MTB cycling: In front of a great backdrop with more than 10.000 spectators, Nino Schurter was able to prevail against Julian Absalon in a hot sprint duel at the XCO UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Albstadt on Sunday. In the women's category, Annika Langvad crossed the finish line safely as the fastest rider. Sabine Spitz took an excellent fourth place.
As expected, it was the big show from Nino Schurter (Scott-Odlo) and Julien Absalon (BMC Mountainbike Racing). A gripping duel that should ensure maximum suspense up to the finish line. The time difference to third-placed Maxime Marotte (BH-SR Suntour-KMC) from France alone shows the high level at which the world champion and the Frenchman drove yesterday: In the end, there was a gap of an impressive 55 seconds between places two and three! For the Swiss it was the 19th World Cup victory.
“It was a great race and I felt very good. With the attacks that Absalon made, I never had to go to the limit,” explained the world champion after the race, “Victories like this are the most fun”. Absalon was correspondingly disappointed: “It was an opportunity to beat Nino in the sprint. I tried to get away on the last climb, but it didn't work." German men's hopes in the person of Manuel Fumic were dampened by a previous infection suffered by the Cannondale Factory Racing XC Team rider. Unfortunately, yesterday's Sunday was not in full possession of his ability to perform better than 20th place.
For the women, it became a one-woman show in Albstadt. Annika Langvad (Specialized Racing) doesn't seem to be skipping a beat at this year's XCO UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. With two World Cup victories in 2016 – even the third World Cup win in a row across the seasons – the Dane is further expanding her lead in the overall standings. The Swiss Linda Indergand (Focus XC Team) took the lead in the first lap, but Langvad was able to neutralize the lead in the first complete lap. The Dane set a very high pace and gained a lead of over two minutes by the penultimate lap.
In the final lap, Annika Langvad drove to safety so as not to further jeopardize her victory. With a lead of 1:25 minutes, she relegated Jenny Rissveds of Sweden to second place. Third was Catharine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team) from Canada. Very gratifying from a German point of view was the very good performance of Sabine Spitz in fourth place and Schönaich's Elisabeth Brandau in seventh place, who was able to break the Olympic standard for the first time. Two other German women also made it into the top 15 at the XCO UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Albstadt: Helen Grobert (Ghost Factory Racing) in 11th place and Adelheid Morath (BH-SR Suntour-KMC) in 13th place.
The third round of the XCO UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will take place in La Bresse, France, next weekend. For the downhill riders it will be on 04./05. June in Fort William (Great Britain) serious again.