Exciting races with three top ten finishes
The premiere on the World Cup track in Lake Placid (USA) was characterised by very exciting races. The Thömus maxon team was at the forefront at all times. While Mathias Flückiger fought for victory right up to the last few metres, Alessandra Keller put herself in an excellent position in the battle for the overall World Cup with a solid run.
In the men’s race, Mathias Flückiger and Lars Forster did not start from the front ranks for once after yesterday’s short race. Nevertheless, team leader Flückiger quickly made his way into the leading group and established himself there. While the race lead changed hands, he skilfully exploited the slipstream of the other riders for a long time and saved valuable energy. As a result, he managed to stay in contention for the stage win until the end. In the final sprint, however, he had to admit defeat to the others and finished the race in a formidable fifth place.
Flückiger and Forster in the top ten
Lars Forster also rode very actively and thanks to a very strong performance, finished in a good tenth place. Only 50 seconds behind the French winner, Victor Koretzky, who defeated Alan Hatherly (RSA) and Filipo Colombo at the finish line.
Keller with a smart race
Alessandra Keller started the race over the Olympic distance as the newly crowned XCC World Cup winner. She skilfully rode at her own pace throughout the race and did not let the individual attacks from the competition put her off. Fabian Giger, co-team manager of Thömus maxon, reported halfway through the race that Keller was right on schedule and that they did not want to ‘overpace’ at the start of the race. Keller took Giger’s calls from the side of the track to heart and continued her laps undeterred. For once, she did not intervene in the battle for the day’s classification, but showed the calculation of a great champion and kept the big goal of the season in mind.
While Laura Stigger (AUT) won the race ahead of Sina Frei (CH) and Loana Lecompte (FR), Alessandra Keller finished ninth in the race in Lake Placid (USA). She now heads to next weekend’s World Cup final in Mont Saint Anne, Canada, with a solid lead of 322 points.