The German Simon Gegenheimer (GER/33) wins again at the UCI World Cup in Falun / SWE and is now at the top of the world rankings. His German team colleague Marion Fromberger (GER/21) also shows irrepressible consistency and climbs back onto the UCI World Cup podium with third place.
He and his entire Mountainbike Racingteam are doing their thing, it was like that on the wet cobblestones in Belgium two weeks ago and now an analogous show followed on the steep climbs in Sweden. At 33, Simon Gegenheimer doesn't seem to be tired of professional sport, it seems as if he's only really turning up the heat in the year in which he holds the world champion's rainbow jersey.
The venue in Sweden was the ski arena in Falun, because athletes also share the mountains in northern Sweden. Where cross-country skiers and ski jumpers fight for the World Cup crown in winter, mountain bike pros do it in summer. The route was a natural route, characterized by a 16% steep climb and a rock garden as a descent. "That thing up there was a wall," says the world champion about the route and he adds to his strategy: "Keep cool and save grains on the first laps, then I'll be capable of anything in the final." And as in Belgium, Gegenheimer followed his plan meticulously. The German always rode very close, but always with a very passive riding style up to the last lap. And even in this, the world champion started cautiously, was partially wedged in the field and waited until the last climb. It was precisely at this point that Gegenheimer attacked and distanced all of his competitors in breathtaking dominance. He passed the summit and was already going down with so much lead that it was just a formality. "If you only have one attack, then it has to be right. You don't just need legs, you also need courage, Oliver Kahn would say, balls," said the world champion about the ninth World Cup victory of his career.
Marion Fromberger, 21, teammate of the World Champion and well on the way to getting exactly the same toughness. Fromberger rode only five days after the World Cup on the ski slope in Leogang / Austria, now the World Cup in Falun / Sweden. She too was calm, self-confident and with a great overview throughout the World Cup day. "The mountain was super steep, I knew I could make my positions here, so I didn't give 100 percent at the start and on the flat sections and held back as best I could," says Marion Fromberger about her race. In the end, the German shared the podium with world champion Gaia Tormena from Italy and Jenny Rissveds from Sweden.
In the overall World Cup standings, the two Mountainbike Racingteam riders are now in first and second place. This not only pleases the national coach Peter Schaub, but also the captain of the Racingteam Steffen Thum, especially because his athletes will travel to the home world cup in Aalen / Germany in these positions. "I'm proud of our team. Marion shows an irrepressible consistency week after week and is on the podium with the world champion and the Olympic champion. She has arrived at the top of the world,” says Thum, who also pays tribute to his friend and teammate Gegenheimer: "10 years ago, Simon was already a diamond in the rough and a talent recognized worldwide. Today, however, he is a champion, both athletically and in terms of his attitude to the sport,” said Steffen Thum, who speaks from experience and was able to win the UCI World Cup twice.