Leopold was devilishly fast

Around 500 participants at the twelfth edition of the ARBÖ Cycle Marathon in Bad Kleinkirchheim. The 41-year-old Hans-Jörg Leopold from Lavanttal triumphed ahead of last year's winner Stefan Pöll and Alexander Schmidt. Pia Maria Thomas was in a class of her own in the women's race.

The twelfth edition of the ARBÖ Cycling Marathon in Bad Kleinkirchheim really demanded everything from the 500-strong starting field: Drizzle at the start, zippy temperatures in the Nockberge mountains, only towards the end of the race did the occasional rays of sunshine ensure a hot finish. Despite these capricious weather conditions, all the starters had a great time.

Thanks to the special timekeeping system (time is only taken at the three uphill classifications), it was possible to completely slow down the usual race pace on the descents. The result: there was not a single incident worth mentioning.

The marathon victory went to Hans-Jörg Leopold (ARBÖ Raiffeisen Feld am See). The 41-year-old from Lavanttal was literally devilishly fast on all three major climbs, accompanied by the legendary Tour devil Didi Senft, and won ahead of last year's champion Stefan Pöll (ARBÖ Raiffeisen Feld am See) and Alexander Schmidt (LAC Unlimited). Victory in the women's race went to 40-year-old Styrian Pia-Maria Thoma (ARBÖ Knittelfeld).

After crossing the finish line, winner Hans-Jörg Leopold was beaming with the sun: "It was a tough affair today. The first climb didn't go according to plan, but then it got better and better. In the finish I unpacked my normal form."

Once again, Bad Kleinkirchheim's mayor Matthias Krenn was full of praise for the event: "The bike marathon is an important tourist boost for the entire region. I am always amazed at how professionally and yet warmly this event is organized. Congratulations to the entire OC team."