After having won 13 world medals, 16 European podiums and 31 national titles, the South Tyrolean biker is about to end her brilliant career, and to compete at a high level again in this last season she chooses to ride with Merida mountain bikes.
Source: press release
The presentation which took place at the FSA Bike Festival Riva del Garda was also held in the presence of Gaia Tormena, fresh winner of the XCE World Cup in Barcelona.
Her debut in the blue jersey dates back to 2002 at the European Mountain Bike Championships in Zurich, where she won a splendid silver medal, a precursor to a career that would then see her as a protagonist in over 20 years of international competition. From that Swiss podium, Eva Lechner's palmares has filled up with numerous titles: 11 tricolor jerseys in the XCO discipline, three Italian titles in Marathon and XCE events, 11 successes in the national championships in cyclocross and to close the series of successes, the pearl of an Italian road cycling title in 2007 that demonstrates an innate eclecticism in the athlete from Alto Adige. A total of 31 national titles in the Junior, U23 and Elite categories.
To embellish a splendid career abroad also three world titles in the Team Relay and two silver medals in the individual XCO events. Eva's palmares also includes four victories in World Cup races in the Cross Country events to which must be added two cyclocross World Cup competitions. Counting all the podiums the sum is equal to 13 world medals and 16 European medals.
Naturally, in her CV as an athlete, Eva Lechner also highlights her four participations in the Olympic Games: Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021.
Today, now close to the end of her career, the bearer of the Army Sports Group born in 1985 enters the Merida team for one last competitive season at the top.
«Over two decades have passed since I started competing on bikes and if I look back I see a career with many satisfactions, even at an international level – comments Eva Lechner – and I am happy to join the Merida family, a brand that over the course of In my career I have often seen my strongest opponents chosen: so I am sure I made the right choice!
The Italian headquarters of the Taiwanese company has reserved the Ninety-Six full suspended and Big.Nine hardtail models for Eva Lechner, which the athlete from Alto Adige will choose to use based on the different competitions on her calendar, top-of-the-range solutions from Merida, equipped with Vision wheels, FSA handlebar-seatpost crankset, Vittoria tires, Shimano groupset, Andreani Öhlins suspensions and Prologo saddles. The debut took place on Friday 3 May at the Italian XCO Championship in Nervesa della Battaglia on the Montello trails and the subsequent third stage of the Internazionali d'Italia Series.
All this is what emerged from the meeting at the Merida stand on the occasion of the FSA Bike Festival in Riva del Garda: «We proposed to Eva to use our bikes and we were extremely pleased that she enthusiastically accepted our invitation: with her our parterre of ambassadors is enriched with considerable experience and prestige" commented Simone Maltagliati, marketing manager of Merida Italy.
Gaia Tormena, the world champion of once again at the top of the season world results. «I am very proud of my new bike: a unique version with the writing 'Forza' in gold to remind me of everything it takes to win» commented the Aosta Valley biker.
«Eva's entry into our family joins that which has already been underway for some time with Gaia Tormena - comments Gianluca Bonanomi, sales manager of Merida Italy - it is not just a question of a generational transition, but of an enrichment of witnesses who share the values of Merida: research into performance and quality of our proposals." Because Merida is Girl Power.
