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For the 24th time Krumbach and the Bucklige Welt was the scene of the Bike the Bugles MTB Marathon. Just in time for the race weekend, after weeks of midsummer weather, there was a sudden fall in temperature. On the day before the event there was a lot of rain and on the race day itself the temperatures were clearly in the single digits, in addition there was continuous rain. But the real bikers could not be stopped by that.
Chase-teamrider Manfred started as defending champion on the classic distance. He was part of the leading group from the very beginning and was able to stand out from the rest of the drivers in the first third together with Philipp Wetzelberger and Andreas Waldmann.
On a short uphill running passage towards Hutwisch a first preliminary decision was made. Manfred was able to open up a small gap of a few seconds. Although he didn’t push the pace any further, but kept the rythm, his fellow competitors couldn’t close the hole anymore. On the contrary: Although Manfred didn’t attack and wasn’t at his limit yet, the gap got bigger and bigger.
The experienced athlete didn’t want to miss this chance: When he noticed that his competitors were getting weaker, he used the opportunity accordingly. He increased his speed and continued to extend his lead. At the finish line he could celebrate his third ‘Bike the Bugles’ victory in a row with a time of 3 hours and 13 minutes and was very surprised himself by this fabulous time in these difficult conditions.
Just in time for the start of the cross-country season, the weather brought compliant conditions, only the mud was still missing. The fast circuit at the leisure area in Mödling offered all the intricacies that make the heart of a cross-country rider beat faster. There were lots of short, exhausting climbs, fast meadow passages with a lot of headwind and a running passage in a sandpit. The female bikers, around last seasons third in the world championships – Nadja Heigl – were sent to the circuit at the same time as the men. 60 minutes all-out was the name of the game.
I got off to a very good start. I found a good rythm, although the men were determined to hold their ground. My CHASE MUD wheels had an excellent grip, even if they longed for a little mud, ;) For a long time I was ranked third before I ran out of power and was passed onto the fourth place. The short, crisp climbs were really hard for me and so I reached the finish line completely exhausted but happy to be the fourth place.
Thank you to the whole CHASE Team for the great first edition of the CHASE CROSS. It was truly a success!