Bankes and Noerl race to victories in Krasnoyarsk
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“I am really happy. It wasn’t my best start, but I knew I had to stay in the right line and then just go on and have fun in the bank turns and have a good race. It was a tight race, so it was fun riding. As we have another race tomorrow, my plan is now to recover and then get back to it tomorrow and hopefully I will have another good day. I mean, that’s the goal for sure,” Bankes said after the race.
Martin Noerl races to second career win
On the men’s side, a German double pack of Martin Noerl and Paul Berg were joined by French young gun Merlin Surget and Austrian Julian Lueftner for the big final.
The 22-year-old Frenchman had the fastest reaction time out of the gate but soon after the very first elements, was joined by Julian Lueftner in leading the pack head-to-head. In the following bank turn, Martin Noerl tried to sneak in front, but was not yet quite successful, while his teammate was sitting in fourth.
Then, at the same kicker, as the double pass happened in the women’s race, Noerl used that same momentum and getting into the next bank turn, he took the inside line, which was a guaranteed pass at that stage. The Austrian, however, would not allow for a single leader of the heat, so this time he was head-to-head with the German.
Surget then pumped up some speed from the rollers in the next section of the course and with that speed, he entered into the next turn, choosing the inside line and that’s when he was able to pass the Austrian, whereas Noerl was a bit ahead of the two.
It was really tight racing at that moment, because also Paul Berg came closer to the pack and was about to pass Lueftner on the inside line at the last bank turn before the final jump, but unfortunately, the German slipped and crashed, taking him out for the podium fight in the end.
Martin Noerl crossed the finish line first, taking his second career win after Cervinia in 2018, Merlin Surget grabbed second spot and his first podium this season and Julian Lueftner took his second career podium, while his first was also in 2018.
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