In a race that just took less than 1:20:00 the Austrian champion Elisabeth Osl (Central-Ghost) took the win in the town of Schladming while being encouraged by the homecrowd. The UCI's technical official decided to shorten the race due to the long season.

It was a race where the World Cup overall victory was at stake... However Osl was in the lead, the Austrian champion didn't secure the title yet. In the first lap, Elisabeth Osl created a gap where only Catharine Pendrel (Luna) was able to follow.

Pendrel maintained that position until the final lap where Lene Byberg (Specialized) overtook her and claimed the second position on the race podium. A well-deserved win for Osl and by doing so, she secures her World Cup overall win as well...

The new Russian World Champion Irina Kalentieva (Topeak-Ergon) was still suffering from problems with her knee and couldn't pop up in the front of the race. Kalentieva finished in sixth position.

Elisabeth Osl was full of joy and could not hold back the tears on the podium during the national anthem in her homecountry: “I had bad legs during the warm-up, so I didn’t believe in my chances... But at the start I suddenly was in the leading position and all went well. During the race, I started to believe in my chances. When Catharine wasn't able to keep up the same pace, I hit the pedal to the metal... I'm so happy with this victory and the World Cup overall!”

Results of the World Cup race cross country in Schladming on September 19th 2009:

Source: www.uci.ch