Nino Schurter sets the pace from the start as usual. After just 1.5 kilometers, he turns around after the chasers and the gap is already ten seconds. He is followed first by Mathias Flückiger and then by the Italian Marco Fontana and Manuel Fumic from Germany. Julien Absalon is already 20 seconds behind, but the Frenchman, who is riding a fully for the first time in his career in an important race, continues to fight his way forward.

On the third lap, he fights his way to the front and immediately leaves his pursuers behind. Mathias Flückiger had already dropped back by then and it was the Cannondale duo of Fumic and Fontana who were fighting for the bronze medal behind the two top riders. Absalon was able to catch up with Nino Schurter on the fourth lap and it then took another lap before the decision was made. "I had a good start and had the feeling that I could control it. When Absalon came along, I thought, okay, now the race is really starting," explained Schurter.

But on the fifth lap, Absalon attacked on the longest climb and opened up a gap. "I couldn't suffer like that anymore. It was perhaps one race too many and when he had a lead, I concentrated on securing the silver medal and not risking anything more," explained Schurter. "Losing to Absalon is no disgrace. He's the man of mountain biking," says the three-time world champion, who would have drawn level with Absalon with a victory.

The Frenchman's lead is growing, but Schurter's advantage over his pursuers is also increasing. In the final descent, barely 200 meters before the finish, he let his concentration slip and crashed - without any major consequences. "When I got up this morning, I wanted to defend my title, but I'm also happy with silver. Absalon was stronger today," commented Schurter.Olympic bronze medallist Marco Fontana, who was not expected to do so after the season so far, finished third. Things get dramatic in the last two laps. Manuel Fumic is still riding with Fontana for bronze when he thinks a spoke is making a noise in his rear wheel. He swaps the rear wheel and loses touch. Later it turns out that it was just a branch. He resumes the race 45 seconds behind Fontana, with his German compatriot Moritz Milatz on his rear wheel. Both were able to catch up with Fontana when he suffered a rear wheel defect at the end of the penultimate lap. But it is Fontana who has the biggest reserves and wins bronze ahead of the two Germans.Lukas Flückiger got off to a bad start, exactly what he wanted to avoid. After just one lap, he was almost a minute behind and only in 19th place. His race to catch up brought him up to seventh place, but that was not what he had in mind. "It's hard to motivate yourself when you want to ride for a medal and then realize after one lap that it's not possible. I didn't have good legs either," admits Flückiger.Ralph Näf finishes tenth after a miserable start. "I've never had such a disastrous start," he says at the finish. He was only 27th after one lap. He is not disappointed with tenth place itself, but he could have done much better if he had got off to a better start.Mathias Flückiger, Florian Vogel and Fabian Giger, among others, complained of flat tires on the defect-prone course. They all would have had a chance to ride into the top ten.

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