Swiss cyclists Christoph Sauser (Specialized) and Petra Henzi (Fischer-BMC) took the 2007 UCI marathon cross-country world championshipson Sunday in Verveirs, Belgium. The rolling 105km course sent riders on a fire-road and single-track tour of Belgium’s Ardennes forest.

Sauser, a three-time World Cup cross-country champ, rode at the front with defending marathon champ Ralph Naf of Switzerland for the opening 80km. With 25km remaining, Naf suffered a chain malfunction and let Sauser slip away. While he eventually remounted his rig and gave chase, an untimely puncture knocked Naf out of the race entirely.

The world title marks the first time Sauser has claimed rainbow stripes at the elite level for an individual race. The Swiss was second at the 2005 and 2006 world cross-country championships to Frenchman Julien Absalon, and third at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

In women’s racing, Henzi, 38, took the title ahead of German cross-country star Sabine Spitz (Ghost International), with marathon World Cup leader Pia Sundstedt of Finland in third.

Norway’s Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja, the three-time defending marathon cross-country champ and 2004 Olympic gold medalist, skipped the event. She’s still recovering from a stomach virus that sidelined her for June and July.

The UCI has held a world championship for marathon mountain-bike racing since 2003, and Swiss riders have captured five of the ten titles. Thomas Frischknecht took the men’s title in 2003 and 2005.

2007 UCI marathon cross-country world championships
Verviers, Belgium
August 12, 2007
Men
1. Christoph Sauser (Swi)
2. Roel Paulissen (B)
3. Thomas Dietsch (F)
4. Leonardo Paez (Col)
5. Massimo De Bertolis (I)

Women
1. Petra Henzi (Swi)
2. Sabine Spitz (G)
3. Pia Sundstedt (Fin)
4. Elsbeth van Rooij-Vink (Nl)
5. Esther Suss (Swi)