Slovenia Cup Vrtojba & Kamptal Klassik Langenlois

In preparation for the season, all Cube Next Gen riders were on the starting line on the penultimate weekend in March. Kira Böhm started at the Kampala MTB Trophy in Langenlois, Austria and faced bigger competitors in the elite women's field such as Laura Stigger from the Specialized Factory Team. The boys all rode together to Slovenia, where they met two-time World Cup winner Luca Braidot of the Santa Cruz Rockshox Team in the Slovenia Cup in Vrtojba.

Kira Böhm got off to a great start in the women's race and rode at the front of a six-strong leading group from the start on the less technically demanding Langenlois course. While the local heroine Laura Stigger was able to break away a bit, a super exciting race developed behind her in which Kira Böhm played an important role. Again and again attacks were made and a lead was established, which could then be eliminated again. Until the last lap all front places were in sight and so the tension for the spectators was immensely high until the end. Kira Böhm was able to break away from two riders, but did not make it into the top 5 and ended up a very strong sixth place. "I am super happy with my race, had good legs and could push permanently. That it was only 30 seconds to the podium in the end is of course comparable, but I was with my forces due to the longer race time, totally at the end."

In the boys' race, a very exciting race also developed right from the start. The course in Vrtojba was very fast with some technical sections as well, which the riders obviously enjoyed. Sven Straehle and Lars Gräter, who competed in his first XCO race this year, rode the first three laps together in the leading group, which was a bit bigger with 6 riders, after the start. Fabian Eder had a slightly worse start, but quickly positioned himself in the top 15, which was also identified as the goal, since one could collect points in this C1 endowed race until then. In the front, the action continued and 18-year-old Lars Gräter slowly had to let the older men go. Sven Straehle, on the other hand, constantly improved his position and in the meantime, together with a competitor in fourth place, he made it onto the podium in the pursuit. Towards the end of the race, Lars Gräter's strength dwindled due to the duration of the race and he was able to maintain his position in the top 10 before he was also overtaken by the tenth-placed rider on the last lap and crossed the finish line in a very strong 11th place. "Today it was mega fun to race against the big guys for the first time. I had good legs and was able to ride longer with Sven, which gave me extra motivation. In the end, however, the tank was empty, which was half an hour more race time as I was used to from previous years. But I am very satisfied with my start to the season."

Sven Strähle fought against Ethan Rose for fourth place, it was exciting until the end. Only in the final sprint he could be beaten by the young rider from New Zealand. With the fifth place Sven secured very important UCI points and that is the most important. Fabian Eder also rode a constant race, which he could finish in 14th place. "Today it was important for the guys to collect points for the UCI account to be able to start later in the World Cup from further ahead. That's what everyone was looking at, including Kira in Austria, and that's why it was a very successful weekend for us," said team manager Sam Weber.

The hunt for points continues this weekend in Pula, Croatia.