Impressive World Cup victory for Alessandra Keller
Alessandra Keller from Team Thömus maxon has won the XCC World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě in the Czech Republic. It was the fifth World Cup victory of her career for the 28-year-old Keller. She thus took the lead in the overall discipline standings. U23 rider Luke Wiedmann also impressed: third in the short track and fourth in the XCO race.
The start to the World Cup classic in Nové Město could not have gone better. After Luke Wiedmann proved his excellent form in the short track on Friday evening and took third place in the U23 race, Alessandra Keller followed up on Saturday.
Victory after a successful attack
With an attack on the second-to-last lap, Keller was able to open up a gap and then pulled through to the finish without any ifs or buts. Keller thus relegated the reigning world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) and Haley Batten (USA) to the other podium places.
Alessandra Keller was beaming with satisfaction at the finish: “I had watched the U23 races beforehand and knew that it would be very hectic. The plan was to attack on the second last lap. When I had the gap, I just went all out.” Keller added with a laugh: “It was a tough last lap, but it was worth it for this win.” Keller’s victory was the first World Cup win on the new Thömus Lightrider R3 Worldcup.
Wiedmann doubles up
The XCO race was already on the program for Luke Wiedmann on Saturday afternoon. The European Championship silver medallist confirmed his excellent form. After 3rd place in the XCC, Wiedmann achieved 4th place in the XCO. An extremely successful weekend for the U23 crack from Thömus maxon.
Lars Forster achieved a good 13th place in the men’s short track and will therefore start from the second row tomorrow Sunday. While Vital Albin returned to the race after a break in 37th place, Mathias Flückiger decided not to start in the XCC.