For the first time, the UEC MTB European Championships took place in Serbia, with the majestic Petrovaradin fortress in Novi Sad serving as the backdrop for four action-packed days. In the Cross-Country Elite events, France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot retained her European crown, while Swiss Lars Forster won the title among the men.
Reigning European and world champion Ferrand-Prévot demonstrated her prowess, attacking and dominating the race to win gold ahead of Dutch duo Anne Terpstra and Anne Tauber, who completed the podium.
Coming off a rather disappointing performance at the Olympic Games, the 29-year-old Frenchwoman was all smiles after her triumph and will tackle the upcoming UCI Mountain Bike World Championships with a confidence boost.
“It was a great day for me. I wanted this title more than anything. Today, I just wanted to give my best, give everything I had. The race was quite tactical at the beginning. I was feeling good, so I decided to attack, went at the front and after, tried to keep the speed. It worked and I am extremely happy with that,” she stated in her UEC post-race interview.
“I think this is one of my best wins and for sure, I want to defend my world champ jersey, but I already have the European one, so it’s already a good season for me."
Having won the Cross-Country title at the European Championships 2018 in Glasgow, Forster is back on the throne after edging the competition in a tightly contested race. The 28-year-old launched a decisive attack close to the finish to celebrate 3’’ ahead of Dane Sebastian Fini Carstensen, with Swiss Filippo Colombo finishing third.
“It was an amazing race. I felt very good already two weeks ago; I had the European Championships as a goal in my mind because I couldn’t go to the Olympics, so I took the next chance and I’m very happy I made it to the top,” Forster said after the race.
“The course was a little bit of a cyclo-cross race with the downhill on the stairs. I’m a cyclo-cross racer as well so I liked the course. I knew I could ride fast on this track. We saw at the Under 23 race that a big group was coming together, so I was focusing on staying in the front, saving energy and then at the end, finishing with a bang.”
The European Championships in Novi Sad also featured the Junior and Under 23 Cross-Country races as well as the Eliminator and Team Relay events. For all official results, please visit the UEC website and make sure to follow the UEC social media channels for photos, highlights, and interviews.
