NEWS

Andreev and Forstner secure second wins of 2012 in Mals

By David Peddie | 12 Mar, 2012

Pavel Andreev and Renate Forstner were the winners of the final Winter European Cup race in Mals, Italy

For the Russian Andreev it was his second win of the season and sets him up perfectly to defend his World Championships title at Jamijarvi next weekend.

Germany’s Forstner also recorded her second victory of the season by defending her title which she won last year and she has now finished on the podium in Mals three times in succession.

Conditions in Mals were cloudy and windy, as 68 Elite Men competitors lined up on the start list. Mals is renowned for being a very technical course and the athletes would have to climb 750m in only 11km on the challenging bike course.

Russian Maxim Kuzmin made a blistering start to the race and the former U23 European and World Champion arrived into T1 with a forty second advantage over the chasing pack of Niederegger (ITA), Antonioli (ITA), Kirrilov, (RUS), Andreev (RUS) and Erhardt (GER).

Tomas Niederegger excelled on the bike course and the difficult ascent. He clawed back Kuzmin’s advantage and exited T2 onto the ski course with a lead of over a minute. The Italian, who won in Mals in 2011, led a dangerous pack including Andreev and Antonioli.

Even a 1 minute advantage wasn’t enough as both the experience and skill of Andreev and Antonioli on the skis allowed them to hunt down Niederegger and overtake him. They passed him on the second and final lap and it was a straight fight for first place.

It was Russia’s Pavel Andreev who stayed out in front and he crossed the line for victory 17 seconds ahead of Antonioli. Niederegger had done enough to secure the final podium position in third.

The Women’s race followed a more comfortable pattern. Yulia Surikova and Renate Forstner led from the front on the run with Surikova enjoying a slender 7 second advantage over the German into T1.

Forstner was incredibly strong on the bike despite the steep slope and she overpowered Surikova to enter T2 with no one behind her and a clear ski to the finish.

She left the remainder of the field to battle it out for second and it was the Russian pair, Surikova and Charochkina, who began to pull away and look to secure a place on the podium.

Despite the fastest ski of the day, Charochkina just couldn’t catch her compatriot and she had to settle for third place.

Photos: Top; The Elite Men podium of Daniel Antonioli, Pavel Andreev and Tomas Niederegger (left to right)

Above; Elite Women podium of Yulia Surikova, Renate Forstner and Tatiana Charochkina 

Related Event: 2012 Mals ITU Winter Triathlon European Cup
10 - Mar, 2012 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Women
1. Renate Forstner GER 01:48:52
2. Yulia Surikova RUS 01:51:04
3. Tatiana Charochkina RUS 01:51:17
4. Marlies Penker AUT 01:55:33
5. Chiara Novelli ITA 02:10:09
6. Susanne Jährling GER 02:14:11
7. Sabine Houdek GER 02:23:11
8. Natalia Skuratovich RUS 02:34:23
Results: Elite Men
1. Pavel Andreev RUS 01:26:10
2. Daniel Antonioli ITA 01:26:27
3. Tomas Niederegger ITA 01:27:02
4. Maxim Kuzmin RUS 01:27:42
5. Evgeny Kirillov RUS 01:30:46
6. Anton Steiner ITA 01:32:31
7. Michael Ager GER 01:32:55
8. Claudio Consagra ITA 01:33:55
9. Gabriele Carretta ITA 01:34:05
10. Julian Erhardt GER 01:34:12