At the start of the race Oskar Nisu decided to attack. He remained first until Ande service point (23,8 km from the start). Gleb Karpenko made the next attempt to get away, and by the Astuvere service point (50,6 km from the start) he had gained a 32-second gap with others. Karpenko was in front more than 38 km and secured the victory of the 25th Tartu MTB Marathon. Karpenko is now one of the few ones who has won both: Tartu Rattaralli and Tartu MTB Marathon.

 

At the finish, Oskar Nisu, Gert Kivistik and Gert Jõeäär shared the rest of the podium places: silver medal for Oskar Nisu, bronze medal for Gert Kivistik and fourth place for Gert Jõeäär this time.

 

"I tried to go with Oskar at the beginning and I thought that I don't have good legs today. Somewhere on the gravel road, I saw that it’s good place to attack. I caught Oskar, then Taavi Kannimäe and then I was alone. When I saw that there were 2 km to the end, I realized that I probably win the race," explained Karpenko.

 

Women's competition was tough, but Laura Lepasalu got her second Tartu MTB Marathon victory (03:04:54). Her previous victory dates back to 2007. Lepasalu won Ernesta Tubyte by 10 seconds and Vilte Kriauciunaite by 11 seconds.

 

"I didn't really know where anyone was. I knew that someone from Latvia was ahead and that was it," said Lepasalu. She added that she enjoyed the course and the race as well.

 

Laura Lepasalu at the finish line. Author: Adam Illingworth.

All the results of the 25th Tartu MTB Marathon can be found HERE.

 

According to preliminary data, 3680 riders registered for today's three distances (89, 40 and 21 km).

 

The kids races of the 25th Tartu MTB Marathon took place on Saturday in Tartu Tähtvere Sports Park with a total of 1300 little cyclists.

 

The next competition in the Tartu Marathon Klassik series is the 11th Tartu City Marathon, which will take place on October 1st.