This Sunday, Marie Schreiber almost offered Luxembourg a medal in the U23 race at the European championships after an impressive start and finishing the first lap alongside world champion Puck Pieterse.
The 19 year old rider from Luxembourg rode for a long time in the first chasing group behind the untouchable Pieterse. In the end she finished fourth, 19 seconds from the podium, after six laps of racing.
The last ones to start this weekend, Kevin Kuhn and Quinten Hermans, also made a good start on the circuit on the Citadel of Namur while the rain started falling. Several riders slipped away, chasing the order of the riders in the lead of the race. Quinten Hermans was unfortunately one of them.
Swiss rider Kuhn, who was racing in ninth place halfway through the race, progressed to fifth on the line, his best result ever in a European Championship.
« I was one of the fastest riders in the start, but I realized quite quickly that I didn't have one of my best days on the bike today. But despite this, I managed to finish fifth after a tough battle with my closest competitors in the final laps. This first top five in an international championship in the elite category is a new confirmation of the progress I make every year with Tormans Cyclo Cross Team and this makes me of course very happy. »
« Just like the past weeks I started very well. I know how to handle this effort. My goal was then to keep a constant rhythm, the highest possible. I also knew that even though I made a nice gap it didn't mean that it would result in a medal, because the race was still long and I was chased by strong competitors such as Line Burquier and Shirin van Anrooij. On this physical parcours it wasn't easy to recover because you always had to stay concentrated downhill to avoid mistakes. Since the start of the season I'm part of the five best U23 riders in the elite races. This fourth place confirms my good shape and the level I achieve this season. »
« After a good start I was in the mix for the bronze medal with Laurens Sweeck. I unfortunately lost this position because halfway through the race I had a series of bad luck. After a crash my body didn't work as I wanted anymore and I had two punctures immediately after the pits. I spent a lot of energy preparing this European championship and I was in the form I was hoping for. So I'm of course disappointed that my moments of bad luck today happened on the wrong place of the circuit. I will now put my bike aside for at least two weeks and then return into competition during the Christmas period. »
