Mountain Biking in Nove Mesto – Basement and Free Ride to start the race on the short podium – Sport

• The Mountain Bike World Cup season has started successfully for the Swiss team.
• Alessandra Keeler (2nd) and Senna Fry (3rd) finished on the podium in the short track race in Nove Mesto (Czechoslovakia).
• For the men, only Matthias Fluckegger (4th) and Nino Schurter (5th) are empty-handed.
• Cross-country races (live on SRF) in the Czech Republic continue on Sunday.

After a break of 8 months, the Mountain Bike Pro World Cup season has started again – and it has been a huge success, especially for the Swiss women. In the short course, two Swiss women took the podium.

The short race, which lasted only about 20 minutes, was a close tactical affair. Last year’s World Cup winner Alessandra Keeler started on pole and was always involved in rainy Nove Mesto. She entered the final corner as the leader, but was beaten in the sprint by the upset Laura Steiger. Thanks to the final sprint, the Austrian celebrated her first World Cup victory.

However, Keller was content with second place – especially since the Nidwalden native was able to celebrate on the podium with teammate Senna Frey. The woman from Zurich, who was the first short track world champion in 2021, finished third behind Keeler 3.

Last year’s winner, Yolanda Neff, was ranked ninth, with Linda Indergrand (11th) and Nicole Koller (12th) plus Steffi Haeberlin (14th), three other Swiss women just missing out on the top ten.

Outstanding Olympic champion Thomas Pidcock took the win. The Briton, who until recently was successful on the road as usual, has worked his way from the back of the field to the front of the paddock. World Champion Samuel Gaze (2nd/NZL) and short track specialist Luca Schwarzbauer (3rd/Gear) couldn’t keep up with their last soccer game.

With Lars Forster (10), Vital Albin (14) and Marcel Guerini (17), the other Swiss were among the top 20 in the Czech Republic on Sunday.