“I felt like having a cold shower would help“, Ramona Forchini said with smile. A shower during the race of course – temperatures around 30 degrees centigrade didn’t make it easy. Forchini was leading a group of five in the first two laps before she faded slightly. She pointed out that she had to suffer a lot before she could recover and find her rhythm again. With a strong final Forchini could gain a few spots and finish in seventh place.

Lisi Osl had a good start riding within the top positions on the first climb but then lost a few spots going into the first single track. Osl said, “I’m just not an aggresive rider“. After the first descent she could find a good rhythm and with a strong and steady pace throughout the race she could finish in eleventh. Osl mentioned that compared to the world cup in Nove Mesto it was a good race which gives her confidence and motivation for the second half of the season.

After a horrible crash right after the start in Nove Mesto, Lara Krähemann was happy that everything worked out fine this time and she got through the first sections safe. A long race made her suffer towards the end but she was happy to finish the race in 17th place.

Men Elite: Thomas Litscher with bad luck
The elite men’s race saw Thomas Litscher in the lead with an impressive first lap. He was riding inside the top eight with a small gap to the leading group before technical problems and a resulting crash made him quit the race. Litscher said, “Such a shame, i felt really strong today. Unfortunately i had to quit due to technical Problems that couldn’t be fixed.“

Teammate Max Foidl was right on his wheel when things went wrong for Litscher. He was riding inside the top ten for six out of seven laps but couldn’t maintain his high pace in the final. Foidl said, “A top ten finish would have been nice, but going into the last lap i had nothing left. After a disastrous race in Nove Mesto i felt strong again today which makes me happy.“ He crossed the line in 12th with a 2:07min gap.
 

U23: Fabio Püntener in 12th
Fabio Püntener found himself inside the top 15 after the first lap and lost a few positions half way through the race. He then recovered from his fast start and managed to ride back to a strong 12th place finish.

Jorin Gabriel had some troubles right at the start and found himself in a big pile-up in the first descent which resulted in a bent rear derraileur-hanger. Going into the second lap he felt like his legs opened up and he could ride back to 24th place, which he was happy about.

Nico Eichenberger had a hard crash and finished the race in 58th.

Lars Kämmlein got an 80th place in the junior mens race. 

Pictures in the Galerie