June 09, 2008

Amazing 1-2 for the Swisspower Team

www.swisspowerteam.ch

At the fifth World Cup XC of the season, Florian Vogel and Nino Schuter celebrated a sensational 1-2 finish for the Swisspower Mountainbike Team in Fort William, Scotland.

Right from the start, Florian and Nino were part of a top flight of five riders, alongside Christoph Sauser, Burry Stander (NZL) and Jürg Graf (Swisspower) and set the pace of the race. Frischi dropped out at the start of the race due to a mechanical problem. Jürg Graf suffered muscle cramps and finished the race 12th.

On the second-to-last lap, Burry Stander and Jakob Fuglsang couldn’t keep up with the three Swiss riders Sauser, Vogel and Schurter. The trio rode alone on the last lap. First it seemed like Sauser, the new leader in the World Cup standings, would leave his two opponents behind, but Vogel and Schurter used great tactics which let them close the gap to Sauser. In the final sprint, Vogel and Schurter definitively distanced themselves from Sauser and rode ahead together for the victory, which in the end was taken by Schurter.


Sauser, Vogel and Schurter near the end of the race

"I've always had great races on this course and I was convinced that I could choose the right tactics for the final lap. To me, this victory in a World Cup means even more than my title at the European Championships three weeks ago,” said Vogel after the race. 

"Thanks to our good team tactics we managed to stand up to Sauser,” Nino Schurter commented.

The Swisspower Team stood head and shoulders above the other teams at Fort William and sits in second behind Orbea in the overall team ranking.


The Swisspower Team

Christoph Sauser took over the overall lead ahead of Julien Absalon. Nino Schurter is in third overall and defends the lead in the U-23 ranking at the same time. Florian Vogel improved from 14th to fourth, right behind Schurter.

In two weeks the World Championship will take place in Italy (Val di Sole) where three tickets for the Olympic Games will finally be handed out. It is believed that the three top finishers at Worlds will be seeded for the Olympic Games. 

Results: World Cup #5, Fort William (GBR)