Elisabeth Brandau (notebooksbilliger.de) over the duration of the race. Langvad suffered a puncture on the second lap and had to cease her chase efforts.

Anja Gradl (Team Bulls) pushed herself from fifth to second, chasing Engen. In the fourth of six laps, Gradl closed the 35 second gap to the day’s leader. Three consecutive crashes by Engen was the reason for Gradl rapid catch.

"I had to hurry up then", Engen laughed.

Engen was too strong on the wet course in Saalhausen and was able to quickly remount, catch up to Gradl and power away again.

"Alexandra was much stronger than me today", Gradl confessed but was satisfied about her own race, ending up on second.
"I was able to ride my own race, it was really a lot of fun. Obviously I could keep my form from the Olympics", Engen said.

Langvad showed herself "very, very happy" about her third place. After missing the Olympics because of broken ribs, the current marathon world champ was riding her first cross country race. "I’m far away from my top performance, but the body works again. I didn’t think that I could do so good today", Langvad said.

U23: Stiebjahn piles on the pressure

It was Germany’s Simon Stiebjahn (Team Bulls) who won the men’s U23 race. He left his last companion in the race, Olof Jonsson (Swe), riding for Fujbikes-Rockets, on the third of six laps. Even a crash in the second-last lap did not place him in danger of losing his second Bundesliga season win.

"My goal was the victory and I was able to put a lot of pressure on the pedals", Stiebjahn said.

Behind, Jonsson Marcel Fleschhut (Lexware Racing) took the third spot on the podium....

