World Cup wins for Dietsch and Sundstedt
Marathon cross-country specialists Thomas Dietsch (Gewiss-Bianchi) and Pia Sundstedt (Rocky Mountain) grabbed wins at the 90km UCI marathon World Cup opener in Manavgat, Turkey on Sunday.
American Monique “Pua” Sawicki (Ellsworth-Topeak) finished in seventh place in the women’s race.
Frenchman Dietsch took the victory ahead of Austria’s distance specialist Alban Lakata (Dolphin-Trek) by 21 seconds, with Germans Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm (Bulls) crossing in third and fourth, 2:30 in arrears. Colombian Leonardo Paez, the 2006 marathon World Cup champ, crossed the line in fifth. The result marks a return to racing for Paez, who sat out most of the 2007 season with injuries.
The result marks another high point for Dietsch, the 2007 World Cup overall champion. Dietsch won a round of the marathon World Cup and finished third at the marathon world championships in Villabassa, Italy. He also finished third at Costa Rica’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores stage race, winning the final stage.
Finland’s Sundstedt took the women’s race ahead of Anabella Stropparo of Italy, with Swiss Esther Suss, Blaza Klemencic of Slovenia and Janka Stevkova of Slovakia rounding out the podium.
Sundstedt won the World Cup overall in 2007 and 2006 and is a multiple time Finnish national mountain and road champion. She took the Montreal World Cup road race in 2000. The victory bodes well for Sundstedt’s chances at South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic stage race, which she is racing alongside Rocky Mountain teammate Alison Sydor.
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