Cycling: Just two weeks before the world title fights, Balyhoura in Ireland was the venue for the quest or reach for the stars. In the end, Christoph Sauser and Tereza Hurikova were honored as European champions at the XC-Marathon EM.
The men had to cover 93 kilometers and the women 75 kilometers on their way to the title honor. A total of 55 athletes tackled the course, including professionals from the marathon-experienced teams Specialized and Bulls. Although these started for their respective nations, they managed to turn a profit. Sauser and Jaroslav Kulhavy in particular were in a class of their own. The two stayed together for almost two-thirds of the way before Sauser started his solo. Austria's Christoph Soukop finished third.
In the women's race, Hurikova shared the lead for a long time with Britain's Sally Bigham, who ended up second. Here, too, the decision was only made in the last third. Third was the Norwegian Borghild Løvset.