2009-9-5
With welcoming words from Yuxi City Mayor and representatives from Vatternrundan Sweden, about 300 bikers set out for the first Vatternrundan China to go around Fuxian Lake. On the start line were names such as Bernt Johansson, Olympic gold medalist in road bike, Sven-Åke Nilsson, Magnus Lönnqvist, European triathlon champion, Terje Amundsen and Darren Benson.
At 9 am, the bikers went out on their 175.5 long ride in the hills and mountains around Fuxian Lake. In warm and sunny weather, a front group of riders quickly formed of the participants who were most eager to fight about the medals. At Fuxian Lake, some riders were in too much hurry in the dangerous downhills which caused some cuts and bruises. But the hilly terrain made the ride even more challenging for sure…
Participants for 78.8km ended their ride at the bank of the lake. One of them was Amy Bainbridge from Australia which finished 1st in the Women’s road bike 78.8km. As Amy works for CCTV-9, she had a TV-crew following her on the way while reporting from the race. The other bikers continued to the east side of the lake where they got cheered on by lots of local people from the small villages around the track.
The track really gave the participants some spectacular views of the clear blue Fuxian Lake, some practically from the bank of the lake, and some from the high hill tops after a steep climb.
Darren Benson from Australia stayed in the leading quartet of David Tonks, Liu Min, Zhou Weiwen and himself. Their positions remained all the way to the finish, unaltered by a sprint duel in the last 100 meters. Darren Benson finished 10 hundreds of a second before David Tonks. Number 3 Liu Min was 0.5 sec behind the winner while Zhou Weiwen dropped 5 seconds at the end.
In the race were some special guests from Vatternrundan Sweden taking part. Carina Aberger Hammarstrand and Ernst Aberger took their time around the lake, taking pictures and enjoying their ride. Carina was the only foreign woman who finished in the 175.5km class, last on 12th place, while Ernst came 3rd from the last on the time 8h 31.01 min
Another man who did a strong performance was Paul Jorgensen from the group GZ Cycle; he finished the 175.5km race before the maximum time of 8 and a half hours he had set for himself. As a person who just took up road cycling, buying a brand new bike just a month ago, Paul came in after 8.23.15 very happy to have followed through with the challenge
Click HERE to view the full results
Darren Benson wins Vatternrundan China 2009
