Alessandra Keller shines in Les Gets
At the start of the second half of the MTB World Cup season in Les Gets, France, Alessandra Keller impressed with an excellent second place. In a close battle in the XCC, Keller was only beaten by European champion Jenny Rissveds (Swe).
Everything went according to plan from the start: a good start, joining the leading group and always attentive in the top positions. This is how Alessandra launched her comeback after a long break from racing. Due to the high pace, a leading group of six to eight riders soon formed.
Only Rissveds stronger
By the third-to-last lap, the Rissveds-Keller duo had already pulled away and continued to increase their lead. In the final lap, Rissveds was the strongest and won with a seven-second gap over the star of Team Thömus maxon. It was a perfect start for Alessandra Keller after a long break from racing – even if she narrowly missed out on her seventh XCC World Cup victory. With her fourth podium finish in a row in Les Gets, Keller reduced the gap in the XCC overall standings to just 40 points.
« I’m very happy with second place. I felt very strong until the third-to-last lap when Jenny attacked. But now I’m awake again after this long break from racing. I’m ready for Sunday,» Alessandra Keller summed up with a laugh.
Bad luck for Forster – second row for Flückiger and Albin
The men’s trio of Lars Forster, Mathias Flückiger, and Vital Albin put in a solid team performance. While Lars Forster took advantage of his good starting position and stayed in the front, Albin worked his way up from far behind, gaining position after position. Flückiger mostly stayed between 10th and 15th place.
But then bad luck struck Lars Forster, who fell and ended the race early, disappointed. Flückiger and Albin put in extremely solid performances. They finished in 14th and 16th place and will start from the second row on Sunday.