Mixed feelings after the short track
The short track at the home World Cup in Lenzerheide was a mixed bag for the Thömus maxon quartet. Alessandra Keller secured a starting place in the front row for Sunday with her 6th place finish. In the men’s race, Vital Albin delivered a positive surprise.
Wearing the rainbow jersey for the first time and riding her special World Championship bike, Alessandra Keller was alert from the start. However, she was never able to establish herself at the front of the bunch. The XCC World Champion fought for third place on the podium until the final lap. In the end, she finished sixth, achieving her minimum goal: a place on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s XCO race.
Mathias Flückiger and Lars Forster got off to a good start in the men’s race. While Forster fell back due to technical problems, Flückiger’s legs weren’t turning as he would have liked. And then suddenly Vital Albin was there, fighting for a place at the front! After a brilliant comeback, Albin established himself in the top 10 in the last third of the race and later even moved up into the top five. In the penultimate lap, Albin seemed to fly, spurred on by the home crowd.
«Too many mistakes»
But at the highest point of the track, he got stuck and fell back slightly. «Too many mistakes in the last two laps,» as Albin noted after the race, cost him a starting place in the front row. Vital Albin finished the XCC race in 11th place. Mathias Flückiger followed in 29th position, Lars Forster in 33rd.
Team boss Ralph Näf commented: «That’s short track. Everything is so close together. It didn’t work out for us this time. But we’re ready for the big highlight on Sunday.»