Race Across Austria: Fourth Place for Strasser, Victory for Handl

Tyrolean extreme cyclist Philip Handl claimed the Ultracycling European Championship title on Friday at the Race Across Austria in the unassisted category.

The winning time was 40 hours and nine minutes. Behind him, Germans Stefan Fettes and Robert Müller secured silver and bronze.

Former champion Christoph Strasser finished fourth in the race, covering more than 1,000 kilometers and over 16,000 meters of elevation from Nickelsdorf in Burgenland to Feldkirch in Vorarlberg, 2 hours and 58 minutes behind the winner.

"Of course, I'm not at all happy with this fourth place; a medal would have been cool. Physically, things went well, but three athletes were better this time," analyzed the Styrian. The Kraubath native was in second place for a long time after riding through the first night without sleep. The second half of the race then took him over high mountains.

"I actually wanted to ride through the second and last night without sleep. But it just wasn't possible; the fatigue was too great," said Strasser. "I also didn't want to risk anything on the sometimes dangerous descents at night from the high passes, so I took two 20-minute power naps each. The others were able to ride through, and thus the medal was out of reach."

Regarding winner Handl, Strasser said: "The top three are elite riders. We all had Philip Handl on our radar before the start; such distances suit the two-time RATA winner, who was also able to showcase his qualities in the mountains."