Event Information

	Sign In Sign-Up


	Bike Attack Lenzerheide 2001
	www.redbullbikeattack.com
	Mountainbiking
	Lenzerheide, Switzerland
	29.07.2001

	men: Vessaz Marc women: Baumann Beatrice
	men: Hengartner Stefan women: Spadot Sara
	men: Donnet Amael women: Latka Nadia
	Records tumble! For the third time in succession, Marc Vessaz won the Red Bull Bike Attack long distance downhill race on Sunday in Lenzerheide, which was held in ideal conditions with 362 starters, a new record for participants. The women s race was won for the first time by Beatrice Baumann from Igis. The fourth Red Bull Bike Attack is developing more and more into a race of superlatives. With the change of date from the end of September to July for the first time, the organisers of the Lenzerheide-Valbella Tourism Association obviously made the right choice and also had the touch of luck that every event of this kind needs. The weather was superb throughout and above all it was pleasantly warm, which had a very positive effect on the number of participants. In the 24-hour period immediately prior to the race there was a total of over 120 additional entries registered. This was a new record, as was the total number of participants of 362 , said a satisfied Tourism Director, Urs Wagenseil. The actual race produced another record Marc Vessaz once again prove his class and won the ride of hell from Rothorn in Parpan to the Chur old town for third time in succession. Despite the fact that the course contained more technical sections than in previous years and was therefore more difficult to ride, the Romand completed the 27.5 km route in a new record time of 1:01:32. As early as the Bossi slope in Lenzerheide, after around one-third of the total distance, the former Swiss downhill champion had a lead of around one minute over his team-mate, Donnet Amael. It went perfectly , said Vessaz after the race had been finished. The skill of being fast over a long downhill course is finding the right mixture of speed and calculated risk, said the 28-year old in explaining his tactics. Urs Thoma, who went into the race as the Vessaz s main rival for winning the race and the three tests contained in the Fun Freeride Cup, failed to find the right mixture. After his victory at the Monster Freeride Race in Laax and his fifth position in Küblis, Thoma was justified in hoping that he could gain an outright win. He knew, however, that he could not afford to lose too much time to Vessaz. The 30-year old therefore went into the race fully motivated and made a really good start. He had almost completed the snow fields in the upper section of the course in second place directly behind Vessaz when he fell, taking his bike and himself several metres away from the ideal line thus burying his ambitions in the snow. I am very disappointed , sand Thoma laconically. Finishing in 14th place, he lost almost six minutes against the winner. The men from East Switzerland were delighted, however, Stefan Hengartner from Sargans surprisingly took second place behind Vessaz, and Jakob Lieberherr from Ebnat-Kappel was also over the moon with his fourth place. With Gerd Schierle (Parpan) in sixth, Urs Baumann (Igis) in ninth and Simon Girardi (Wangs) in tenth, plenty of other locals were among the top ten. In the women s race Beatrice Baumann celebrated her first win in the Red Bull Bike Attack at just her second attempt. Last year the Igis-based rider came second behind the former top downhill specialist, Brigitta Kasper, who this year did not enter the race. Like her husband, Urs, the former Swiss Senior Cross Country Champion, Baumann mainly rides in bike cross country events and not downhill races. That really says everything about the massive fitness requirements of this long distance marathon in Lenzerheide. The entrants from the national ski team, who decided to try their luck in this bike downhill event for a change also produced respectable results Ruth Kündig came fifth and Sylviane Berthod went over the finish line at Arcasplatz in Chur, where a large crowd created a fantastic atmosphere, in eighth place. Results: Men: 1st Marc Vessaz (Faulensee) 27.5 km in 1:01:32. 2nd Stefan Hengartner (Sargans) at 0:44. 3rd Donnet Amael (Bex) at 1:46. 4th Jakob Lieberherr (Ebnat-Kappel) same time, 5th Ancelin Vinzent (Fr.) at 1:52. 6th Gerd Schierle (Parpan) at 2:11. 7th Jean-Yves Vassalli (Torgon) at 2:13. 8th Christian Studer (Sax) at 2:16. 9th Urs Baumann (Igis) at 2:22. 10th Simon Girardi (Wangs) at 2:56. Women: 1st Beatrice Baumann (Igis) 1:13:31. 2nd Sarah Spadot (Zofingen) at 1:11. 3rd Nadia Latka (Unteraegeri) at 6:28.