The second and last station of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup in Voroklini ended with a duel between two Czechs. The men's race was to be decided between Ondrej Cink and Jan Skarnitzl. While Julian Schelb crashed early in the race, Ondrej Cink, Rudi van Houts and Jan Skarnitzl drove a high pace in front, which none of the other drivers could match. Van Houts also said goodbye in lap three of six and so it should be a duel between the two compatriots.
Cink and Skarnitzl stayed together until the last lap and waited for the right time for an attack. Then last year's overall World Cup fifth place got a lead in a single trail climb. "Ondrej was a little stronger in this passage every lap and in the last lap I couldn't close the gap anymore", Jan Skarnitzl explained the decision. “It was a great race and I'm happy with the result. Ondrej was very strong.”
Cink crossed the finish line with a 17 second lead and claimed his first win of the season. “During the week I felt tired and not so good yesterday either. But today was perfect. I felt great the whole time and I could do whatever I wanted. It was a very, very good day for me”, he later commented. Skarnitzl is second, followed by Thomas Litscher, who got off to a lesser start, but was able to gain a gap of 35 seconds between the two leaders.
Ondrej Cink thus also wins the overall ranking of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup. With a second place and the victory from Voroklini, he relegated Jan Skarnitzl to second place. Rudi van Houts is third.
Jolanda Neff seems almost overpowered this season. Shortly after the start, the U23 world champion got a puncture and was 40 seconds behind the leading group at the beginning of the second lap. But already in the second loop she took the lead together with Blaza Klemencic. The duo quickly increased the lead and there was an exciting finish on the last downhill. Klemencic led and Jolanda Neff couldn't get past at first. Both reached the asphalt passage in Voroklini together. "Blaza took the outside line and I was able to slip inside", Neff explained as she passed the Slovenian. “I felt very good on the climbs and I wasn't slow on the downhill either. But Jolanda, she's so fast downhill, I didn't stand a chance.", known Klemencic.
Jolanda Neff smiled. “It's super cool that I was able to win after the flat tire. I tried to drive my pace. It couldn't have gone better for me in the two weeks of the Cyprus Sunshine Cup.", commented Neff. With two wins, she also took the overall ranking. The nine-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa finished third after a good race.
result men
1. Ondrej Cink (Multivan-Merida) 1:39:49.982
2. Jan Skarnitzl (Sram Rubena Trek) +17.481
3. Thomas Litscher (Multivan Merida) +35.508
4. Rudi van Houts (Multivan-Merida) +59.551
5. Wolfram Kurschat (Topeak Ergon) +1:41.683
result women
1. Jolanda Neff (Giant XC) 1:18:56.057
2. Blaza Klemencic (Feenstra Felt Kenda) +5.831
3. Guun-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (Multivan-Merida) +50.059
4. Maja Wloszczowska (Liv Pro XC) +2:18.947
5. Sabine Spitz (Haibike Pro) +2:41.910
CSC Men's Appreciation
1. Ondrej Cink (Multivan-Merida) 190 pts.
2. Jan Skarnitzl (Sram Rubena Trek) 175 pts.
3. Rudi van Houts (Multivan-Merida) 148 pts.
4. Thomas Litscher (Multivan-Merida) 147 pts.
5. Michiel van der Heuden (Giant XC) 130 pts.
CSC Women's Appreciation
1. Jolanda Neff (Giant XC) 200 pts.
2. Blaza Klemenicic (Feenstra Felt Kenda) 165 pts.
3. Sabine Spitz (Haibike Pro) 155 pts.
4. Guun-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (Multivan-Merida) 155 pts.
5. Adelheid Morath (Haibike Pro) 150 pts.