Riders of 25 countries took part in the Cyprus Sunshine Cup between the 21st February and 7th March. The first race took place in Oroklini in Larnaca and what a spectacle it was. With international medalists taking part it was a competitive race. Among the elite was marathon world champion Roel Paulissen who had skipped Cyprus 2009, along with title defenders Alexandra Engen of Sweden and Periklis Ilias of Greece. Fabian Giger, u23 European champion in 2009 and Asian champion Kohei Yamamoto were also some of the big name contenders.

MEN’S RACE

In the men’s race a hot, sunny day made for an energy spilling competition. The race started off in earnest with Paulissen and Jan Skarnitzel taking the head and finally escaping the pack. They really pushed each other and the following group of riders tried desperately to catch up. Whilst Paulissen pushed to keep up with the speed of Skarnitzel, the sixth lap saw him flat his front tyre and crash, leaving Skarnitzel to break easily away. A quick stop for repair saw him rejoin the race in fourth place with Jiri Friedl and Christoph Soukup in front. Pushing harder than ever Paulissen tried to catch up and succeeded before flatting his tyre again in the final lap, losing his second place to Friedl once more, and leaving Skarnitzel to take the race in comfort.

Joel Skarnitzel’s first win in an international race left him “very happy” and “looking forward” to the rest of the races around Cyprus.
Second place Friedl was surprised with his finish considering the hot climate of Cyprus and said, “Here it is very warm. It needs a lot of energy.” Cyrpus’ heat is always a surprise for visiting athletes. Third place Paulissen stated that he was “relaxed” during the entire race and is “okay” with his performance. Without the crash who knows how comfortable Skarnitzel would have been sitting at the front.

WOMEN’S RACE

The Oroklini women’s race was decided in the first half. Annika Langvad took the lead and once she put her legs through the motions and picked up some momentum there was no catching her. She left the other riders surprised at her speed and never looked like she would be caught, despite flatting a tyre. Second place Janka Stevkova finished over two minutes behind Langvad, but the real surprise was Ekaterina Anoshina, the 18 year old Russian. She finished third beating Melanie Spath of Germany and last year’s winner Alexandra Engen of Sweden. Annika Langvad said after her huge lead and finish, “It’s wonderful to be here,” whilst Janka Stevkova condemned Langvad’s choices saying, “It’s not good to go full gas in the very first race”. Ekaterina Anoshina was more surprised than anything else and said she was simply happy to “compete” with the more experienced riders alongside her.