The 44th edition of the biggest mass participation cycling event in the Baltic countries attracted again close to 3000 riders over different distances and categories. The 131km UCI Gran Fondo World Series qualifier had 1400 riders at the start.
German Alexander Steffens didn’t wait to take the win in the sprint and show his fast legs, but managed to get away in the final from a group of 5. He won in an average speed of 42.76km/h. Lithuanian Arturas Kazakevicius got second spot at 20 seconds with Ukrainian Dmytro Volovod as third.
Earlier in the race, Taavi Lehemaa, an Estonian rider, made a solo break, but the group of five who ultimately fought for the win caught and passed him.
While riders from other countries took the top spots in the men’s fastest age group, the fastest women in those groups were all local heroes. Birgit Tito of Estonia won her F35-39 category, completing the 131-kilometer course in 3h13m23 and an average speed just over 40km/h. Another Estonian, Carol Kuuskman, won her F19-34 category, finishing about five minutes behind Tito. The third fastest woman was Nele Ohmann, who won the 40-44 category.
