Rain ahead displaced Saturday's heat and provided excellent conditions for the races on round 6 of the CIC Swiss Bike Cup 2024, which presented mountain bike racing at its best.

For men, the leadership changed constantly. Ambitious Swiss Champion Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAMMTB Racing), Fabio Püntener (Bike Team Solothurn), Marcel Guerrini (BIXS Performance Race Team), the winner of Basel 2022, drove particularly actively.

It all came down to a decision in the sprint, with Colombo taking the initiative first, but Vital Albin starting at the right moment and pushing his way to the finish line in a heartbeat final ahead of Colombo, Püntener and Guerrini (all at the same time). A close decision behind it too: The Italians Andreas Emanule Vittone and Simone Avondetto finished fifth and sixth within a further seconds.

Vital Albin: Self-confidence through falling

Vital Albin (26), overall winner of the Swiss Bike Cup 2022 and 2023, who only really got going towards the end of this season, was even able to make a driving mistake including a fall. He quickly rejoined the leading group, which gave him additional self-confidence for the rest of the race. Albin was particularly happy at the finish line because he had not been able to win a race in the UCI Hors Category (HC) for two years.

Steffi Häberlin: Tactically mature performance

Steffi Häberlin also claimed her first ever HC victory in Basel in a very dynamic women's race, which not only delighted her but also made her easier. “Finally!” , was their first reaction at the finish line. At the same time, a tactically mature performance boosted her confidence for the World Cup in Andorra.

The 26-year-old medical student from Thurgau made the race extremely exciting, as she only prevailed in the final spurt just ahead of Italian Giada Specia (WILIER — Vittoria Factory Team XCO). German Leonie Daubermann was third (+ 0:01 sec.), fourth was Arlesheimer Seraina Leugger from the BIXS Performance Race Team (+ 0:17 sec.), who would have liked to win the home. Leugger had always been in the leading group of five, but then had to be demolished in the last lap.

U23: Close decisions

The decision was also very close in the men's U23 category, who went on to the last lap in a pack of eight: The first six drivers crossed the finish line within just two seconds. The podium was consistently internationally staffed by Swedish Oscar Lind (Allebike Factory Team), Frenchman Athys Bedini (Ornans Superior) and Italian Elian Paccagnella (WILIER — Vittoria Factory TeamXCO).

In the U23 women's race, Italian Sara Cortinovis (Centro Sportivo Esercito) also won the final sprint ahead of German Kaya Pfau (Team KS Bikeshop Freiburg) and Frenchwoman Tatiana Tournut (AS bike racing). Chiara Soler (Thömus Akros Youngstars) was the best Swiss in 6th place.

UCI Juniors series: 12 nations - high power density

The field of juniors with participants from twelve nations was characterized by high power density, which resulted in a highly exciting and at times open race: The decision between Frenchman Janis Rouffiac and Fabrice Walser (KA BOOM Krapf) ahead of Luca Nascarella (Bike Team Solothurn) was just as close as that. Among the juniors, Chiara Mettier (Thömus Akros — Youngstars) won without discussion ahead of Noémie Gret (TEAM VTT Papival ScottGrand Raid BCVS) and Sereina Hosner (Bike Team Solothurn).

Final on Lenzerheide

The next and last CIC Swiss Bike Cup race this season will take place on September 21 and 22 in Lenzerheide. The Bike Kingdom is the largest mountain bike region in Grisons and one of the best MTB spots in Switzerland.

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