October 15/12 11:37 am - Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge - Prologue

Posted by Editoress on 10/15/12
 

It was a sweet maiden victory for Florian Vogel at the Men's Open Prologue Individual Time Trial at Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge 2012 (LIMBC).  Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol) won the women's race, while Canada's John Ray Funk (Dead Goat Racing) was first in the Senior Masters Men category.

Leaders podium

The Scott Swisspower rider was beaming with joy after learning that he clocked the fastest time of 5:08.29 on the 2.4 kilometre track at Dataran Legenda on Monday.

“I will hang on to this stage lead for as long as I can. I won’t give it up easily since this is my first stage victory of any competition in my career,” said Vogel to reporters after the prize winning ceremony. His previous career highlights were finishing third at the World Championships in Canberra, Australia (2009) and seeing action at the Olympic Games.

“I will try to protect my lead for tomorrow’s Stage 1 challenge. The humidity and weather won’t be easy for anyone,” he said.
Simon Gegenheimer (Ultra Sports) was second at 3.85 seconds and Emil Lindgren (Rabobank Giant) third at 6.088 seconds.  Todd Wells (Specialized) was the top North American in sixth at 13.069 seconds.  There are no Canadians entered.

For the women, the Open Prologue winner was Eva Lechner from Team Colnago Sudtirol who clocked 5:51.272, a result that caught her by surprise.

“I thought I was the third fastest after I learned my teammate Nathalie (Schneitter) clocked a better time than me. But later, when the official result came out, I was so happy,” said the Italian, who is considered among the favourites to challenge for the women’s title.

American Lea Davison (Specialized) was second, 4.348 seconds behind Lechner, with Schneitter at 7.579 seconds.  There are no Canadians entered.

“I think I am doing well and I feel good. I just need to maintain my pace and work out good strategy, since I have respect for my teammate Nathalie and other competitors,” said Lechner.
Tomorrow’s LIMBC Stage 1 will see the riders compete in a gruelling 65 kilometre trek around the legendary island, starting and finishing at Lagenda Park.

Stage 2 is a 45 kilometre race from East to West Langkawi, starting from Lagenda Park, followed by a hard third stage, the 60 kilometre Langkawi Marathon route. Stage 4 is an Olympic distance Cross Country race around Langkawi GeoPark followed by the final stage, a stunning beach front finale around a short circuit at Pantai Kok.

Results