Attakwas Extreme, South Africa
First the Dane Simon Andreassen national cyclocross title, then the Cannondale professional won the 16th edition of the Attakwas Extreme marathon classic in South Africa, which has also been won by marathon legends such as Christoph Sauser and Karl Platt. On the tough 121-kilometre course, the participants also have to contend with extreme heat of well over 40 degrees Celsius on some sections. At times, the South African marathon experts such as Philip Buys and Cape Epic winner Matt Beers were in the lead, but Andreassen organised the race well and consistently fed himself. In the end, the Dane won after 5:11:20 hours, three minutes ahead of the two Specialised riders Tristan Nortje and Matt Beers.
Cyclocross World Championship, Fayetteville (USA)
In the absence of Mathieu van der Poel (injury break) and Wout van Aert (preparing for the road season), the Briton took the win. Tom Pidcock the elite cyclocross world championship title. The Olympic mountain bike champion in Tokyo won on the fast course in Arkansas ahead of the Belgian and Dutch cross specialists. This success makes him the first Briton to win the elite crown. The 22-year-old was previously junior and U23 world cross-country champion. The all-round talent Pidcock, who rides for the Ineos road team, has thus laid the foundations for a successful 2022 season. In an interview at the beginning of the year, he explained that his big goal was to win the world titles in cyclocross, mountain bike (cross country) and road racing in the same year. A feat that Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in the 2014/15 season in the women's competition and from whom Mathieu van der Poel dreams. Having secured the cyclo-cross title, Pidcock will now concentrate on the upcoming mountain bike and road racing season. A strong result at the cyclo-cross world championships was also achieved by Elisabeth Brandau in. After a poor start, the reigning German champion steadily worked her way through the field and finished the World Championship race in cyclocross in an excellent twelfth place.
Costa Blanca Bike Race, Spain
With four out of four victories on the day and victory in the overall standings, the Georg Egger (26) at the Costa Blanca Bike Race made a perfect start to the new season and secured valuable UCI points. Also for team-mate Lukas Baum the start of the season was a success after four days of racing around Calpe. The former junior world and European champion returned to the racing scene with a podium finish and fourth place in the overall standings. With the team she built up on her own Speed Company Racing Egger and Baum, who have known each other for years and have been racing against each other since their youth, have opened a new chapter. Georg Egger expressed his complete satisfaction to BIKE after his victorious debut: "It almost seemed a little scary to me, because I've never come out of the winter so well. The winter training has paid off. I already noticed my good form on the first stage, because I was able to keep up with all of the faster paces relatively easily. I was also by far the fastest in the mountain time trial, even though I don't have the stature for it. Although the world elite weren't at the start in the marathon, there were still some strong guys at the start. At the next race, the Mediterranean Epic, with top riders like Andreas Seewald or the guys from Team Bulls at the start, we'll see how the victory at the Costa Blanca Bike Race can be categorised."
