9 June 2008
Specialized rider Christoph Sauser takes the World Cup leaders jersey
Christoph Sauser (Specialized Factory Racing) powered his S-Works Epic to a second consecutive podium, vaulting into the top spot of World Cup XC mountain bike standings.
“This is the best I could have hoped for,” said a winded but elated Sauser at the finish. “Approaching the world championships and Olympic games this summer, the success gives me confidence.”
In the driest, dustiest conditions ever seen on the Fort William course in Scotland, a trio of Swiss riders Sauser, Florian Vogel and Nino Schurter (both Swisspower)essentially provided riding lessons to the rest of the elite men¹s field. The three were untouchable on the climbs of the exceptionally fast course, with Sauser showing the best descending skills on his full suspension Epic with patented Brain and FSR technology.
Sauser tried everything to overtake the Swisspower duo. “I could drop the guys in the downhill, but there was too much time for them to recover. The course was not technical enough for me,” Christoph explained, “For the last lap and a half I led, and I went as hard as I could on the climb, but they were just able to hang on.”
In the finale, being the odd man out against a pair of teammates prevented Sauser from duplicating his victory from the week before in Andorra. Vogel outsprinted Schurter for the win, with Sauser completing the Swiss sweep in third.
In the women’s race, Christoph’s Specialized Factory Racing teammate, Lene Byberg, earned valuable World Cup points and also showed great pre-Olympic form by coming in fourth, only nine seconds behind third.
Focus for Team Specialized riders now turns toward the rainbow stripes of the UCI world championships, two weeks from now in Val di Sole, Italy.
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