Schneider and Hovdenak come from behind to win in Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin

Team Bulls’s Simon Schneller and Urs Huber consolidate their lead and triumph in the Andalusian race

The Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin has its champions for the 2021 edition. The race held its final stage this Saturday with the start and finish in the city of Córdoba, which witnessed the cyclists overcome 48.57 kilometers and 1,230 meters of climbing. It was a fast stage and that ultimately defined the champions of this edition.

Simon Schneller and Urs Huber of Team Bulls took the final victory of the Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin after a week of imposing their dominance. The riders of the German team took full advantage of the time gap that they’ve built throughout the week to take the champion's jersey in the last stage that saw no changes to the final classification. Second were José Dias and Hans Becking of BUFF® Scott MTB, and third were Team Bulls teammates, Martin Frey and Simon Stiebjahn.

The stage victory went to Tiago Ferreira and Wout Alleman, who were able to put their arms up in a victory salute at the final finish after a week complicated by mechanical problems in the Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin. The Portuguese and Belgian went all out in this race and by the Arrastraculos climb they showed their intentions to get the stage victory. Hans Becking and José Dias of BUFF® Scott MTB crossed the finish line in second, and overall champions, Urs Huber and Simon Schneller, in third.

Urs Huber: "It's an incredible victory for us, especially as it's our third race as a pair. At no time did we imagine being able to win the overall, we were looking to win some stage podiums, but not a victory like this. We are super happy."

In the women's category, the last stage was decisive for the overall victory. Janine Schneider and Hidegunn Hovdenak took the lead and once again won with authority. They forged a fast pace from the start to win the stage, which led them to final victory. The leaders up until today, Katazina Sosna and Stefanie Dohrn of Torpado Sudtirol, suffered throughout the day and lost a few key minutes in the final classification. Sosna and Dohrn crossed the finish line outside the top five and out of the fight for the overall victory. Irina Lutzelschwab and Jennie Stenerhag finished second in the stage, and in third, Bettina Janas and Estelle Morel of Sportograf-Ornans completed the Andalucia Bike Race by Garmin, having shown tremendous improvement.

Hildegunn: "We’ve been feeling better and better stage after stage, and it's great to have managed to win the overall. I love the trails of Córdoba and its downhills. At no time was it clear to me that we were going to win the overall, but I was looking at the GPS and I didn't see anyone following us too closely. At the third aid station everything was still the same and, two kilometers from the finish line, we started to believe in a win.”

After a week of bona fide mountain biking that inaugurated this year’s UCI MTB Marathon Series – the highest ranking worldwide in the category of marathon distance races, the 2021 Andalucía Bike Race by Garmin says goodbye until the next edition. Jáen and Córdoba have once again satisfied 500 cyclists during six days full of trails and varying terrain.

Rankings STAGE 6 UCI Marathon Series Men

1 Tiago Ferreira - Wout Alleman DMT Racing Team || 01:59:47

2 Hans Becking - Jose Dias Buff Scott MTB Team || 01:59:47

3 Urs Huber - Simon Schneller TEAM BULLS || 02:00:58

Rankings STAGE 6 UCI Marathon Series Women

1 Janine Schneider - Hidegunn Hovdenak tysk-norge || 02:31:57

2 Irina Lutzelschwab and Jennie Stenerhag ABRO Knippcycling Schär Gärten || 02:35:19

3 Bettina Janas - Estelle Morel Sportograf-Ornans || 02:36:04

UCI Marathon Series Men overall rankings

1 Urs Huber - Simon Schneller TEAM BULLS || 14:57:56

2 Hans Becking - Jose Dias Buff Scott MTB Team || 14:58:27

3 Martin Frey - Simon Stiebjahn TEAM BULLS || 15:02:54