E.ON Golden Ski 2005 - 2006

Cross-country skiers came to Nové Město to compete in further race of the World cup cross-country series. The attractive event was attended by nearly 20 thousand of spectators. Kateřina Neumannová from the Czech Republic, has won the 10km freestyle event of the 68th E.ON Golden Ski, ahead of Yulia Tchepalova from Russia and Valentina Shevchenko from Ukraine.

Lukáš Bauer was close to repeating Neumannová's victory in the men's race. However, thirteen kilometers into the race, it started to be apparent that he wouldn't succeed, because the winner of the last Golden Ski Vincent Vittoz simply didn't allow him to. Bauer's second place finish was nevertheless awarded a thunderous ovation by fans. Another member of the Czech national team, Milan Šperl, also managed a good result, finishing 9th, 1:04.5 sec. behind the winner. To round off the pleasant results, Jiří Magál finished 16th. Dušan Kožíšek, who had a great day during yesterday's sprints, finished 39th and Aleš Razym finished 40th. They too deserve applause.

After the races, six of the best women and men athletes in this year of the Golden Ski women's 10 km freestyle and men's 15 km freestyle cross-country races in Nové Město na Moravě took part in a traditional press conference.

Kateřina Neumannová: "Of course I was thinking of victory on the home ground. I have practised enough, yet, I perceived Tchepalova and Smigun as keen competition. In the middle of the track I was up by nine seconds before Tchepalova but my coach Stanislav Frühauf told me the difference was only three seconds. I got scared and started to do my best. The end of the race was cool."

Julija Tchepalova (second place - Russia): "I am not surprised at Kateřina’s victory. I was perceiving her as a possible victory candidate before the race. She is a very strong competitor, especially on the home ground and on this track. I am totally happy about the the second place. I did not pay attention to chilly weather, the conditions were even worse in Canada."

Valentina Ševčenko (third place - Ukraine): "I reached the medal position for the first time in my career. I had problems with my knee and asthma last season, that is why the results were not so satisfactory. Today, I was at my ease. This track was difficult but it fully met my requirements."

Vincent Vittoz (winner - France): "The last year first place defence is the best present towards the end of the year. Both the track and the spectators in Nové Město suit me very well. I feel like being at home and this kind of background cannot be found in any other World Cup race. I knew well about the tough combat with Bauer, I had the advantage of being fully informed about his time."

Lukáš Bauer (second place): "I am absolutely satisfied. Before the beginning of the race I was quite uncertain about my performance and I was pleasantly surprised by the result. I had a hunch that this race could turn out well for me from its beginning. This suspicion was supported by the meantime where I was three kilometers ahead. It is a pity, though, that I did not succeed in copying Kateřina Neumannová. It would be a wonderful result – two Czechs at the highest position."

Christian Hoffmann (third position - Austria): "I had a slow start, I was very soon caught up by Bauer, who got on the track thirty seconds after me. He helped me that way because we could better dictate the pace. I would appreciate wonderful specator background. I have never experienced so many cheering people who were pushing us forward during any World Cup."