May 3/98 10:34 am - Frischknecht Wins

Posted by Editor on 05/3/98
 

Frischknecht Wins in Budapest

Chrissy Redden just reported to us that her Ritchey teammate Thomas Frischknecht won round 3 of the World Cup today in Budapest, Hungary. „He was really prepared, and after talking with Caroline (Alexander) and me, he knew that running would be a major factor in the race.‰ While the course was not as bad as yesterday‚s women‚s race, there were still treacherous sections, particularly on the climbs. Chrissy reports that Frischknecht was already out in front 500 metres into the race(as the riders entered the singletrack), and never looked back. He had prepared for the running by removing his bottle cage and stuffing bottles in his back pocktes, rather than on his bike, to assist in bike carrying. On the climbs, the former Cyclo-cross world champion just threw his bike over his shoulder and ran the entire hill. Chrissy reports that many other riders were indecisive in whether to run, push or ride, and lost time accordingly.

Behind Frischknecht for most of the race was Hubert Pallhuber, but in the last lap French rider Miguel Martinez completed an astounding comeback, after a poor start that saw him in the 30‚s, to pass Pallhuber for second place. Pallhuber hung on for third. Canadians did not fare so well today, primarily because of their lack of running skills. Chris Sheppard started out fairly well, but then blew up with a couple of laps left, dropping to 59th. Seamus McGrath started a little slower and was gradually moving up until he bonked, ending up 45th. Andreas Hestler ran into the same problems, finishing in the 80‚s, as did Neil Grover and Bill Hurley, who finished behind Hestler. Roland Green did not finish.

Results and standings will be up shortly.