Sauser adds second marathon title to lengthy palmares
Kulhavy, Celestino trail behind Swiss star
Switzerland's Christoph Sauser claimed his second career marathon world championship in Montebelluna, Italy, finishing well ahead of Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy and hometown favourite Mirko Celestino of Italy. Sauser earned his first marathon world title in 2007 Verviers, Belgium, and followed it up with a cross country world championship title in Val di Sole, Italy, in 2008.
The Italians controlled the pace for the first part of the 115.7km race, splitting the race to a lead group of 30 riders after the first third of the race.
Seventy kilometers in, the decisive move finally came with four riders attacking: Sauser, Julien Absalon (France), Kulhavy and Tim Böhme (Germany).
Sauser and Kulhavy pushed the pace, leaving Celestino to close the gap to Böhme and Absalon. As Sauser pushed on, Kulhavy could not hold the pace and had to settle for silver. Celestino held on for bronze as Absalon failed to finish.
"The crucial moment was when we were left with four riders in front," said Sauser. "I felt good all the time, and I have to thank my teammates. It was an amazing feeling entering this mountain bike stadium the organizers have set up."
"I felt comfortable and went to the front, and Jaro and I broke away," said Sauser on his Specialized team's website. "Jaro was having some difficulty on the climbs. I waited a bit on a flat, and then I thought, 'I'd better be on the safe side,' so I went." Although both were racing for their respective nations on Sunday, Sauser and Kulhavy are trade teammates.
Kulhavy was content with his silver medal. "I tried to stay with Sauser, but today nobody had a chance. I am happy with my second place, especially because 10 days ago I suffered a horrible crash and I was really afraid of not being in a good state." Kulhavy suffered severe facial lacerations and broken teeth in the accident.
For Celestino, a former professional road racer, a podium result on the dirt was a fine finish. "First of all I would like to thank my teammates who always stayed with me," said Celestino. "Also when I flatted, they helped me to come back and made me feel safe."
"With 20km to go, I still believed in my chances and tried to increase the pace, but there was nothing I could do anymore to chase the two leaders down. So I tried to focus on the third place. These world championships were my main goal of the season and this bronzes shines like gold."
Full results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) | 4:24:48 |
2 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic) | 0:03:10 |
3 | Mirko Celestino (Italy) | 0:05:42 |
4 | Tim Bohme (Germany) | 0:07:06 |
5 | Jochen Kass (Germany) | 0:10:32 |
6 | Alban Lakata (Austria) | 0:10:43 |
7 | Massimo De Bertolis (Italy) | 0:11:15 |
8 | Jukka Vastaranta (Finland) | 0:12:18 |
9 | Robert Mennen (Germany) | 0:12:30 |
10 | Marc Trayter Alemany (Spain) | 0:13:03 |
11 | Hannes Genze (Germany) | 0:13:11 |
12 | Periklis Ilias (Greece) | 0:13:12 |
13 | Marzio Deho (Italy) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Konny Looser (Switzerland) | 0:13:38 |
15 | Mike Felderer (Italy) | 0:14:45 |
16 | Matthias Leisling (Germany) | 0:14:53 |
17 | Lukas Buchli (Switzerland) | 0:15:07 |
18 | Thomas Dietsch (France) | 0:15:50 |
19 | Jeremiah Bishop (United States Of America) | 0:18:08 |
20 | Bas Peters (Netherlands) | 0:18:11 |
21 | Ivan Rybarik (Czech Republic) | 0:18:50 |
22 | Pavel Boudny (Czech Republic) | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Frans Claes (Belgium) | 0:18:59 |
24 | Juri Ragnoli (Italy) | 0:21:28 |
25 | Davide Di Marco (Italy) | 0:21:29 |
26 | Walter Costa (Italy) | 0:21:30 |
27 | Jan Jobanek (Czech Republic) | 0:22:46 |
28 | Urs Huber (Switzerland) | 0:23:00 |
29 | Karl Platt (Germany) | 0:23:48 |
30 | Ramses Bekkenk (Netherlands) | 0:25:58 |
