Anita Yvonne Stenberg (29 years old) was the all-time best in the ten kilometer “zero” race during the European Championships in Munich.
– It was totally insane. Stenberg tells NRK that it’s been a dream for many years, but the level is getting higher and higher.
The cyclist, who earned a number of NM medals from the track, succeeded in the ten kilometer zero race and beat Britain’s Jessica Roberts and Poland’s Nikola Wielowska in the battle for the gold medal.
With the race victory won by the first rider to the finish line after a combined ten kilometer start, the 29-year-old from Drammen took home his first international gold.
Before, Stenberg took the WC bronze from 2020. That came in a points sprint exercise.
– I can hardly understand that I managed it. I’ve had this gut feeling so many times that I didn’t trust it. Then things got worse. I just had to trust it, it either works or it doesn’t. I had the perfect legs and timing,” Steenberg tells State Channel.
Stenberg’s gold comes 50 years after Knut Knudsen rode Olympic gold in the same venue during the championship pursuit. Previously, Norwegian cyclist May Brett Valland won the bronze medal in the track race from the 1995 World Cup.
Friday’s “Zero” race is part of EC Week that takes place in the German city from August 11-21. Next week, among others, Karsten Warholm and the rest of the athletes will compete in their competitions.
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