The Belgian Ruben Scheire surprisingly won the start of the International KMC MTB Bundesliga in Saalhausen. He left Simon Stiebjahn and Manuel Fumic behind. Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa benefited from a defect in Sabine Spitz when she won on muddy ground. Their Haibike teammate Adelheid Morath was third.
Ruben Scheire von Feenstra-Felt had not at all expected to win on German territory. The Belgian, who was in the elite class in his first year, was particularly impressive on the steep climbs. At the same time, he benefited from some technical problems at Manuel Fumic. After the first lap, the vice world champion had pulled away together with sprint champion Simon Stiebjahn and went into the second of five laps 23 seconds ahead of Scheire. With his strength on the mountain, he caught up with the two leaders. Stiebjahn lost the connection, but when Fumic had to let Scheire go because of a jammed chain, the two Germans became pursuers together.
But Scheire sought refuge in escape. "When I saw that it was 20 seconds, I just kept going. I felt great, but I never expected to be able to beat Manuel. He's one of my idols. It's unbelievable ," Scheire explained.
Manuel Fumic was briefly annoyed at the finish. "Once the barrier tape got caught in the rear derailleur, another time I had a chain jam. Then I slipped a few times, like others probably did in these conditions. Somehow it was a race full of inconsistencies ," Fumic explained regarding his third-place finish, 1:25 minutes behind Scheire (+1:25:25). "Actually, though, I felt good and I'm confident that everything will work out for the World Cups and the European Championships in St. Wendel ," he added, and continued: "I'm happy that young riders like Simon Stiebjahn can also compete at the front. I'm glad when the youngsters ride fast."
The rider in question achieved his best-ever Bundesliga finish in the elite category and, following his sprint title, enjoyed an exceptional weekend. "When I was dropped, I simply stayed calm. I had nothing to lose. I certainly wasn't completely fresh, but the start still went well. In the end, I knew I couldn't beat Mani on the downhill; I had to do it in the sprint ," commented Stiebjahn.
He then managed to surprise Kirchheimer with 200 meters to go and secured second place (+1:13). The Dutchman Hans Becking finished fourth (+1:57) after a strong race to catch up, while another Belgian, Robby de Bock (+2:15), took fifth place on the podium, eight seconds ahead of sprint runner-up Markus Bauer Lexware Mountain Bike Team.
Co-favorite Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa prevailed in the women's category. However, the race took a somewhat unusual course. The Norwegian from Multivan-Merida drove away on the first of four laps together with Swede Alexandra Engen. The duo went into the second lap with a lead of 25 seconds, but sprint world champion Engen had to give up immediately and was passed by Sabine Spitz and Adelheid Morath on the first long climb. Morath was strong on the mountain, but she kept losing time on the muddy ground.
Dahle-Flesjaa extended her lead to 45 seconds by the halfway point. But then the most successful female mountain biker of all time made some riding errors, "stupid mistakes ," as she herself put it. This allowed Sabine Spitz to significantly reduce the gap in the third lap, and at the beginning of the fourth lap, she overtook her old rival. Dahle-Flesjaa, however, refused to be dropped. The decisive moment came when Sabine Spitz's saddle first loosened and then completely broke before the final descent. The German champion had to tackle the downhill section on foot, and Dahle-Flesjaa was able to overtake her.
Sabine Spitz had a new saddle fitted in the technical zone, but it was too late. "It's a shame, but that can happen in our sport. I had some trouble with the steep grassy climb at the beginning; I would have liked a lower gear there. It was important to ride with awareness today and find the right line to maintain traction ," explained Sabine Spitz.
Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa had expected Sabine Spitz to battle her for the win without a saddle. "It wasn't far to go, and I was completely spent ," said the 41-year-old. She admitted she "wasn't feeling her best ." "I've been training hard and I need a weekend of rest now so I'm in top form for the World Cup in Nove Mesto." She won by 31 seconds. Adelheid Morath (+1:19) couldn't keep up with her two rivals on the technically challenging sections but was satisfied with her result. "Sabine and Gunn-Rita are a good benchmark. I made a lot of mistakes, but the course with its super steep climbs actually suits me ," Morath commented.
Belgian champion Githa Michiels actually loves mud races, but not steep climbs. She finished fourth, 2:34 minutes behind the winner. "I'm very happy because the course profile doesn't really suit me. But if you're in good shape, I guess even that's manageable," she said with a laugh. Alexandra Engen finished fifth, already 6:24 minutes back.
The complete results lists are available here. [Link]