MTB cycling: So it's possible: At the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Lenzerheide, the weather was at its best! Around 18.000 spectators experienced cycling at the highest level along the downhill and cross-country route. The Swiss local heroes Jolanda Neff and Nino Schurter gave the many local spectators a lot of reason to celebrate.
At the fourth Cross-Country World Cup of the year, the elite men expected eight challenging race laps with a total of 32,5 kilometers. But it wasn't just the track that placed very high demands on the drivers, but also the heat. After a less than perfect start, Nino Schurter didn't look like a win at first. Last year's leading winner, Jaroslav Kulhavy from the Czech Republic, suffered a flat tire in the third lap, which Schurter used to change the lead. The Swiss clinched his third World Cup victory of the season unchallenged. Julien Absalon from France caused excitement as he overtook his compatriot Maxime Marotte, who had been in second place up to that point, and thus relegated him to third place. “I had a moment of shock at the start. I wasn't pedaling properly and I was scared that it would take too much effort to get to the front. But somehow I managed to do it. It's cool to win in front of a home crowd – a great feeling!” Nino Schurter commented happily on his home win.
The elite women did not have eight but seven laps with a total length of 28,4 kilometers on the program. The race was characterized by several lead changes and the fall of Canadian Catharine Pendrel, who went down in a root passage in the "Heidi's Hell" section. The action was determined by the newly crowned XCO World Champion Annika Langvad from Sweden, the Swiss Jolanda Neff and the new U23 XCO World Champion Jenny Rissveds from Sweden, who showed staying power at the end. The Swede thus surprisingly got the victory in front of Annika Langvad and Jolanda Neff, who was enthusiastically celebrated by her home fans. “The course in Lenzerheide is really fun, it's very intense and it's extremely important to keep up the pace. I still can't believe that I was able to achieve my first World Cup victory in this category here today,” summed up the 22-year-old winner.