Third & Fifth For Teammates Schreiber & Vas

On the fast course of the World Cup CX in Benidorm, Marie Schreiber and Blanka Vas helped colour the race to finish  third and fifth respectively. Cheered loudly by their teammates at Team SD Worx-Protime, both cyclo-cross riders rode a strong cross. Schreiber, the Luxembourg champion started and finished strongly to achieve her podium place. Vas stayed at the front throughout the race, to finish just behind her teammate.

Looking back on the performance, Marie Schreiber said, ‘I am satisfied with this podium finish. It’s incredible. This was a crazy race. It was so tactical… Positioning was important and it was important to use forces wisely. I started strong and then tactically tried to wait a bit and be at the front at the important passages. Two laps from the end, I thought my chance for the podium was gone. I cracked a bit, but suddenly, on the last lap, I was at the front again. I was maybe a bit lucky that they slowed down a bit at the front, but that’s part of racing. So I went full steam ahead on the climb. My idea was – no matter what happens next just go!’

‘I tried to take my road experience to this fast circuit and make the right choices,’ Schreiber continued. ‘On the last lap, I did the right thing. Everything I learned from my teammates at Team SD Worx-Protime over the past two years, I tried to apply. So I am happy to leave Benidorm with a podium finish. This was an important result for the U23 World Cup standings. The last two WorldCup crosses I suffered the consequences of an illness, so I lost important points. Six points difference is still quite a gap, but I will go full steam ahead in the last two crosses.’

Sports director Christian Kos concluded, ‘Both Blanka Vas and Marie Schreiber rode a strong cross. Blanka rode really well and had a view of the podium the whole race. It’s just unfortunate that this changed in the last half lap. But she can still look back on a strong race. Marie Schreiber started super, but then fell back a bit further. Eventually she recovered well and rode a super final as soon as the second group reconnected with the leading group. Resulting in a great third place!’