The second weekend of the Israeli Spring MTB Series was marked by the first-ever victory of an Israeli racer at an international UCI-sanctioned event. Local 19-year-old Yuval Bar-Ziv from the TNT Upper Galillee Club trailed behind early leader Natalia Karpets from the Ukrainian ISD Team and Russian Elena Gogoleva for most of the race in Maalot yesterday, but was able to pass her on the last lap and take the win in the women's race. Racers from nine countries participated in the race organized by For Galilee Cycles and the city of Maalot.
Conditions were tough with overnight rain making the course muddy and slippery, and the rain and hail during the event did not help the average speed. In the elite men's race it was Estonian national champion Martin Loo who took a third consecutive victory in the series. Loo finished in just under two hours ahead of German Benjamin Sonntag and Ukranian Dmytro Titarenko.
Among the junior men, the winner was Ruslan Muzafarov from the Russian Forward team. In the junior women's race, the first to cross the line was another local, Meghan Belzer of TNT Upper Galilee.
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Loo (Est) | 1:59:31 |
| 2 | Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) | 0:00:34 |
| 3 | Maxim Gogolev (Rus) | 0:01:58 |
| 4 | Dmytro Titarenko (Ukr) | 0:02:49 |
| 5 | Evgeniy Pechenin (Rus) | 0:04:02 |
| 6 | Seiya Hirano (Jpn) | 0:05:15 |
| 7 | Shlomi Haimy (Isr) | 0:07:36 |
| 8 | Tobias Hollenstein (Swi) | 0:09:28 |
| 9 | Bojan Djurdjic (Srb) | 0:11:39 |
| 10 | Ronny Koller (Swi) | 0:14:15 |
| 11 | Anton Korolev (Rus) | 0:17:10 |
| 12 | Roy Goldstein (Isr) | 0:19:21 |
| 13 | Oded Danon (Isr) | 0:20:44 |
| 14 | Alexey Belokrylov (Rus) | 0:25:56 |
| 15 | Daniel Eliad (Isr) | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
| 16 | Shaked Frank (Isr) | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
| 17 | Benjamin Shemidt (Isr) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
| 18 | Ron Shimaon (Isr) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
| 19 | Noam Strashnov (Isr) | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
| 20 | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuval Bar Ziv (Isr) | 1:49:25 |
| 2 | Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) | 0:00:47 |
| 3 | Elena Gogoleva (Rus) | 0:02:10 |
| 4 | Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) | 0:02:36 |
| 5 | Kateryna Naberezhna (Ukr) | 0:04:35 |
| 6 | Anna Konovalova (Rus) | 0:17:04 |
| 7 | Jovana Crnogorac (Srb) | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| 8 | Idit Shub (Isr) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
-
‘I was just trying to think about what was on the line’ - Cameron Jones charges from wildcard entry to Life Time Grand Prix series winner
New Zealander clinched title with fifth place finish at Big Sugar Classic as he unseated three-time series champion Keegan Swenson in finale -
Sofia Gomez Villafañe wins abbreviated Big Sugar Classic and locks in overall women's title for Life Time Grand Prix
Lauren Stephens second, Stella Hobbs third in large group finish for elite women in Bentonville -
'I don't want to win everything because I don't want that pressure' - Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to continue radically limiting goals in 2026 in bid for second Tour de France
French star feels more motivated by bid for second World Championships win in 2027 than trying for repeat Paris-Roubaix victory -
Matt Beers solos to victory in shortened elite men’s race at Big Sugar Classic while Cameron Jones secures Life Time Grand Prix title
Griffin Easter second in three-rider chase with Riley Amos goes third ahead of Julien Gagné
