Time trial

Christina Schweinberger takes bronze at the European Cycling Championships

Christina Schweinberger(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Christina Schweinberger won the bronze medal at the European Cycling Championships in Hasselt, Belgium, on Wednesday. 

In the time trial from Heusden-Zolder over 31.3 km to Hasselt, the 27-year-old Tyrolean was only beaten by local hero Lotte Kopecky and Ellen van Dijk from the Netherlands (+43.60 seconds). She had also achieved this feat last year with World Championship bronze and European Championship bronze in the battle against the clock. In the end, she was 1:02.97 minutes short of gold.

The 2021 Olympic time trial champion in Tokyo, Anna Kiesenhofer, was the second Austrian in the field in tenth place. "Of course, you always aim for more, but Kopecky was in a different league. I'm happy with my performance," said Schweinberger. Last year, she only had something to gain. "Everything was a surprise then. Of course, after the World Championships last year, I had already set my sights high for the European Championships, so that was an extra bonus. There were a lot of big goals this year with the Olympics, so the fact that I made it onto the podium again is really cool."

Schweinberger was the last to start the individual time trial with the number one back. And yet she didn't quite have the information advantage she had hoped for. "It was a bit difficult, the wind direction changed on the course. I went in a bit too fast at the start and lost more at the end."

"You always like to have a medal around your neck"
After her breakthrough season last year, the year of confirmation has not been the easiest for her. "I'm not riding as freely as I did last year, but the way I did the race, it feels more like that again." However, the podium place has brought confirmation in terms of results. "You always like to have a medal around your neck. It's also cool when you have even bigger goals for the future," said the Tyrolean, already unpacking her next goal. "I still have a few European Championships and World Championships to go, so maybe a silver or gold will come my way."