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3 Könixcross St. Pölten

The area around the “Seedose” in St. Pölten has been the site of the traditional 3-Könixcross-cross country race for many years.

The competition was also the first official race in the new calendar year. Chase team member Manfred got off to a good start and took the lead from the beginning along with Philipp Heigl. During the race the lead switched several times between the two athletes. On and on, the two set themselves apart from the other pursuers. Approximately at the half of the race Manfred had a small lead, but the few seconds were quickly closed again and so the duo was once again on the road together. The preliminary decision fell only in the second to last round. Manfred changed his bike and at the same time Heigl attacked. That small gap was enough to decide the race. Heigl won the race after 60 minutes, Manfred ranked second. Thus, the new year starts very successfully and exactly as the old one has ended – with a second place!

Pics (c) Ernst Teubenbacher

 

Ergebnisliste

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Austrian Championchip Mountain

Völkermarkt and Diex were this year’s venues for the Austrian Mountain National Championship in road cycling. Nearly 100 starters started at the main square of Völkermarkt on August 18th to determine the fastest climber in the country. After 3.5 laps or approx. 60 kilometres around Völkermarkt the final 9-kilometre climb up to Diex follows. The initial phase of the race was marked by several attacks, but no rider was able to distance himself decisively. Thus, the elite field entered the final climb almost closed. The ascent to Diex has an average gradient of 8%, but mainly includes steeper passages at the beginning and end.

At the foot of the mountain, the pace was immediately picked up at the top and the field broke up into several groups. Chase team rider Manfred managed to stay just behind the leading group and drove a strong race. He completed the climb in about 25′ and was able to catch up another group of drivers shortly before the finish. With the Chase-Up wheels and the Chase seat post he also had optimal material at his disposal to bring his bike as close as possible to the regulated 6.8 kg minimum weight. In the Austrian Championship scoring Manfred just missed the top 10 and finished with a strong 11th place!

Results

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Schlossberg XC Kirchschlag

On August 11th Kirchschlag in the Buckligen Welt was the venue of the Schlossberg XC. The traditional event was held for the 17th time this year. For Chase team rider Manfred, this race is always something special, as he comes from the town and was already at the start of the very first edition of this event in 2001, at that time still in the student class.

He won each of the last three races and was therefore again the favourite this year. The track was very deep and muddy due to heavy rainfall the night before the race, which made it extremely exhausting for all participants. Nevertheless, Manfred took the lead of the field immediately after the start and set the pace. Only one rider was able to follow him for a fairly long time, but on the ascents it quickly emerged who was the stronger of the two on this day.  After 1 hour and 9 minutes Manfred crossed the finish line as the winner and thus lived up to his role as favourite.

Results

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Salzkammergut Trophy

Mid of July – Summer, Sun, Salzkammergut Trophy: For all mountain bikers, this event in Bad Goisern is an annual must. More than 5,000 participants started on one of seven possible distances in the 21st edition of this classic.

Felix was the first rider for the Chase team to enter the competition at 5.00 a.m. – insiders know what this early start time means: 210 kilometres and 7,100 metres of elevation gain, the extreme distance through Salzkammergut! Since for the experienced long-distance athlete such ultra distances are nothing completely unusual anymore, he also showed an accordingly high performance! After 13 hours and 18 minutes he reached the finish line very tired although extremely satisfied.

 

 

In the meantime Manfred had also completed his race. He started on the 55 km “All-Mountain”-distance, which contains the most difficult downhills of the region. An extremely exciting course of the race developed on this track. On the last climb, the top group of four fell apart after an attack by the German Simon Gessler, only Manfred could follow the pace. In the final descent and on the last flat kilometres towards the finish, the two rivals even worked together to maintain their advantage on the rest of the competition. The decision had to be made during the sprint and Manfred was unbeatable – he won with a 2 hours and 40 minutes race time, only 1 second ahead of Gessler.

 

Results

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