The first showdown of the cross-country stars at the World Cup in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic went very well from a German perspective. Sabine Spitz (Wiawis) put in a strong performance on the technical course and secured second place behind the Danish world champion Annika Langvad (Specialised). The 45-year-old thus achieved the result that she was denied at last year's World Championships at the same venue when she was slowed down by a flat tyre. Langvad (33) stepped up the pace early in the race and was able to break away on her own. From this point onwards, she rode her own race and ultimately took an unchallenged victory. At the finish there were 56 seconds between Spitz and Langvad. Germany's most successful female mountain biker, on the other hand, had gradually worked her way through the women's field after a mediocre start. Behind Langvad and Spitz, however, things got exciting once again on the final lap: Yana Belomoina (UKR) closed the gap to Switzerland's Linda Indergand (Focus) midway through the lap and seemed to be pulling away. However, the petite Ukrainian had overtaken her. Indergand secured a clear third place in the end. Belomoina was finally sprinted off by Maja Wloszczowska (Kross) on the home straight and had to settle for fifth place.
Sabine Spitz's race
A wave in her direction at the start slowed Spitz down so that she had to slow down sharply and the 45-year-old had to line up quite far back. Spitz took the situation in her stride and demonstrated her current strength by continuously pushing forwards. "I thought: stay calm, don't get carried away," said Spitz. After the 2.8-kilometre start lap and the first of five complete 4.1-kilometre loops, Spitz was already in fourth place. She then passed Linda Indergand and rode up to and overtook second-placed Catharine Pendrel. The Canadian overall World Cup winner from the previous year suffered a chain break shortly afterwards and fell far behind. Spitz had almost secured second place behind the confident Annika Langvad. The same position that she had held until the final lap at the 2016 World Championships in Nove Mesto - and then dropped back to ninth place due to a defect. That wasn't going to happen this time. The memories are still there: "I thought about it on the penultimate lap," said Spitz at the finish. "You really have to be careful, there are a few places on the course where you can quickly get a puncture." Otherwise, however, it was all smiles. The three-time Olympic medallist mostly had a smile on her face. "I just enjoyed it, it was so much fun, especially with my fully prototype from Wiawis, that was really cool. Okay, I knew I was in good shape, but of course you can't judge that before the first World Cup. Now I'm going into the race in Albstadt with bib number two, which is great." This was Sabine Spitz's best placing since her World Cup victory in Andorra in 2013.
Strong performance from Morath and Grobert
Behind them, a German duo turned into the finishing straight in the biathlon stadium in Nove Mesto. Adelheid Morath (Bikesportworld) secured sixth place on her Specialized Fully. Helen Grobert (Cannondale), who also rode a fully, reached the finish line 2:15 minutes behind the winner and was happy with her seventh place. With this dream result from a German perspective, we are looking forward to next week's World Cup in Albstadt. Grobert was already sixth there in 2015 and Sabine Spitz can have justified hopes of a "home win".
Results Elite Women
1. Annika Langvad, DEN, 1:28.45
2nd Sabine Spitz, GER, + 0.56
3. Linda Indergand, SUI, + 1.18
4. Maja Wloszczowska, POL, + 1.22
5. Yana Belomoina, URK, + 1.22
6th Adelheid Morath, GER, + 1.42
7th Helen Grobert, GER, + 2.16
8. Rebecca Henderson, AUS, + 2.28
9th Barbara Benko, HUN, + 2.39
10th Annie Last, GBR, + 2.57
