Lakata, Sauser in Epic battle at worlds
2015-06-29
Leading Absa Cape Epic riders dominated the podium at the UCI’s MTB Marathon World Championships at the weekend, with Christoph Sauser bidding farewell to his glittering career with a silver medal around his neck.
Five times Absa Cape Epic winner Sauser finished second in the 87km men’s race to Austrian Alban Lakata – a reverse of their 2015 Absa Cape Epic
result where Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy beat Lakata and Kristian Hynek.
The men’s course in and around the scenic Val Gardena in Italy included an eye-watering 4 700m of vertical gain. Sauser finished just two minutes behind Lakata.
The 60km women’s event was won by 42-year-old Norwegian mountain biking legend Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja, who raced the 2015 Absa Cape Epic but pulled out after her partner Kathrin Stirnemann fell ill.
Defending world champion and two-times Absa Cape Epic winner Annika Langvad of Denmark finished three minutes back in second and her Epic partner, Switzerland’s Ariane Kleinhans, was fourth.
The women’s course included a substantial 3 000m of vertical gain.
Third place in the men’s category was taken by Columbian Hector Paez and in the women’s by Sabine Spitz.
“I would have had to be having a great day to beat Lakata today,” admitted Sauser afterwards. He leaves the professional ranks with an unmatched set of achievements. Besides his Absa Cape Epic wins he has twice won the UCI Cross Country series (with 10 individual race wins) and has three world championship titles to his name, one for cross country and two in the marathon discipline.
Other familiar Absa Cape Epic names at the Marathon World Championships included Markus Kaufmann (sixth), Roel Paulissen (eighth), Kristian Hynek (10th), Daniel Geismayr (11th), Jochen Kaess (12th) and Karl Platt (15th). South African Matthew Beers finished 102nd.
Two times Absa Cape Epic Women’s Category winner Sally Bigham of England finished fifth, while her former partner Esther Suss was seventh.
Sweden Jennie Stenerhag, who lives in South Africa and is a regular at the Absa Cape Epic, finished 26th.
