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A happy Stander crossed the finishline as winner while an empty Absalon finished second again in the same amount of weeks. An event which must have happened before during such major races, but that must be mentionned long time ago in the history books..
Ralph Näf (Multivan-Merida) finished in third position and explained: "It was tough since I haven't ridden any race since last week (due to an injury, red). Especially the start was a tough call... It's like racing in the beginning of the season while not knowing in which shape you're in."
"II knew that I would need one race to pick up the rythm again. This race as really a short competition and I had to go in overdrive to overtake some competitors. In the final lap I was able to overtake the Fluckiger brothers, who were in 3rd and 4th position at that time. I'm happy with this result after the diappointement of not participating in the World Championship race."
Julien Absalon wasn't in shock with his second position: "I didn't race at all this week... Yesterday was my first day back on the bike. I was missing some strength in the legs: physically a week doesn't do a lot of damage, but kills the rhythm. I wasn't disappointed when Burry passed me. I had fun during the race and let all things come to me. It's an U23-racer who won which pleases me to know that the next generation is prepared..."
A winning Burry Stander still couldn't believe what's happened: "In the final lap, I saw Julien just after the turn before hittin the climb and I thought: this is it, pedal to the metal! I sprinted my way uphill and succeeded to enter the single track in front of Julien."
"It's a fantastic feeling and I'm still having to believe it all: my first World Cup victory... I was feeling good all week, really feeling strong! My luck that Julien Absalon was having a bad momentum at the end. The track really suits me with the Specialized Epic 2009 Fully which makes it a fun ride. I'm looking forward to next year and the World Champs in 2011."
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