Austria’s cycling ladies hold up the World Cup flags in Glasgow

GLASGOW. Christina Schweinberger caused a small sensation from a home perspective at the cycling world championships in Glasgow on Thursday. The 26-year-old Tyrolean won bronze in the individual time trial over 36.2 kilometers. It was the third Austrian women’s medal after marathon and downhill gold by mountain bikers Mona Mitterwallner and Valentina Höll. Today in the women’s cross-country race there is a great chance of further growth in the medal account.

“When I woke up in the morning, my goal was still to end up in the top 20. That was unexpected,” said Schweinberger, who had also secured an Olympic quota for the domestic association for 2024. With silver in 2008 and bronze in 2007, Christiane Soeder won the only red-white-red World Cup individual medals to date; before that, the ÖRV foursome with Helmut Wechselberger, Bernhard Rassinger, Mario Traxl and Hans Lienhart at the home World Cup for amateurs in 1987 in Villach won bronze in the team time trial over 100 kilometers.

Austria’s men arrived late yesterday in the fight alone against the clock. Patrick Gamper ended up in 37th place, Felix Ritzinger in 51st place. It won Remco Evenepoel (Bel). Walter Ablinger gave up in the handbiker (H3) road race.

The Tyrolean talent Alexander Hajek, today in action in the U23 road competition, has now signed a contract with the German World Tour racing team Bora-Hansgrohe.

The last few days of heavy rain and some summer construction sites are causing problems for the organizers of the “Race Around Austria” from August 14th to 20th, which starts and finishes in St. Georgen im Attergau. “We have to reschedule the route a bit,” says organizer Michael Nussbaumer before the 15th anniversary edition of the 2200 kilometers.