31 | Benjamin Sonntag (Germany) | 0:26:59 |
32 | Stefan Roffler (Switzerland) | 0:27:06 |
33 | Christian Kreuchler (Germany) | 0:27:28 |
34 | Roland Golderer (Germany) | 0:28:09 |
35 | Jo Thorson Nordskar (Norway) | 0:28:18 |
36 | Marcus Kaufmann (Germany) | 0:28:48 |
37 | Michal Bubilek (Czech Republic) | 0:29:19 |
38 | Kevin Evans (South Africa) | 0:30:39 |
39 | Allan Oras (Estonia) | 0:31:29 |
40 | Johann Pallhuber (Italy) | 0:31:42 |
41 | Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Spain) | 0:32:45 |
42 | Uwe Hardter (Germany) | 0:33:35 |
43 | Ramon Bianchi (Italy) | 0:33:51 |
44 | Allan Bachmann (Denmark) | 0:37:44 |
45 | Mannie Heymans (Namibia) | 0:38:17 |
46 | Mirko Farnisi (Italy) | 0:38:18 |
47 | Eddie Andres Rendon (Colombia) | 0:38:52 |
48 | Matthias Bettinger (Germany) | 0:38:57 |
49 | Lars Granberg (Norway) | 0:40:15 |
50 | Alessandro Gambino (Italy) | 0:40:41 |
51 | Lenart Noc (Slovenia) | 0:42:54 |
52 | Luca Ronchi (Italy) | 0:42:55 |
53 | Andrea Giupponi (Italy) | 0:45:16 |
54 | Norbert Wyss (Switzerland) | 0:45:17 |
55 | Manuel Pliem (Austria) | 0:45:24 |
56 | Lucien Peterhans (Switzerland) | 0:45:45 |
57 | Joaquin Cammisi (Argentina) | 0:49:49 |
58 | Thomas Bundgaard (Denmark) | 0:51:00 |
59 | Michael Mccalla (United States Of America) | 0:53:03 |
60 | German Dorhmann (Argentina) | 0:53:06 |
61 | Dmitrijs Sorokins (Latvia) | 0:54:06 |
62 | Wolfgang Mayer (Germany) | 0:57:20 |
63 | Andreas Kirchberger (Austria) | 0:57:28 |
64 | Kristaps Herings (Latvia) | 0:57:56 |
65 | Dmitry Medvedev (Russian Federation) | 0:58:18 |
66 | Michael Reichl (Austria) | 1:01:33 |
67 | Patrick Leuzinger (Switzerland) | 1:02:48 |
68 | Hugo Prado Neto (Brazil) | 1:07:01 |
69 | Erik Kleinhans (South Africa) | 1:07:18 |
70 | Jaime Yesid Chia (Colombia) | 1:07:20 |
71 | Blake Harlan (United States Of America) | 1:10:13 |
72 | Martin Foger (Austria) | 1:13:12 |
73 | Dmytro Petrov (Ukraine) | 1:23:25 |
74 | Yuki Ikeda (Japan) | 1:24:59 |
75 | Timothy Carleton (Canada) | 1:30:45 |
76 | Karl Egloff (Ecuador) | 1:36:51 |
77 | Erki Pütsep (Estonia) | 1:49:50 |
78 | Juan Endara (Ecuador) | 1:53:17 |
DNF | Julien Absalon (France) | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexey Medvedev (Russian Federation) | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andreas Kugler (Switzerland) | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Stoll (Switzerland) | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexandre Moos (Switzerland) | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Johnny Cattaneo (Italy) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David George (South Africa) | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spain) | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Friedrich Dahler (Switzerland) | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Schuchardt (Germany) | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Claus Crone (Denmark) | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jhon Jairo Botero Salazar (Colombia) | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniele Braidot (Italy) | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrea Tiberi (Italy) | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Johannes Schweiggl (Italy) | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ryan Correy (Canada) | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jhonnatan Botero Villegas (Colombia) | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Enrico Franzoi (Italy) | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Damiano Ferraro (Italy) | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Federico Mallo (Argentina) | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yanosuke Fujimoto (Japan) | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rafael Visinelli (Italy) | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
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