Almost out of nowhere he appeared, like a jaguar leaping out of the thicket of the South American jungle and snatching his prey. Just as surprising, powerful and determined, he took the victory of the 2018 Marathon World Championship in the Dolomites. What is the success story behind this exceptional Brazilian athlete and what sets him apart?
by Bruno & Rolf Fleckenstein
On September 14, 2018, the World Cross Country Marathon (XCM) Championship was held in Auronzo di Cadore, Italy, located south of the Three Peaks Nature Park and about 35 km east of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Participants were sent to race on a 102km course in the Dolomites, 7% of which was on paved mountain roads. The rest of the course was over many stony trails of the high mountains, some of them very steep, which meant that at some sections the participants had to get off their bikes and push their mountain bikes in front of them in order to move forward. Hector Paez Leon from Colombia tried to break away in the last section of the race. Daniel Geismayr from Austria and Henrique Avancini from Brazil were the only ones who managed to follow him. The group of three stayed together until the end. Henrique Avancini had waited a long time for his chance before he pushed at the right moment to take the lead and keep his two opponents at bay. 250 meters before the finish he set off for the final sprint. Daniel Geismayr was still able to follow him, but had nothing more to offer the first Brazilian winner in this discipline. Henrique Avancini was overwhelmed by his success and moved to tears. In the winner's interview afterwards, he said: "I don't know what to say. It's incredible for me to win here in Italy, in the country where my career as a professional cyclist began."
"It's incredible to win the world championship title in Italy, in the country where my career began"
While Geismayr and Paez Leon are regularly found at the top of the Marathon Series rankings, Avancini has so far tended to rank in the middle, between 22nd and 71st place. That's why the victory was somewhat surprising, after all he was rightly not considered the favorite. But in reality, the world title is a great goal, on which the super talent from Brazil worked hard all his life and after an almost endlessly long...
To read the full 8-page article, order the issue Sportguide Bike, 1/2019
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