Mission accomplished! Lechner, Kerschbaumer & Co. defend European title

Since Thursday evening, the two South Tyrolean mountain bikers Eva Lechner and Gerhard Kerschbaumer have won another gold medal at the European Championships. The woman from Eppan won her fourth “gold” in continental title fights, and overall it was her eleventh medal at a European Championship (three silver, four bronze). It was also the fourth title for Kerschbaumer, who has now won precious metal at European Championships a total of seven times in his career.

Unlike last year, national coach Hubert Pallhuber sent his strongest horses into the stable this time, namely Marco Aurelio Fontana (elite men), Gioele Bertolini (juniors), Eva Lechner (elite women) and Gerhard Kerschbaumer (U23).

Lechner is the second to hand over – Kerschbaumer pulls away

In the ranks of the “Azzurri”, Marco Aurelio Fontana opened the race and handed over to Gioele Bertolini with the fastest time.

Bertolini, on the other hand, fell back a little and finally handed over to Eva Lechner in third place. They started like the fire department and were able to make up a place. Final driver Gerhard Kerschbaumer took over when he was 0,25 minutes behind.

However, the Verdings mountain biker did not let this deter him. He was able to overtake the French competition on the first lap and ultimately crossed the finish line 18 seconds ahead. Silver went to Switzerland with Reto Indergand, Dominic Grab, Jolanda Neff and Nino Schurter, bronze went to the Czech Republic with Jan Nesvadba, Jan Vastl, Katerina Nash and Ondrej Cink.

“It was a tough race because the route in particular was very difficult to interpret. Final driver Gerhard Kerschbaumer completed his teammates' masterpiece. He also showed that he has found his form again and that he will be a force to be reckoned with again from now on. I am very satisfied with everyone's performance. “It was a perfect start,” said national coach Hubert Pallhuber after the race.

“Azzurri” is a force in the team relay

The team relay seems to particularly suit the “Azzurri”. Since 2005, the Italians have won a total of 13 medals at European and World Championships (five gold, three silver and five bronze). Curious: Eva Lechner was on the podium every time.

Results of the MTB and Trial European Championships in Bern (SUI):

Team relay: 1. Italy (Fontana, Bertolini, Kerschbaumer, Lechner) 0:32,44 2. Switzerland (Indergand, Grab, Neff, Schurter)+0,18 3. Czech Republic (Nesvabda, Vastl, Nash, Cink) +0,30 4. France (Marotte, Sarrou, Perrin Ganier, Bresset) +0,53 5. Germany (Schulte-Lünzum, Baum, Rieder, Milatz) +1,09 6. Sweden +1,22 7. Ukraine +1,28 8. Netherlands +1,43 9. Slovenia +1,52 10. Austria +1,55 11. Great Britain +2,08 12. Spain +2,11 13. Portugal +3,42

An overview of the “Azzurri” relay medals (European Championships and World Cup) since 2005:

EM 2013: Gold – Marco A. Fontana, Gioele Bertolini, Eva Lechner, Gerhard Kerschbaumer World Cup 2012: Gold - Marco A. Fontana, Beltain Schmid, Eva Lechner, Luca Braidot EM 2012: Gold – Michele Casagrande, Gioele Bertolini, Eva Lechner, Luca Braidot World Cup 2011: Bronze - Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Lorenzo Samparisi, Eva Lechner, Marco Aurelio Fontana EM 2011: Bronze – Marco A. Fontana, Gerhard Kerschbuamer, Lorenzo Samparisi, Eva Lechner EM 2010: Silver – Marco A. Fontana, Maximilian Vieider, Eva Lechner, Gerhard Kerschbaumer World Cup 2009: Gold - Marco A. Fontana, Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Eva Lechner, Cristian Cominelli World Cup 2008: Bronze - Marco A. Fontana, Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Eva Lechner, Cristian Cominelli European Championship 2008: Bronze - Marco A. Fontana, Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Eva Lechner, Cristian Cominelli World Cup 2007: Bronze - Jader Zoli, Andrea Tiberi, Francesco Aulino, Eva Lechner World Cup 2006: Silver - Tony Longo, Cristian Cominelli, Eva Lechner, Jader Zoli World Cup 2005: Silver - Tony Longo, Johannes Schweiggl, Eva Lechner, Marco Bui European Championship 2005: Gold - Tony Longo, Johannes Schweiggl, Eva Lechner, Marco Bui

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Mission accomplished! Lechner, Kerschbaumer & Co. defend European title

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