Bike Classics leaders Fanger and Nay win the Eiger Bike Challenge

As expected, the two Bike Marathon Classics leaders Martin Fanger and Alessia Nay won the Eiger Bike Challenge by a large margin. The battle for the other podium places in the men's race was exciting, with Micha Klötzli in second and Hansueli Stauffer in third. Several tire defects led to several position changes behind Fanger.

On the first climb to the peloton, it became clear who would be able to put their stamp on the Eiger Bike Challenge on this sunny and hot day. BMC leader Martin Fanger took the lead and pushed the pace until the leading group consisted of just two riders. A duo including Fanger and the record winner Urs Huber tackled the Bachalpsee descent at half distance back to Grindelwald together. A first mistake by Huber allowed Micha Klötzli to move up to second place, which Huber's young Bulls teammate did not relinquish until the finish.

Meanwhile, Martin Fanger continuously extended his lead and reached the finish line on the Baerplatz in Grindelwald 10:15 minutes ahead of Klötzli. Third-placed Hansueli Stauffer lost 14:39 minutes to Fanger. However, Fanger showed a strong race to catch up - also after tire defects. Huber had also delivered such a performance before riding on the rim again on the Kleine Scheidegg in the final descent. The man from Mettmenstetten finally crossed the finish line in seventh place - behind Fabian Heinzer, Pascal Kiser and Simon Vitzthum - the latter of whom was also held back by tire problems.

A victory by announcement? Martin Fanger answers with a smile and says: "You always have to win first." The Nidwalden native, who lives in Geneva, admits that he had to push himself to the limit until he was alone at the top. Of course, he also benefited from Huber's flat tires. And he certainly had good legs, Fanger understated. The heat that had prevailed in Geneva the previous week had been a good acclimatization to the weather in Grindelwald, he found further reasons for his success. He will start with great expectations in two weeks' time at the Grand Raid, the fourth race of the Bike Marathon Classics and this year's Swiss Marathon Championships.

After finishing second at the Summer Bike, Klötzli was once again able to produce a top result. "I knew that I was fit," said the 25-year-old from the canton of Jura calmly. "Even though I always kept an eye on my heart rate, it wasn't easy to plan the race optimally." When you ride at the front, there is always the risk of becoming euphoric and setting too high a pace, which can take its toll. But it all worked out.

Hansueli Stauffer's comments were longer, as he had to let the front runners go on the first climb and also had tire problems, but thanks to a strong race to catch up he still managed to finish third - and perhaps surprised himself the most, as he complained early on that he hadn't had the best day. "After the tire failure on the descent from Bachalpsee, the first repair failed. The tire burst. I had to stop again and put a tube in. After changing the wheel at the bottom, I initially had a motivation problem on the ascent to Kleine Scheidegg and then just rode up somehow. The desire only returned when I overtook one rider after the other." He certainly also benefited from the tire defects of Huber and Vitzthum, says Stauffer. The man from Sigiriswil is now hoping that his form curve will continue to improve in view of the title fight in two weeks' time.

Women's winner Alessia Nay - the Grisons native celebrated her second victory in the Classics after her triumph at the Summer Bike Marathon - was also cautious. This was despite the fact that she beat her time from last year in Grindelwald by 20 minutes and also had her toughest opponent - last year's winner Alexandra Zürcher - under control, finishing in second place with a 13-minute lead. She said: "On the ascent to the First, I sensed for the first time that it might be enough to win. But I only found out for sure on the final climb to Kleine Scheidegg. Alexandra always got a little closer at the start before the culmination points." Nay is now also looking forward to the Swiss Championships at the Grand Raid in Valais. However, she does not see herself as the title favorite - even if the results suggest otherwise.