Cycling: Estonian Martin Loo won the first cross-country race of the 2015 KMC Bundesliga season. Loo won in Wombach ahead of defending champion Simon Stiebjahn and Ben Zwiehoff. In the women's category, Helen Grobert lived up to her role as favorite and won ahead of Hanna Klein and Lena Putz. The men's U23 race surprisingly went to Johannes Bläsi.
For half a race nobody had expected Martin Loo. If only because he had registered late for the KMC Bundesliga start. This allowed the world number 72. didn't start the race in the front row either and had to catch up first.
"In the sixth round I registered him", said Simon Stiebjahn (Team Bulls) at the finish. "That was perhaps the crucial phase." Decisive also because he had pulled away from Ben Zwiehoff (Team Bergamont) from the leading duo. Stiebjahn reported on lapped drivers and the corresponding overtaking maneuvers that didn't go smoothly on the single trails.
Zwiehoff was able to catch up again and Loo also gained time that he had previously lost through regular overtaking manoeuvres.
In the eighth of nine laps, Loo caught up with Stiebjahn, while U23 driver Ben Zwiehoff could no longer keep up with the pace, but defended his third place (+1:50). “I was able to complete the U23 distance, but I was completely drained for the last two laps. But I'm quite happy with my result.", commented the U23 European Championship eighth.
Stiebjahn fought doggedly up front. Loo attacked and built up a lead on the gravel climb. "I thought it was now or never, but I rode a little too hard and then made a mistake on the descent", Loo explained the situation that led to Stiebjahn catching up again.
He boldly launched an attack himself, which the Estonian champions immediately countered. In the next climb, Loo tore the next gap and could not snatch the lead. After 28,1 kilometers he won in 1:36:15 hours with a lead of 21 seconds over Simon Stiebjahn (Titisee-Neustadt).
"I am really happy. At first I didn't think I could catch them in front, my legs weren't that good either.", said Martin Loo.
Simon Stiebjahn was not unhappy with his second place. "I felt good and losing to Martin is no shame."
Local hero Markus Bauer (Kreidler factory team) from Lohr did not have a good day and only finished seventh (+5:52). "I can't really explain it to myself. The form is certainly better than the result”said Bauer.
Heiko Gutmann (Münstertal) from the Lexware Mountainbike Team posted his best result in the Bundesliga in fourth place (+3:19) and Max Holz (Munich) from Stevens ended up in fifth place (+3:54) despite a defect.
The women's race became a three-way battle. Third in the 2014 DM, Helen Grobert (Ghost Factory Racing) took the lead, followed by Lena Putz (Genesis Entireinfra) and Hanna Klein (BH-Sr Suntour-KMC) trying to catch up. Klein kept closing the gap of five seconds on the downhills, but had to let a passage with a slight climb break off again.
Nevertheless, the woman from Freiburg stayed within striking distance.
In lap three of seven Putz took the lead, “to be able to ride at the front on the trail”, as she explained, but Grobert regained the leadership position.
When Hanna Klein saw that Grobert was able to pull away, she closed the gap to Putz, passed right away and invested in an attack. "I thought I'd try to dig a hole right away. I felt that afterwards too."said Klein. "But it finally worked out again."
With her attack on Putz, Klein closed the gap to the leading Grobert, but lost contact again in the above-mentioned "pressing passage".
Helen Grobert completed her race and celebrated her first victory in the KMC Bundesliga. "I'm super happy about the win. I didn't give a damn when Hanna drove up, I just went at my own pace.", commented the 23-year-old from Freiburg.
Lena Putz was satisfied with third place. However, the woman from Röhrnbach was not yet satisfied with her actions in a technical passage, which she called "a flowing trail". “And the pull forward on the mountain has to be even better. But I'm working on that,” explained the U23 driver, who was 1:47 minutes behind Grobert (1:25:55), while Hanna Klein was 41 seconds behind after seven laps plus the start loop.
Nina Wrobel (Freiburg, +5:37) from Merida-Schulte and Majlen Müller (Wuppertal, +7:58) from the Fujibikes-Rockets finished fourth and fifth.