Keller wins overall World Cup for the second time
Early on, Alessandra Keller has won the overall World Cup in cross country for the second time in her career. As she did in 2022, she has thus clinched the double: the overall and XCC discipline rankings. Lars Forster showed his excellent late season form in the men’s race and finished a strong fourth.
What was almost certain before the race is now official: Alessandra Keller is the overall World Cup winner for the second time since 2022. A 34th place would have been enough for the athlete from Nidwalden to secure the title of best female athlete of the year early and under her own steam in the penultimate race of the season. The 28-year-old achieved this without any problems, racing to a controlled 8th place.
“Winning the double again makes me very happy”
Only in the last of the 9 laps were three riders able to pull away slightly. Among them was Sina Frei, who took her second XCC victory in a row – ahead of France’s Loana Lecomte and Britain’s Evie Richards. Alessandra Keller took 8th place and was very satisfied at the finish: “It was very hectic and I felt okay today, but not great. I’m very proud of the overall World Cup win. The fact that I managed to do the double again after 2022 makes me very happy. Overall, it was a very good year, but I still see things that I can improve on in the future.”
Forster strong and only just missed the podium
Lars Forster put in an excellent performance in the men’s race. He rode focused, attentive and stayed around 10th place for a long time. Towards the end of the race, the two-time European champion released some energy, pushed himself further forward and finished in a very strong 4th place. Luke Wiedmann, in the U23 XCC, had already finished 6th on Thursday, while Mathias Flückiger pulled out of the race early to rest up for Sunday.