August 12/07 10:34 am - Sauser & Henzi Take Marathon World Titles
Posted by Editor on 08/12/07
Sauser & Henzi Take Marathon World Titles
Held in Verviers, Belgium
| Men | |
| 1. Christoph Sauser (Sui) | 4:23:14 |
| 2. Roel Paulissen (Bel) | at 5:15 |
| 3. Thomas Dietsch (Fra) | 7:18 |
| 4. Hector Leonardo Paez Leon (Col) | 8:13 |
| 5. Massimo De Bertolis (Ita) | 8:42 |
| 6. Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) | 9:43 |
| 7. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) | |
| 8. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) | |
| 9. Karl Platt (Ger) | all s.t. |
| 10. Alban Lakata (Aut) | 10:04 |
| 11. Moritz Milatz (Ger) | 14:12 |
| 12. Andreas Kugler (Sui) | 14:27 |
| 13. Bas Peters (Ned) | 15:23 |
| 14. Julio Humberto Caro Silva (Col) | s.t. |
| 15. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) | 17:10 |
| 16. Sandro Spaeth (Sui) | 17:42 |
| 17. Karl Markt (Aut) | 17:44 |
| 18. Stefan Sahm (Ger) | 18:37 |
| 19. Johann Pallhuber (Ita) | 18:46 |
| 20. Marzio Deho (Ita) | 19:22 |
| 21. Martin Kraler (Aut) | 21:40 |
| 22. Thomas Zahnd (Sui) | 21:56 |
| 23. Roland Stauder (Ita) | 22:11 |
| 24. Hannes Genze (Ger) | 24:54 |
| 25. Tomas Vokrouhlik (Cze) | 24:56 |
| DNF. Ralph Naf (Sui) | |
| Women | |
| 1. Petra Henzi (Sui) | 5:12:11 |
| 2. Sabine Spitz (Ger) | at 2:07 |
| 3. Pia Sundstedt (Fin) | 11:59 |
| 4. Elsbeth Van Rooij-Vink (Ned) | 23:21 |
| 5. Esther Suss (Sui) | 23:48 |
| 6. Evelyn Staffler (Ita) | 27:10 |
| 7. Arielle Van Meurs (Ned) | 28:49 |
| 8. Katrin Schwing (Ger) | 33:32 |
| 9. Sarah Koba (Sui) | 33:47 |
| 10. Anna Enocsson (Swe) | 34:01 |
| 11. Fabienne Heinzmann (Sui) | 35:54 |
Report courtesy Multivan Merida
Ralph Naf and Christoph Sauser have put their stamp on mountain biking's world marathon championships. The two Swiss were in the lead for almost the entire race until a mechanical threw back Ralph Naf 25 kilometers from the finish, forcing him to hand over his world championship title to Christoph Sauser without a fight. The women's race started without the defending world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja who is still out of competition due to a viral infection - with Petra Henzi, another Swiss rider won that race.
Defending his title seemed to be within reach for Ralph Naf for a long time. "I was on par with Christoph Sauser in terms of strength and we had a fair battle. Everything looked as if there would be a thrilling finish", the defending champion Ralph Naf commented after the race. "I do not grudge Christoph Sauser this title, he has more than deserved it." Due to a mechanical on his bike's chain, Naf had to let his compatriot go, but soon after he got back within reach. To close the gap, he had to risk a lot, flatting a tire in one of the downhills as a consequence. "I came here to defend my title, not just to finish on the podium. In order to catch up with Sauser, I had to risk everything", Naf analyzed his race.
Apart from Naf and Milatz, no other riders of the "Multivan Merida Biking Team" were competing. Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja has not recovered from her viral infection sufficiently to compete on her usual level. So instead she decided to prepare herself in Southern Tirol in order to be ready for the world cross country championships due to be held in Fort William.
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