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The electrity plant Donaustadt in Vienna is usually only known as orientation point on the way to Lobau if cycling on the danube island in Vienna. On Sunday, for the first time it was the location and beautiful scenery for a cyclo-cross race. About 100 starters did prefer cycling and competed in three different races instead of celebrating the last Sunday before christmas quiet at home. In the main competition lasting 60 minutes, there were even two Chase athletes participating.
A very exciting fight in the top of the cyclers field. Chase, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, rims. Foto: M. Bihounek/martinbihounek.com.
The track was mostly flat but due to a lot of holes demanding for body and material. In combination with the partially heavy wind, it was a very strategic race. After the first half, you could watch the first really severe attacks. It ended very positively for Felix and with a third row for Manfred, only some seconds after him.
Results of Wien-Energie Kraftwerks-Cross
Manfred showed himself in his best form. Chase, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, rims.
Having the Austrian cross-country championship in mind that will take place in January in St.Pölten, both athletes can be really proud of their performance so far and there is still time to work on the last fine tunings concerning their skills.
The fast course: Felix’ favorite. Chase, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, rim. Foto: M. Bihounek/martinbihounek.com
The highlight of the cyclo-cross season and the final cross competition was the Austrian championship on January, 7th. The track next to the Traisen river in St.Pölten was quite muddy and due to many narrow curves it turned out being very demanding.
Championship Austria Cyclo-cross St.Pölten, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, Felge, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich, Chase, Manfred Zöger, Felix Ritzinger
Manfred started with some doubts about his physical condition, he had a bad cold during Christmas holidays and therefore had to pause for nine days. In the beginning he was surprised, but he had a good start into this race. After the first round he was in group fighting for position 5. He managed to hold this position for more than the half of the race, there were a lot of tough battles.
Closer to the finish line, the last three rounds Manfred lost his luck. He suffered all in all three punctured wheels, in the exact same place each time.
Thanks to the great and fast work by the Chase support team he succeeded in finishing the competition. Although the very last race was not what Manfred had hoped for, he can look back to a successful cyclo-cross season. In 10 competition participations, he reached the winner’s rostrum for 6 times and even won 3 races supported by Chase-mud rims!
On 4th and 5th November the MTB Club Lockenhaus organised a cross-country race taking place in Burgenland for the first time in a long time. Just a short distance from the Bucklige Welt, the event was so to speak a home race for Manfred. He used the opportunity and was already on site several times the week before for training.
The knowledge of the track has paid off. Manfred was in the lead during the first race on Saturday. For a long time it was an exciting fight between him, Michael Holland and Gerald Hauer. In the last two laps Manfred had the greater potential and so he could celebrate his second victory in cross-country after the race in Ternitz. Felix also showed a strong performance and finished 13th after 1:06 driving time.
The race on Sunday was similar at the beginning. Manfred was in the lead right from the start, his first pursuers were Tom Mair and Gerald Hauer. But even before the half of the race Manfred was able to put himself in the lead. He expanded his lead slowly and continuously. Every round there were a few more seconds. In the end he won by almost one minute, the Czech Jirí Krivanek and the experienced Tom Mair. Felix had to register a small slip and lost thereby a few places. Nevertheless, he finished 18th again in the top 20.
Finally a congratulation to the MTB Club Lockenhaus – it was a more than successful premiere event and the cross-country community would be very happy about a follow-up in the coming year in any case!
The 21st and 22nd of October, two cyclo-cross events in Ternitz took place. Manfred participated in both competetions and showed high performances. From the beginning of the national race at Saturday, he was part of the leading group. This consisted of four cyclists, later reduced to three athletes. Manfred was able to keep this position and maintained all fast acceleration parts. He decided not to cycle in the first position but as second or third cycler. In the round prior to the final round he started to attack – and it was too strong for the opponents. In this round he was the only one who managed to stay on the bike during the uphill part. His combatants had to get off the bike and carry it for some meters. There was a small gap but Manfred did not give away this lead. He strived hard for victory, used all his energie and succeeded to be the first crossing the finish line.
This success was the highlight in this successful season start for the 27-years old cyclist till now. In the first two competitions in Traun and Langenzersdorf, he reached the second place. In his third cross-race he succeeded to win – at the same time it’s the first victory for our Chase Mud-rim.
At Sunday, there was an international race of the C2-world ranking list. Fighting against european elite athletes was a tough challenge for Manfred. Additionally, rain started and conditions got more and more demanding. For his success from the precedent day, Manfred’s legs have already been suffering. He finished as 12th and narrowly missed the Top-10. Nevertheless, with this perfomance he was the best Austrian in the international biker surrounding.
Our Chase athlete Manfred Zöger took part in this 3-days-event at the croatian cost region close to Porec and used this opportunity for the finish of his MTB-season like many other mountain bikers.
MTB Parenzana, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, Felge, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich, Chase, Manfred Zöger
At The first day, on Friday, a short but fast stage waited for the bikers. Due to the short distance of only 28 kilometers and the very flat track, it was a pulsating competition. The excitement among the cyclists could be felt and there were multiple offensives on the track. Finally, the bikers cycled an average velocity of 30 km per hour and the critical meters were in the final sprint. Manfred was part of the leading group and reached the sixth position. For the overall result, the next two days could still change everything.
The second day a 45 kilometers long course followed. Manfred was lucky that some cyclists in the leading group loosed their track. He finally finished as third biker. That helped him to be lifted up onto the second position after day two in the overall standings.
MTB Parenzana, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, Felge, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich, Chase, Manfred Zöger
The marathon on the third day was a very exciting race. Manfred tried very hard and managed to stay with the leading group und headed onto the winner’s podium. The wheather conditions were not as good as on the first two days, it soon started to rain and after a while a powerful thunderbolt started. That was not enough: Manfred was not lucky on that day. After a stony downhill he lost pressure in his rear wheel and had to stop to repair this harm. Thus, he finally arrived the daily finish after the first six cyclists and was thrown back onto the forth position in the overall standings.
All in all, it was a successful season closing of the MTB season. The turbulent race course showed once again that good and bad luck are very close to each other.
On the 17th of July in 2017, Manfred Zöger started at the traditional ASVÖ Austria Grand Prix in Windhaag bei Perg.
The spectacular circuit has developed to a classic, which demands highest concentration from every participant. Highlights of the track are the two very difficult keypoints ‘Höllenloch’ and ‘Ruinendownhill’.
Athlete Manfred Zöger started from second row and even managed to lead the race for a short period of time. He could not hold first position for a long time, but stayed in good position anyway. In the second round, a technical defect at the backwheel bothered him: the wheel had to be changed and Manfred lost precious time. For two rounds, the top-athlete had to sprint in order to reach the other riders. After some time, he catched them again.
Despite the hard setback and the other strong riders, he could place himself in the top-20 in the end.
Chase, handcrafted in Austria, carbon, rim, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich
Our Chase bottle surely helped him to achieve this top-performance. Its extremely low weight and high flexibility are also much appreciated by many other athletes. Especially in races the Chase bottles are being used more and more.