27.08.2006 News report from Multivan Merida Biking Team:

Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa defends world champion title
Ralph Näf finishes in fourth

At the mountain bike world championships in Rotorua (NZL), Norway’s Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa successfully defended her title. She superiorly won the women’s race ahead of Russia’s Irina Kalentieva and Canada’s Marie-Hélène Premont. This is the seventh world championship title the Norwegian puts on her name, having won the rainbow jersey in both the Olympic cross country and the marathon discipline in the recent three years. «I was pretty exhausted after the marathon world championships and the long travel, but once I had arrived here, I was fully motivated. The landscape over here is pretty similar to Norway, so I almost felt at home», Dahle explained her race preparations. Having her personal mechanic Ralph Tiede with her was the most important thing though, as this allowed her to fully focus on the race.

In the men’s competition, Ralph Näf finished in a strong fourth position. During the first part of the race, the Swiss rider even seemed to be going for the victory. With his attacks, he provoked the formation of a lead group containing the eventual winner Julien Absalon. «Absalon and Sauser were simply too strong today, so even the shortest moment of weakness had its consequences», Näf analyzed after the race. After four laps, he had to slow down a bit and give up the fight for a medal. With his fourth-place finish, Näf performed the trick to finish in the top-four in all of this year’s championship races.

Moritz Milatz had a really bad day, not living up to his own expectations by far with his 42nd place finish. «A am absolutely disappointed. For the entire race, I could not get into my rhythm, On top of that, I also crashed in the second lap, and maybe I have underestimated the cold I had caught last week a bit as well. This is all the more annoying as I did not succeed to live up to my full potential at the world championships», Milatz commented after finishing.


Results Cross Country Worldchampionships, Men:
1. Julien Absalon (FRA), 2:07:07
2. Christoph Sauser (SUI), + 0:43
3. Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE), + 1:58
4. Ralph Näf (SUI), + 4:22
5. Hector Leonardo Paez Leon (COL), + 4:51
42. Moritz Milatz (GER), -1 Lap

Results Cross Country Worldchampionships, Women:
1. Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa, NOR, 1:55:19
2. Irina Kalentieva, RUS, +2:45
3. Marie-Helene Premont, CAN, +4:22
4. Maja Wloszczowska, POL, +6:30
5. Margarita Fullana, ESP, +7:40