Successful Weekend at the 2013 European Championships
Racing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, Nino was able to win two silver medals during the weekend. On Sunday, Nino had to battle it out once again with Julien Absalon in front of a crowd of 10,000 people. Soon after the start, the riders took off and began their attacks. The only other rider to stay relatively close to the two was Marco Aurelio Fontana, who eventually finished in third place.
Close to mid way through it looked like an even race. Though it was obvious that Absalon was not willing to let this one go down to a sprint. With a barrage of climbing attacks, Absalon finally broke into the lead, and never looked back.
"It was an awesome feeling to be supported so brilliantly by my home crowd. I had good legs and felt strong. But today, Julien was by far the better rider," said Nino. "It was his payback for all the second place finishes behind me this year."
Ultimately, with this Silver medal, and the one in the team relay on Thursday, Nino was happy with a successful European Championships.
Another one of our athletes who did very well this weekend was Jenny Rissveds. Having just had her 19th birthday, she can already call herself the European Eliminator Champion. She was dominant in the event, winning by a good margin.
The following day, Jenny secured the silver medal in the Women's XCO U23 race. "I was so excited about winning the Gold that I went into the XC race without any ambitions. I still felt tired at the begining, but after my legs loosened up I came on strong."
Well done to the team, and to all the competitors of the European Championships.