Over a long and busy weekend, successes for Dahle (Norway), Stirnemann (Switzerland), Avancini (Brazil), Stevkova (Slovakia), Monteiro (Portugal) and Di Veroli (Israel)
Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida), Kathrin Stirnemann (Haibike Pro Team), Henrique Avancini (Cannondale-Factory), Janka Stevkova (CK Epic Donay), Joana Monteiro and Angelo Di Veroli: Northwave earned six National MTB crowns over the last weekend, in Norway, Switzerland, Brazil, Slovakia, Portugal and Israel respectively.
Those victories add over to the titles conquered by Tanja Zakelj (Team Unior), last week in Slovenia, Manuel Fumic (Cannondale-Factory) and Helen Grobert (Ghost Factory Team) last month in Germany, and Anton Cooper (Cannondale-Factory), back in March, in New Zealand.
In Norway, Marathon World Champion Gunn-Rita Dahle, the queen of the “fat wheels”, dominated the women’s race with his Extreme Tech MTB Plus, preceding on the finish line another athlete sponsored by Northwave, Elisabeth Sveum, whilst Ingrid Sofie Jacobsen completed the day’s podium.
Kathrin Stirnemann claimed an unexpected success in Switzerland, where she preceded Nathalie Schneitter and favorite Jolanda Neff. In the Eliminator race, the 26-year-old from Granichen took second place Linda Indergand, whilst Brazilian Avancini, Slovak Stevkova, Portoguese Monteiro and Israeli Di Veroli conquered the respective Cross Country national titles.
José Antonio Hermida (Multivan Merida), Florian Vogel (Focus XC) and Alexandra Engen (Team Ghost) also came close to the big goal, taking second in their respective series. Hermida crossed the finishing line in Valladolid behind new Spanish champion David Valero. In Switzerland, Vogel duelled with Nino Schurter in the men’s race, and was second behind the former World Champion (BMC’s Ralph Naef clinched fourth). Finally, in Sweden, Engen claimed the second place behind Jenny Rissveds.
