Keller dominates in Huttwil – Podium finishes for Albin and Halter
The sixth round of the Škoda Swiss Bike Cup at Bike Village Huttwil ended with an impressive victory by Alessandra Keller. The rider of Team Thömus maxon prevailed confidently despite a crash and won by a margin of just under two minutes. While Vital Albin secured a strong second-place finish in the men’s race, Monique Halter provided another highlight with her third-place finish in the Elite category.
Early in the race, Alessandra Keller took the lead alongside Nicole Koller. On the second lap, Keller was just a few seconds ahead of her rival when she crashed. However, the setback did not throw Keller off her game.
She fought her way back to the front and pulled decisively away from Koller halfway through the race. Lap after lap, she extended her lead and finally crossed the finish line as the clear winner with a lead of nearly two minutes.
“I’ve shown that I’m still in excellent shape”
“After the disappointment at the World Championships, I showed today that I’m still in excellent form and can look forward with confidence to the last two World Cups overseas. I didn’t let the crash—or the misaligned handlebars and saddle—throw me off my game. It was a great victory in front of a fantastic crowd,” Keller said after the race.
Monique Halter makes a strong elite debut
Monique Halter, the reigning XCC U23 world champion, decided to compete in the elite category for the first time in Huttwil—and was rewarded for this move with a podium finish.
Halter got off to a strong start and initially settled into sixth and seventh place. Lap after lap, she continued to work her way up the field. On the second-to-last lap, she caught up to the rider in third place and was eventually able to pass her. With a third-place finish, Halter celebrated a strong elite debut and once again underscored her great potential.
Albin battles for victory – Flückiger stopped by a broken chain
The men’s field also started at a fast pace right from the beginning. The Thömus-maxon trio of Mathias Flückiger, Vital Albin, and Lars Forster was right in the thick of the action and at the front from the start.
But as early as the second lap, Mathias Flückiger was slowed down by a mechanical issue: a broken chain dropped him all the way back to second-to-last place. While Flückiger then set out on a comeback, Lars Forster could no longer keep up with the high pace at the front and had to pay the price for his fast start.
That left it up to Vital Albin to fight for the win. Together with Fabio Püntener and Luca Schätti, he dictated the pace at the front of the race. Püntener ultimately proved to be the strongest and secured the victory. Albin put in a strong performance and finished second on the podium. Lars Forster finished in ninth place, while Mathias Flückiger fought his way back to 19th place. Thömus maxon also won the award for the best team of the day.