Gold And Silver Medals For Flueckiger Brothers at European Championships
Mathias Flueckiger is the new European Champion for Men's Under 23 Cross Country, a title he won on Thursday...and one day later, his older brother Lukas took the silver medal in the Men's Elite XC ahead of a truly world class field.
Images: Courtesy Alex Kaplan, Israel Cycling Federation
Truly a great performance by both boys who left for Israel for these Championships shortly after both standing on the podium at the Flims Racer Cup last weekend. The preparation for the upcoming World Cups is going great for the two of them.
Mathias said: "Here in Haifa it was very hot, around 35 degrees Celsius. The track was very technical. It had a lot of stones and a lot of loose gravel and this made it especially tricky in the turns, and in general the terrain was like Canberra last year. The start was very fast but I was there quite comfortably and was able to make an attack very early and get away. The gap grew bigger and bigger, and depite having to change wheels twice due to burping the tires, I was still able to hold onto the lead. This win gives me a lot of confidence and is very important for the rest of the season. I know this is not the same as racing a full elite field in a World Cup, but I was very happy with my lap times."
This is Math's second European title, he won the Junior XC race back in 2006.
Like Mathias, Lukas raced his Trek Top Fuel with Bontrager XR1 tires, and again had sunny 35 degree heat to contend with. The race was one lap longer at 1 start loop and 7 laps. His race was stacked with the best riders from European nations, who at a World Cup, make up 90% of the top 20.
Lukas said: I had start number 3 and stood on the front row for the start. I was really motivated and sure that I could do a good race. For the whole week there was a super spirit in the National Team and together with this, and seeing Math win, I was ready for the challenge. From the beginning of the race I was in the lead group. I stayed focused on finding my speed and rhythm and didn't worry about other riders, and I believe this was a key to my success in this race. After 2 laps I lost contact with the lead 2 riders and was in 3rd and had Christoph Sauser (SUI) and Martin Gujan (SUI) riding with me. After a crash by Sauser I was on the way back to the leaders who were 40 seconds ahead of me. First, I caught Marco Fontana (ITA) in the 2nd last lap and then I tried to catch Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE), but he was too strong and defended his place. I believe I'm back in the game....and I'm really looking forward to the National Champs next weekend and the World Cup in Champery the weekend after that."
Results:
Men's Under 23 Cross Country Championship:
1. Mathias Flueckiger (SUI) - 1hr 52m 01secs
2. Niels Wubben (NED) @ 2m 28secs
3. Patrick Gallati (SUI) @ 3m 19secs
Men's Elite Cross Country Championship:
1. Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE) - 2hrs 07m 40secs
2. Lukas Flueckiger (SUI) @ 40secs
3. Marco Fontana (ITA) @ 1m 37secs
