Cycling: The XC scene started the new season last weekend with the BMC Racing Cup. While some of the top riders were already getting into racing mode in Cyprus, this time world champion Julien Absalon was also at the start and promptly clinched his first victory in the rainbow jersey.
The BMC Racing Cup is held in high esteem by the European XC elite, so it came as no surprise that the entry list was peppered with some top-class athletes last weekend.
It was also he who should be on top of the podium in the Elite Heeren at the end of the day, but initially things weren't looking too good for the Frenchman. Plagued by an allergy, Absalon started weak and was only at the front of the chasing group in the first laps.
The tip showed up lively and with verve. This was led by his BMC teammate Ralph Näf, who started to stumble in the second lap and allowed Absalon to catch up. Together with Martin Fanger, Lars Forster and Reto Indergand he increased the pace at the front. With success: Forster and Indergand were quickly left behind and Martin Fanger was also unable to withstand Absalon's attack in the seventh of nine rounds. After a botched start, Absalon won 28 seconds ahead of Fanger and Forster. Lukas Flückiger was fourth, Moritz Milatz was the best German with sixth place.
Jolanda Neff had every reason to laugh. The Thalerin pulled away in the first of seven laps and gradually increased her lead, even after she supposedly lost it in the last three laps "Take some gas off" would have.
In the end, after 27,3 kilometers and 1:26:02 hours, there was a clear lead of 2:14 minutes over Esther Süss on the result tableau. "Of course it was perfect for me with such a start-to-finish victory", Neff recorded her sixth straight win in the BMC Racing Cup.
Esther Süss beamed at least as much as the winner. After the Cape Epic didn't go as she had hoped, she was a little unsure. And on Saturday she still didn't have a particularly good feeling.
“I was nervous and yesterday my legs were tired. I thought it wouldn't work. But this morning the physio said my legs are fine. Then I thought, just drive off. I'm really happy that it went so well.", said Esther Suss.
She was in second place for the entire duration of the race and did not let the three-time Olympic medalist Sabine Spitz get close. The 3-year-old German was 31:43 minutes behind. After her first MTB race of the current season, however, she was very satisfied.