Keller and Wiedmann strong again at the end of the season
Alessandra Keller achieved another strong 5th place at the XCO World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Can) at the end of the season. U23 rider Luke Wiedmann also impressed, finishing in 4th place, bringing Team Thömus maxon to the end of a successful 2024 with no fewer than 19 victories, 2 overall World Cup wins, 18 podium places, 2 Olympic diplomas, 2 Swiss Champion titles and a European Championship medal.
Alessandra Keller was able to go into the start without any pressure, having already won the overall XCO World Cup. She transferred this relaxed attitude to the challenging course as usual. The 28-year-old showed a very solid race with super pacing and a great fighter’s heart. Keller finished in a strong fifth place and once again climbed onto the World Cup podium.
Keller: “Proud of the whole team”
After the race, Keller particularly highlighted the performance of the whole team: “I’m extremely proud. Proud above all of the whole team. Whether team manager, mechanic, physio or any other important role in the team: everyone gave their all in every single race, just like me. I am therefore very happy to have won the double for the second time since 2022. This is also a reward for the whole team.”
Wiedmann with an improved run
Luke Wiedmann got off to a slow start in the U23 race and was only in 17th place after the start lap. However, he found his rhythm and made up position after position from lap to lap. By the halfway point of the race, Wiedmann was in 6th place and was able to make up another two places by the finish. The 4th place was an excellent result at the end of the season.
Not a good day for Flückiger and Forster
Things went less well for the rest of the team. After a strong fourth place in the short track, Lars Forster was extremely motivated. However, Forster was unable to build on his performance from friday and finished in 22nd place. Meanwhile, Mathias Flückiger went into the race with a cold. He was nevertheless motivated and gave it a go. However, Flückiger really had to suffer, but fought his way through and finished in 23rd place.
Vital Albin did not even compete because he had not recovered enough from a cold and his concussion. This marks the end of an “epidemic year” for Albin.
Näf: “Proud of major international successes and consistency”
Even if the results on the last race day of the season could have been better, team manager Ralph Näf highlighted many positive points from the 2024 season: “We were right at the front of the World Cup again this year. After Alessandra’s double in 2022, we won the men’s team classification last season. And now, for the third year in a row, with Alessandra’s two overall victories, we are once again right at the top of the World Cup. We have celebrated successes throughout the season with the whole squad. There is hardly any other team internationally that can demonstrate such breadth and consistency over several years. We can be proud of that,” said Näf, extremely satisfied with his team’s success.