With three gold medals, three silver and one bronze, France has finished at the top of the MTB European Championships medals table which took place in the stunning setting of Monte Tamaro – Monteceneri (Switzerland). The Swiss national team took second place with two gold medals, four silver and two bronze, whereas Italy came third with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
The Swiss Nino Schurter was the great star of the show. The current Olympic champion and five-times World Champion won the Men’s Elite Cross-Country title, overtaking the French rider Titouan Carod in the last lap. Third place went to another Swiss rider, Mathias Flueckiger.
In the Women’s Elite, the French rider Pauline Ferrand Prevot achieved another victory after her superb World Champion title only a week ago. She lead the race from the start to finish, meanwhile the Dutch rider Anne Terpstra won the silver medal and the Ukraine rider Yana Belomoina the bronze medal. The other Cross-Country titles were taken by Switzerland (with Joel Roth in the Men’s Under 23), the Dane (Oliver Vederso Solvhoj gold medal), Austria (first place for the current World Champion Mona Mitterwalner) and France (another win by a rainbow jersey with Loana Lecomte).
On the first day, in the Team Relay, Italy won the gold medal with Luca Braidot, Eva Lechner, Filippo Agostinacchio, Nicole Pesse, Marika Tovo and Juri Zanotti, ahead of France (World Champion in this speciality) and Switzerland.
Italy once again climbed on the highest step of the podium in the Women’s Eliminator thanks to the win by Gaia Tormena who took the European title. The silver medal went to Switzerland with Linda Indergand, and the bronze medal to Germany with Marion Fromberger.
In the Men’s events, third victory in the European Championships for the current World Champion, the Frenchman Titouan Perrin Garnier, who beat the Dutch rider Jeroen Van Eck and the other Frenchman Hugo Briatta, first last year in the European event in Brno.
In total, 350 riders from 24 countries who competed in these Championships made these four days of racing truly exciting and memorable.
Results – click here