Results

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Elite Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team1:27:44
2Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team0:00:41
3Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team0:00:45
4Julian Schelb (Ger)0:01:12
5Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team0:02:25
6Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing0:03:01
7Andy Eyring (Ger) Team Bergamont0:03:34
8Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus Mig Team0:04:03
9Klaus Nielsen (Den) Giant Denmark0:06:03
10Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team0:06:48
11Markus Bauer (Ger)0:07:31
12Torsten Marx (Ger) Black Tusk Racing By Tomotion0:07:46
13Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus Mig0:08:29
14Heiko Gutmann (Ger) Team Rothaus-Poison-Bikes/Hochschwarzwald0:08:31
-2 lapsSebastian Szraucner (Ger) Focus Rapiro RacingRow 14 - Cell 2
-2 lapsJeffrey Andris (Ger) Stevens Schubert Racing TeamRow 15 - Cell 2
-2 lapsZdenek Vobecky (Cze) Krabcycles SpecializedRow 16 - Cell 2
-2 lapsAndi Weinhold (Ger) Rsc 93 Marienberg E.VRow 17 - Cell 2
-2 lapsGerrit Rosenkranz (Ger) Univega Pro Cycling TeamRow 18 - Cell 2
-3 lapsMarco Schätzing (Ger) Fujibikes RocketsRow 19 - Cell 2
-3 lapsLutz Babilon (Ger)Row 20 - Cell 2
-3 lapsJochen Coconcelli (Ger) N Radwerk Racing TeamRow 21 - Cell 2
-3 lapsKai Kautz (Ger) Mtb Teck E.V.Row 22 - Cell 2
-3 lapsTom Ettlich (Ger) Frm-Racing.DeRow 23 - Cell 2
-4 lapsTommy Galle (Ger)Row 24 - Cell 2
-4 lapsMichell Schulze (Ger)Row 25 - Cell 2
-4 lapsRumen Voigt (Ger)Row 26 - Cell 2
-5 lapsBesik Gavasheli (Geo) Cycling Federation Of GeorgiaRow 27 - Cell 2
DNFRudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking TeamRow 28 - Cell 2
DNFChristopher Maletz (Ger) Fujibikes RocketsRow 29 - Cell 2
DNFSascha Weber (Ger)Row 30 - Cell 2
DNSFelix Euteneuer (Ger) Rothaus-Poison-Bikes/ HochschwarzwaldRow 31 - Cell 2
DNSAlexander Speisekorn (Ger) Team Kubis-BikesRow 32 - Cell 2
DNSSteffen Greger (Ger)Row 33 - Cell 2
DNSAhmed-Ridvan Reichling (Ger)Row 34 - Cell 2
DNSYannick Burkhardt (Ger)Row 35 - Cell 2
DNSBjörn Rüter (Ger)Row 36 - Cell 2
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Elite Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost-Factory Racing1:31:55
2Anja Gradl (Ger) Team Bulls0:00:47
3Annika Langvad (Den) Fujibikes Rockets0:02:49
4Hanna Klein (Ger) Rothaus-Poison/Hochschwarzwald0:03:59
5Silke Schmidt (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team0:04:33
6Barbara Benko (Hun) Focus-Mig Team0:05:12
7Regina Genser (Ger) Bike Junior Team / Bsb Bayreuth0:08:18
8Nina Wrobel (Ger) Team Rothaus-Poison-Bikes/Hochschwarzwald0:08:28
9Ingrid Sofie Jacobsen (Nor) Norges National Team0:10:38
10Lena Wehrle (Ger) Rothaus-Poison/Hochschwarzwald0:13:19
11Maaris Meier (Est) Somamaratonas0:16:32
-1 lapVanessa Kleih (Ger) Merida-SchulteRow 11 - Cell 2
-1 lapAsuman Burcu Balci (Tur) Team Fujibikes RocketsRow 12 - Cell 2
DNFChiara Eberle (Ger) Mhw-Cube-Racing-TeamRow 13 - Cell 2
DNFChristina Kollmann (Aut)Row 14 - Cell 2
DNFElisabeth Brandau (Ger)Row 15 - Cell 2
DNFStefanie Dohrn (Ger)Row 16 - Cell 2
DNSKatrin Leumann (Swi)Row 17 - Cell 2
DNSElisabeth Osl (Aut)Row 18 - Cell 2
DNSMona Eiberweiser (Ger)Row 19 - Cell 2
DNSNienke Van Haaster (Ned)Row 20 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
U23 Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Simon Stiebjahn (Ger)1:15:36
2Olof Jonsson (Swe)0:00:39
3Marcel Fleschhut (Ger)0:01:50
4Louis Wolf (Ger)0:02:54
5Maximilian Holz (Ger)0:02:55
6Jonas Pedersen (Den)0:02:56
7Martin Gluth (Ger)0:03:03
8David Simon (Ger)0:03:32
9Sturla Aune (Nor)0:05:21
10Tobias Reiser (Ger)0:05:50
11Oliver Laundenberg (Ger)0:06:16
12Aaron Beck (Ger)0:06:24
13Adrian Sauer (Ger)0:06:46
14Christopher Platt (Ger)0:06:47
15Michael Wanski (Ger)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Jochen Weisenseel (Ger)0:08:14
17Yannik Brischle (Ger)0:09:20
18Henrik Hoffmann (Ger)0:09:53
19Michael Feinauer (Ger)0:10:47
20Marian Pablo Burkhardt (Ger)0:11:07
21Marvin Schmidt (Ger)0:11:27
22Anselm Wüllner (Ger)0:11:46
23Steffen Weisenseel (Ger)0:12:05
24Robert Traupe (Ger)0:12:25
25Marcel Pöter (Ger)0:14:22
-2 lapsSebastian Jayne (Aus)Row 25 - Cell 2
-2 lapsFelix Huschle (Ger)Row 26 - Cell 2
-2 lapsSimon Qvortrup (Den)Row 27 - Cell 2
-3 lapsIsmail Demirkan (Tur)Row 28 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Martin Frey (Ger)1:06:32
2Ben Zwiehoff (Ger)0:00:27
3Jan-Philipp Ebertz (Ger)0:01:31
4Edvard Vea Iversen (Nor)0:02:21
5Philipp Bertsch (Ger)0:02:37
6Jakob Hartmann (Ger)0:02:43
7Sam Weber (Ger)0:03:12
8Jonas Müller (Ger)0:03:35
9Johan Widén (Swe)0:04:49
10Johannes Bläsi (Ger)0:04:50
11Karl Henrik Nordbakken0:05:13
12Simon Schilli (Ger)0:05:14
13Emil Linde (Swe)0:05:36
14Florian Kortüm (Ger)0:05:45
15Anders Dalgaard (Nor)0:05:48
16Sven Strähle (Ger)0:06:33
17Felix Legler (Ger)0:06:55
18Felix Gliese (Ger)0:07:17
19Alessandro Sepp (Ger)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Yves Ketterer (Ger)0:07:28
21Henrik Grobert (Ger)0:07:45
22Denis Böttle (Ger)0:07:54
23Tobias Sindlinger (Ger)0:08:19
24Thomas Prinz (Ger)0:08:32
25Nico Sander (Ger)0:10:36
26Jakob Britz (Ger)0:11:29
27Louis Schreyer (Ger)0:12:55
28Lucas Arnhold (Ger)0:13:36
-1 lapLukas Hoffmann (Ger)Row 28 - Cell 2
-2 lapsClemens Zech (Ger)Row 29 - Cell 2
-2 lapsNick Wichmann (Ger)Row 30 - Cell 2
DNFBenedikt Kipka (Ger)Row 31 - Cell 2
DNFChristian Schöllhorn (Ger)Row 32 - Cell 2
DNFNils Dillmann (Ger)Row 33 - Cell 2
DNFEskil Evensen-Lie (Nor)Row 34 - Cell 2
DNFGuy Niv (Isr)Row 35 - Cell 2
DNFMirko Jurik (Ger)Row 36 - Cell 2
DNFJan Kalt (Ger)Row 37 - Cell 2
DNFTimo Reith (Ger)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNSTobias Bremser (Ger)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNSArif Reichling (Ger)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNSSimon Gessler (Ger)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNSMax Egon Engel (Ger)Row 42 - Cell 2
DNSThomas Volk (Ger)Row 43 - Cell 2
DNSJulian Braun (Ger)Row 44 - Cell 2
DNSPhilipp Lenz (Ger)Row 45 - Cell 2
DNSJan Nägele (Ger)Row 46 - Cell 2
DNSGeorg Egger (Ger)Row 47 - Cell 2
DNSMarco Holzschuher (Ger)Row 48 - Cell 2
DNSTim Streckenbach (Ger)Row 49 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jenny Rissveds (Swe)1:01:46
2Veronika Brüchle (Ger)0:04:42
3Majlen Müller (Ger)0:05:30
4Frida H Ronning (Nor)0:06:09
5Jessica Benz (Ger)0:07:25
6Felicia Ferner (Swe)0:10:51
7Theresia Schwenk (Ger)0:11:01
8Antonia Rödel (Ger)0:11:57
9Hannah Traupe (Ger)0:18:05
-1 lapHanna Leersch (Ger)Row 9 - Cell 2
-1 lapJessica Schweizer (Ger)Row 10 - Cell 2
DNFLisa Schaub (Ger)Row 11 - Cell 2
DNSAnika Buhl (Ger)Row 12 - Cell 2
DNSKatja Hoffmann (Ger)Row 13 - Cell 2

 

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