The 33rd edition of the Austrian UCI Gran Fondo World Series qualifier in Morbisch am See, Burgenland, concluded with a sprint after the flat 127km race. Despite dry conditions at the start and finish, the course, which partially traversed Hungary, experienced some mid-race rain showers on the northern side of the lake.
A breakaway saw Dutch rider Michiel Kok and Slovakian Dusan Oravec gain an advantage in the final hour. Kok then distanced Oravec on the last climb with 10km remaining. However, with a large group close behind, Kok was caught within the final kilometer, setting up a sprint finish among 19 riders. Poland’s Gracjan Szelag won decisively, outsprinting Dutchman Jeroen Van Voorden, while Kok secured third place. The winner’s average speed was 43.91km/h.
In the women’s granfondo, 43 year old Martyna Wisniewska from Poland was the fastest, averaging 38.62km/h and finishing 3 minutes ahead of Austria’s Anna Scherer. Scherer then led a sprint of three other women to take second place overall, with Austria’s Larissa Azman finishing third.
The 26km individual time trial held on Saturday was won by Austrian Martin Geretschnig, who completed the course in 35 minutes and 6 seconds, averaging 44.43 km/h. Geretschnig’s winning margin was a significant 1 minute and 8 seconds over Hungary’s Daniel Szalay, with Austria’s Matthias Jeindl finishing third, 1 minute and 26 seconds behind.
Martyna Wisniewska also claimed victory in the women’s time trial, achieving an average speed of 37.17km/h. This win gave her a double victory for the weekend, finishing 1 minute and 2 seconds ahead of Austria’s Jaqueline Lischka, with the Netherlands’ José Smolders taking third place, 1 minute and 32 seconds back.
