UCI World Cup #3 Offenburg, GER

Roel finishes 12th.

At the World Cup in Offenburg, it was Martin Gujan who surprised the team the most in his first full World Cup after being back in the saddle. Gujan finished 25th and is on his way back to the top 15. His teammates Marco Aurelio Fontana and Roel Paulissen came in together in 11th and 12th.
 
The race started fast and on the first lap, a three man leading group took off and would not be caught again. Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter made their way to the first spots on the podium. Behind them it was CFR’s Marco Aurelio Fontana who was fighting for the podium and looked good until two laps to the finish: “In front of me a rider had a flat tire and I could not pass him and the group was gone. But anyway, I was on the limit and had a hard time in the last laps,” Fontana said after a little recovery at the team truck. “Like always, I wanted to try it in the front but the power did not last for the whole race. Next week I will do some serious training and then we will fight back at the next World Cups.”
 
One group behind, Roel Paulissen fighting his way into the top ten. “I felt really well but then I crashed and bent my shifter. From this point on I could not really shift anymore and the rest of the race was tough. But at the end I was better again and I will see what’s next at the summer World Cups.”
 
Houffalize’s podium surprise Manuel Fumic did not have what you  could call a good week. A bad crash during training slowed him down. “I felt some pressure before the race but that is normal. In the race my legs were far from being good. That’s ok and can happen. I will do my homework until July and then you can see me back on the podium,” Fumic said. Manuel never gave up in the race and with two strong laps at the end he grabbed important points for the overall.
 
The surprise of the weekend was Martin Gujan. CFR’s Swiss rider did his first full World Cup of the season and managed to start well. “I made it into the top 35 after the start and with some strong laps I came into a group around 20th,” Gujan said. “I am surprised myself how good it went today and this race gives me confidence for the next weeks.”
 
In the overall, Manuel Fumic is now 5th while Roel Paulissen is listed in 13th and Marco Aurelio Fontana in 15th. In the team overall, CFR is 3rd behind Multivan Merida and Orbea but ahead of Scott Swisspower, Trek World Racing and Specialized.
 
Results:
1. Julien Absalon (FRA/Orbea)
2. Nino Schurter (SUI/Scott Swisspower MTB Racing)
3. Jaroslav Kulhavy (CZE/Rubena Birell Specialized)
4. Christoph Sauser (SUI/Specialized Factory Racing)
5. Florian Vogel (SUI/Scott Swisspower MTB Racing)
6. Mathias Flückiger (SUI/Trek World Racing)
7. Jose Hermida (ESP/Multivan Merida Biking Team)
8. Ruben Ruzafa (ESP/Orbea)
9. Wolfram Kurschat (GER/Topeak Ergon)
10. Inaki Lejarreta (ESP/Orbea)
11. Marco Aurelio Fontana (ITA/Cannondale Factory Racing)
12. Roel Paulissen (BEL/Cannondale Factory Racing)
…
25. Martin Gujan (SUI/Cannondale Factory Racing)
…
28. Manuel Fumic (GER/Cannondale Factory Racing)