Flückiger’s brilliant chase ends deservedly on the podium.
In Val di Sole, Italy, the mountain bike races over the Olympic distance took place on Sunday. The World Cup, which took place in dusty conditions, ended with Mathias Flückiger’s excellent second place and solid results from Keller, Forster and Wiedmann.
Mathias Flückiger continues the upward trend within his season and ended up in second place at the fourth World Cup race. Despite his good starting position on the front row, he was unable to establish himself at the front at the beginning of the race and subsequently had to “plough” his way through a large part of the field. “I didn’t get away well at the start. But after that I kept my nerves in check and just concentrated on the next overtaking manoeuvre,” he said in the finish interview. He will now use the upcoming race break to analyse and prepare for the upcoming World Championships, he added. The race was won by Nino Schurter and European champion Dascalu (RO) placed third on the podium. Lars Forster was also in the top 10 in ninth place.
Keller in at the start
In the women’s race, Alessandra Keller started furiously as usual and was among the front runners. After her cold, however, she did not have enough strength to keep up with the world’s best mountain bikers for the whole race. The technically demanding course finally took its toll. Therefore, the eleventh place can be considered a positive result. “I’m certainly not completely satisfied with the result, but I gave it my all and was among the front runners for a long time,” said Keller after the race. On the podium were Pieterse (NL), Berta (IT) and Henderson (AUS).
Team manager is satisfied
For team boss Ralph Näf it was a successful weekend. “Mathias Flückiger made a step forward again and Lars Forster rode into the top 10 again at the end of his intensive race block. Vital Albin is back from a slight cold and kept up well at the beginning. His offensive riding was unfortunately not rewarded, but he gave it his all.” Alessandra Keller had been in bed completely for the week and the performance on Friday and today deserved extra praise, he continued. “Luke Wiedmann also came back strongly after a crash in the race and placed in the top ten. We are looking forward to the upcoming race break but are already looking forward to the second half of the season!”
Photo: Maxime Schmid