After a successful weekend for the Cube Next Generation XC Team in Slovenia and Austria, the three guys Sven Strähle, Fabian Eder and Lars Gräter also raced last weekend to collect points for the upcoming season.
It went to Premantura in Croatia, where the "Kamenjak Rocky Trails" was on the agenda. The C1 endowed race is at the beginning of the year for some athletes in Europe a good address to the form for the coming season, as well as points for the UCI account to bring in. Sven Strähle started the race in 13th position and took the lead together with Frenchman Maxime Loret. Together, they were able to break away from the peloton from the beginning and the victory was decided in a duel. Behind them smaller groups of 3-4 people came together. Lars Gräter from Hall made a phenomenal start from 20th position and was fifth in lap 1. Fabian Eder, on the other hand, was seen a little further back, within striking distance of the top 10. Up front, the Frenchman dictated the pace and was even able to open a small gap to Strähle. The rider from Böbingen in the jersey of the Cube Next Generation XC Team had his problems with this high pace, but he could always see his opponent in front of him, because the Massi rider did not really get away from Sven Strähle. The following laps saw the spectators always the same picture, sometimes Strähle was closer to the leader, then again a little further away, but never more than 15 seconds. "It felt like a rubber band. The gap got smaller at times, but then it got bigger again. I had my clues to the leader, he was always within striking distance, but I didn't get any closer to him either," said Straehle at the finish. Since the course was very stony and therefore prone to defects, the Böbinger also did not want to risk too much and drive the good placement to the finish. "Of course I'm a little annoyed about having missed out on victory so narrowly, but I'm still very happy with second place." Strähle continues.
The younger riders Lars Gräter and Fabian Eder managed to find their pace during the race. While Lars Gräter took 8th place and rode alone, about 30 seconds behind the top 5, his teammate Fabian Eder also chased him in a group of four, again a little 30 seconds behind. Due to technical defects, the Haller Lars Gräter driving opponents, the 18-year-old could then work up to 6th place forward and everything looked like that he could bring this also sovereign finish. In the last lap, however, he came by a small driving error with the rear wheel on a stone and lost air in the rear tire and lost important time. That was the luck of the riders behind Lars Gräter because they could pass him before the finish. One of the lucky ones was his teammate Fabian Eder, who showed a strong performance towards the end of the race and distanced his opponents. In the end he was able to pass Lars Gräter and finished the race in 7th place. Shortly behind him Lars Gräter also finished in 8th place, the air out of the rear wheel was completely gone and he was happy that he was still able to ride to the finish.
"I felt good and was able to place well and also had good space to the rear in 6th place. The pace was good for me and I think I would have taken this place to the finish. Unfortunately, my small driving mistake was my undoing and I then lost air on the stony and demanding track." Lars Gräter sums up his race. "After the last race in Slovenia, where I was not completely satisfied, I had big plans today and wanted to prove to myself that the form is good. I didn't go down and was able to keep a good pace over the whole distance. I am very satisfied with 7th place." said Fabian Eder after the finish.
