Vital Albin wins overall ranking of the Swiss Bike Cup
For the second time in a row Vital Albin won the overall ranking of the CIC ON Swiss Bike Cup, the traditional Swiss race series. A fourth place in the final race in Gstaad was enough for Albin to put on the red jersey of the overall winner. At the same time, Alessandra Keller competed in the test event for the Olympic Games in Paris and gained valuable experience in view of the big goal next year.
The race in Gstaad started extremely fast. Filippo Colombo, Marcel Guerrini (both Sui) and the German champion Maximilian Brandl broke away already in the first lap. Vital Albin missed this post departure in the start phase. As he was about to close the gap, he made mistake on a descent; Albin caught a sharp stone on his rear wheel and had to go to the tech zone.
“Reward for consistency and good results”
The fight for the day’s victory was already lost. But Albin started to catch up and rode from eighth place to fourth place on the podium. The 25-year-old thus won the overall ranking of the Swiss Bike Cup for the second time. “I am happy that I succeeded in defending the title in the overall standings despite the self-inflicted defect. Winning the overall of a series is always a nice reward for consistency and good results over a whole season,” Albin summed up with satisfaction after the award ceremony.
Keller gains important experience in Paris
Meanwhile, Alessandra Keller competed in the test event for the Summer Olympics in Paris. The current three-time Swiss champion in cyclo-cross, short track and cross country started optimally and was in the lead with Loana Lecomte (Fra). This was until the Frenchwoman pushed Alessandra Keller into the balustrade at the highest point of the course in a close duel. Keller crashed, damaged the derailleur and as a result she subsequently had problems in an uphill rock garden and got a flat tire – just after the tech zone. The race for a top spot was over for Keller.
Nevertheless, Alessandra Keller drew an extremely positive conclusion: “I gathered a lot of information, was able to take a close look at the course and can take a lot with me for the coming months and the preparation until Paris.”
Focus on overseas for Flückiger and Forster
Mathias Flückiger and Lars Forster decided not to take part in the test event because they wanted to recharge their batteries after an intense summer block and prepare perfectly for the two final World Cups of the season in the USA and Canada.