After three days of biking Tim Smeenge finished unsuspected at the fifth place in Austrian stage race Zillertal Bike Challenge. The start was in Fügen and via Zell am Ziller and Mayrhofen the race ended on the Hintertuxer Gletscher today. The riders had to conquer 9100 altimeters in three days and faced rain in the first stage. Smeenge just started the second half of his season with two cross country races after a period of rest and hadn’t expected to be so much in front already behind German winner Markus Kaufman.
‘After a good pre season I decided with my coach Johan Boonstra to have some rest and I just started racing again. This race here in Austria was characterized by some extreme long climbs. Yesterday we had to climb 18 kilometers and to gain 1900 altimeters right from the start in Zell am Ziller. In all the stages I finished at sixth place which brought me to fifth place in General Classification which I hadn’t expected beforehand.’, stated a satisfied Smeenge.