Cycling: The elite of the mountain bike scene are currently overseas for rounds five and six of this year's World Cup season. Nino Schurter had the current leader Julien Absalon completely under control and dominated the race. Jolanda Neff, like Schurter, was the dominant force at Mont Saint-Anne and secured another win.
The traditional World Cup resort of Mont Saint-Anne on the east coast of Canada saw another dominating Nino Schurter yesterday, Sunday. On the nearly 30-kilometre route, the fast Swiss driver led the field from the start. Probably his biggest rival and currently World Cup leader Julien Absalon got off to a weak start and initially fell far behind. With a lot of effort he worked his way back to Schurter's rear wheel and together they formed the leading duo. Behind them, the two Flückiger brothers and Daniel McConnel, who later prevailed and finished third, fought in a somewhat larger group of pursuers.
Meanwhile, Schurter launched his attack on the penultimate lap. Shortly before, he fell on Absalon's rear wheel, but didn't let that throw him off his rhythm. At the beginning of the sixth lap he pushed away the first steep ramp and pulled away. In the downhill that followed, he widened the gap and triumphed a short time later with a lead of almost 16 seconds.
Absalon is still the leader of the World Cup. With almost 260 points ahead of Schurter, he is comfortably at the front. If he performs consistently well in Windham next weekend and in Meribel, he will secure overall victory.
Jolanda Neff continued her triumphal march in Mont Saint-Anne. In an impressive manner, she clinched a start-to-finish victory and downright outclassed her competitors. A little more than a minute behind, Cathrine pendulum took second place in front of the home crowd. Katerina Nsh completed the podium in third place.
For Sabine Spitz, the race went rather suboptimal. Right at the start of the race she slipped and lost valuable places. After a long race to catch up, she finishes in ninth place,
There is a replay of the race HERE.