Just like his teammate Gerben Mos last year Tim Smeenge also finished second in the Helterittet mountainbike marathon in Norwegian city Rjukan. Smeenge rode a strong race in which he was already soon leading together with Lars Granberg from Norway. Both men were more or less equally strong and stayed together for a decisive sprint in which Granberg appeared to be the fastest. 
‘Right from the start after the neutral zone I set the pace in the first climb and saw a lot of men could not follow. In the second part of the climb it was Granberg and me who formed a leading couple. We worked well together doing both our share of the work in front and in the second climb we managed to extend our lead. We were both not able to get rid of each other so had to sprint for victory in which I was just beaten.’, stated Smeenge.