Denmark won the gold medal in the team relay race (XCR), this Friday, at the European Mountain Bike Championships, which are being held at the Tamengos track, in Anadia. The new European champion finished ahead of France and Italy, who completed the podium.
The Danish team, formed by Gustav Pedersen, Albert Philipsen, Julie Lillelund, Sofie Pedersen, Malene Degn and Sebastian Fini Carstensen, who raced in this order, finished the six laps of the circuit in 1h06m04.429s. France and Italy decided the last two podium places in sprint, finishing 56.086 and 58.008 seconds away from the best time, respectively.
The race got started in the best way for Switzerland, Spain and France, who led at the end of the first lap. In the second, thanks to a good performance by Hugo Franco Gallego, Spain took the lead, followed by Denmark, which appeared for the first time in the first three places, and France. Denmark really jumped to the front of the race in the third round, with a strong performance by Julie Lillelund, ahead of Spain and France, with all three teams very close.
On the fourth lap, Spain fell behind and France and Switzerland overtook Denmark, who dropped to third place. However, the Danes took the lead again on the penultimate lap, with Malene Degn gaining some distance, which Sebastian Fini Carstensen increased on the last lap, winning the gold medal. France and Italy, who overcame Germany and Switzerland in the last lap, were next.
The MTB European Championships, which will run until Sunday, continue this Saturday with the XCO junior men’s and women’s races, scheduled for 11am and 2pm, respectively.
