July 21, 2009 (Brixen, Germany) – Mauro Bettin and Massimo de Bertolis have clinched the triumph on the third stage of the 2009 JEANTEX BIKE TRANSALP powered by NISSAN. The two Italians had the best legs in a masses sprint after pedalling all the way from Mayrhofen to Brixen, the first Italian town to host a finish this year. Although Hannes Genze crossed the line after 94.90 kilometres and 2,131 metres of altitude first, it was team Full Dynamix to finish the stage as first complete pairing ahead of Genze’s partner Andreas Kugler (SUI). The time for the winners stopped after 3:26:56.7 hours, only two hundredths before the one of the leaders of the overall ranking. Thomas Dietsch (FRA) and Tim Boehme from Team Bulls 2 rounded out the podium as third (3:26:59.2).

After this close decision for victory, Massimo de Bertolis was very satisfied that all the work in the wind and being responsible for the pace paid off. “A few complained about the speed we were pedalling but this is a race! I’m very happy that we were able to triumph” the 2005 World Champion, who races his first ever Transalp, said.

Bearers of the Yellow Jersey don’t lower their guard
The victory was even more of value as the classification leaders of the Multivan Merida Biking Team once again proved their incredible form with Andreas Kugler following into the finish only a few millimetres behind Mauro Bettin, who had brought home the 2000 Transalp title together with Pascal Corti.

“We weren’t aiming for the stage win. It was more about staying out of the scrap for positions. We didn’t want to risk anything so we tried to stay in front” Hannes Genze explained. A wise decision bearing in mind the very narrow alleys of Brixen. “Of course we would have loved to win but tomorrow is the day. This will be a challenge!”

It was a statement which was underlined by the so far second ranked BiXS iXS Pro Team who came in fourth today extending their gap in the table by 2.7 to four seconds after two classified stages so far. Being so close behind, Switzerland’s Lukas Buchli and Thomas Stoll are still in perfect position to attack the Yellow Jerseys.

Thus, Stoll, who had won the Ronda Extrema at the 2008 Bike Festival in Riva del Garda said the day before the royal stage will be on the schedule: “Tomorrow we will know what might be possible. However, we are still optimistic.”

Also a sprint decision in the ladies category
The ladies’ competition also saw a close battle for victory. In an enthralling head-to-head duel, Milena Landtwing (SUI) and Kristine Noorgard (DAN) from Rothaus-Cube crossed the finish line after 4:06:05.0 hours, only 1.5 seconds ahead of runner-ups Peggy Klose and Claudia Till from Zwillingscraft 1. Yesterday’s second ranked pairing Fiat-Rotwild jumped on the podium as third having needed 4:06:59.5 for today’s course.

Scott-Adidas wins finish sprint in master category
Walter Platzgummer (ITA) and Johann Grasegger have shown today that, although having collected already quite a big gap in the master ranking (3:56 minutes), the bearers of the Blue Jersey should keep them in mind.

The South Tyrolean and his German team mate from Scott-Adidas clinched the finish sprint against the master leaders in a time of 3:36:23.9 hours, only four hundredths ahead of Austria’s Team KTM consisting of Ekkehard Doerschlag and Heinz Zoerweg. Silvano Janes and Stephan Unterthurner from Petrovilla Bergner Bau RTTR rolled in as third (3:44:06.2).

Rocky Mountain extends lead in mixed category
On the third stage of the 2009 JEANTEX BIKE TRANSALP powered by NISSAN, the Canadian-German mix Alison Sydor and Daniel Gathof racing for Rocky Mountain underlined that they rightly bear the Orange Jerseys. Both secured their back-to-back win in 3:51:04.7 hours thus extending their lead in the mixed classification as second ranked Stoeckli Craft/Fischli Bikes-riders Anita Steiner and Sepp Fischli from Switzerland lost nine minutes (4:00:14.4). Martin Jochem and Steffi Hadraschek from the German Sebamed team celebrated their first Transalp podium as third (4:01:36.7).

Jeantex RSC Logwin Kempten once again fastest senior master team
Georg Niggl and Ferdinand Ganser from Jeantex RSC Logwin Kempten seem to tie on to their last year’s winning streak. After 3:58:59.2 hours, they secured their second consecutive stage win. With a gap of more than 20 minutes, runner-up pairing Long Time Bikers V-Sport.ch consisting of Ueli Schuermann and Hanspeter Hunziker came in (4:19:29.7), just ahead of Norway’s Team Replica with Per Kristian Greve and Bjarne Lien (4:20:19.6).

Preview 4th stage: Brixen (ITA) – St. Christina (ITA)
The fourth stage of the 2009 JEANTEX BIKE TRANSALP powered by NISSAN from Brixen to St. Christina, a new stage town, is – due to 83.52 kilometres and 3,665 metres of altitude – the royal stage.

At first, the peloton follows the long ascent up to Wuerzjoch and then through the Villnoesstal to the Schlueterhuette. There, the Kreuzkofeljoch compensates all the stresses and pains so far with fantastic scenery before everyone heads for the downhill to Campill. The route then mainly leads on gravel roads to Corvora and climbs up to the Groednerjoch. Right before the finish is reached, a super trail awaits the mountain bikers after Wolkenstein.

Click here for full results.