After six rounds held since February, the Final of the 2023 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup took place in Zlín, Czechia, on 25 November. Patrick Schnetzer and Stefan Feurstein took the win and claimed their third consecutive overall UCI World Cup victory.
The Austrians, bronze medallists in the UCI World Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland, beat Germans Sven Holland-Moritz and Marius Hermanns (RSC Schiefbahn) 4:3 in the final in Zlín. As well as receiving their third UCI World Cup trophy as a pair, it was Schnetzer’s ninth overall success – with different partners - in the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup. Since 2016, no other nation except Austria, always with Schnetzer as goalkeeper, has been able to win this UCI title, which has been awarded since 2002.
Several German teams were set on breaking the Austrian dominance at the weekend, not least reigning UCI World Champions Andre Kopp and Raphael Kopp, determined to bring the overall victory back to Germany after 12 years. Their hopes were dashed as the duo from RV Obernfeld - third in 2017, 2019 and 2022, and playing their last tournament together – were forced to retire when Andre Kopp suffered a broken nose in the first game of the day.
Two other German teams, former UCI World Champions RMC Stein (Gerhard and Bernd Mlady) and Schiefbahn, emerged victorious in the preliminary round. But neither could stem Dornbirn’s winning streak.
In the semi-finals, RSC Schiefbahn had beaten RMV Mosnang/SUI (Björn Vogel/ Rafael Artho) 4-3, while Dornbirn defeated long-time rivals the Mladys from RMC Stein, 6-4.
Mlady cousins bow out fighting
The Mlady cousins won the match for third place in their last competitive game together, 10:3 against Mosnang. After three tournament victories this season and as the leaders in the UCI World Cup ranking going into the Final in Zlín, Mlady/Mlady were competing in their ninth, and last, UCI World Cup Final. The two-time UCI World Champions and reigning German Champions add a third place to their two second places in UCI Cycle-ball World Cup Finals during their career together. Goalkeeper Gerhard is retiring from competition, and next year Bernd Mlady will compete with Raphael Kopp from Obernfeld.