Lechner wins elite women's cross country in Albstadt

Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol) took her first World Cup win since 2010 at the opening round of the 2013 cross country World Cup in Albstadt, Germany. On the final lap, Lechner proved the strongest of the five-woman lead group that dominated the race. She finished just eight seconds ahead of Maja Wloszczowska (Giant Pro XC) and 16 seconds up on Katrin Leumann (Ghost Factory Racing Team).

"I can't believe it. I had a really good start and good legs from the beginning. It was a fast pace. It's a victory and I wanted that victory," said Lechner to Redbull.tv interviewers after winning. "I'm so happy to be back up here after the last season. I can't describe it in words."

U23 world champion Jolanda Neff (Giant Pro XC Team), who was riding up a category with the elites, and Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory Team) set a blistering pace at the start. Neff couldn't quite maintain the pace after the first few laps of the six-lap race and dropped back slightly, but Engen stayed with the front contenders for the duration.

At the front, Engen, who won the eliminator World Cup on Friday, was joined by Leumann, Lechner, Wloszczowska and Tanja Zakelj (Unior Tools).

The five women kept the pace high throughout and prevented any other big name favorites from catching up to them. Rain began to fall on the final lap, which made the technical course extremely slippery. Lechner powered away to a slight gap on a climb and held off her chasers to the finish. The last lap effort strung out the top five women a bit, but all finished within a minute of each other.

"The last lap was slippery," said Lechner, who last won a World Cup in Houffalize in 2010. "It was like ice. I had to be so careful. I had a little gap on the last uphill and I tried to go for it. I tried to ride without risk on the last descent."

Notably absent from the race were Olympic and world champion Julie Bresset - out with a broken collarbone - and local favorite Sabine Spitz, who injured herself in a crash during training this week.

In her first Mountain Bike World Cup appearance, Marianne Vos (Rabobank/Giant) steadily rode herself up through the field after a less than optimal starting position into an impressive 11th placed finish.

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