Swiss U23 champion Filippo Colombo makes it onto the World Cup podium for the first time in his career. In the U23 race at the third round of the World Cup in Nove Mesto, the Ticino rider only had to give way to Vlad Dascalu (1:23:44) and finished second with a difference of 21 seconds ahead of the South African Alan Hatherly (+0:24). U23 world champion Sina Frei celebrates her second victory in six days. After 1:24:08 hours, she wins the sprint against her Danish teammate Malene Degn. Italy's Marika Tovo (+0:19) came third, while Nicole Koller finished fifth (+1:16).

In a varied race, Filippo Colombo is on the pace in every phase of the race. At times he and Alan Hatherly were ten seconds ahead of a chasing group, but the duo did not see eye to eye on the flat section, allowing four rivals to catch up again. Vlad Dascalu, who was also left behind at one point, came back and launched a decisive attack on the penultimate of seven laps. "I felt great and was able to follow without having to go over my limit," said Colombo.

But on the final lap, Dascalu made a huge attack on the climb. "I didn't have a chance then," admits Colombo, who nevertheless climbed the World Cup podium for the first time in second place. "It was a great day for me," says a delighted Colombo.
Joris Ryf can also make the same claim. He got off to a good start and positioned himself in the top ten. He had never been this far ahead before and was a little unsure. "I didn't know if I could keep up the pace. After all, there were World Cup winners around me," admits Ryf.

He acted smartly and defensively and stayed in the top ten until the last lap. Then he was able to unpack his reserves, moving up to ninth place and finishing eighth against the Belgian Pierre de Froidemont (+1:13). "Fantastic," says Ryf, "I felt great and the course is awesome."

Noah Blöchlinger also put in a good performance. He only missed his personal best from Albstadt (12th) by one place. However, he is also satisfied with 13th place (+2:12). Blöchlinger is in a group of six between tenth and 15th place. "It was difficult at the start because I had to make up so much ground from my starting position. But when the group broke up, I was able to hold on well. 13th place is also cool," said Blöchlinger.

Sina Frei sprints to victory

The U23 women offered the thousands of spectators in Nove Mesto an interesting race. Together with Evie Richards (Gbr) and the German Ronja Eibl, Degn and Frei form a leading quartet. In the third of six laps, Degn accelerates so that she and Frei are ten seconds ahead at the front. Richards drops in and finally gives up.

But the Italian Marike Tovo comes up strongly from behind. Together with Eibl, she was able to close the gap to the leading duo. "They came strong from behind and when we saw that they were getting closer, we didn't try everything anymore," explained Frei later. In the new constellation, Ronja Eibl had to let go on the penultimate lap. A short time later, Degn attacked again and Frei was able to keep up.

This time Tovo doesn't come back and it comes down to a sprint between Frei and Degn, which the Swiss rider narrowly wins to take her eighth U23 World Cup victory. She extends her lead in the overall standings by 20 to 30 points. "We were certainly able to benefit from each other on the surface, but in the end, of course, we are also opponents," explains Sina Frei. "But it's nice that Malene, a team colleague, is my fiercest rival. Of course I'm happy about my second victory."

Nicole Koller is pushed off into the grass at the start and loses many positions. On the fourth lap, she caught up with the front runners with Tovo. After Degn's attack, she fought stubbornly in fifth position to catch up with Eibl in fourth. On the final lap, she closed the gap to nine seconds, but the German was slightly stronger on the climb. "I tried to ride at a steady rhythm. That allowed me to gradually catch up. I'm happy with fifth place, my times are getting better from race to race," says Koller. Lara Krähemann was involved in a crash on the start straight and had to be taken to hospital.