And suddenly there it was, the sun, "brushing" the rain clouds from the sky in the blink of an eye. Who would have thought that after a Saturday morning of persistent, torrential rain? With the blue sky, the bikers also flocked to the EKZ Cup Final in Wetzikon. Due to the coronavirus, the event was held over two days for the first time. All the junior and adult races were held on Saturday afternoon.

Hot pursuit

As in the previous week in Uster, another heated chase broke out between the fastest juniors and the strongest elite/U23 riders. As is tradition, the latter were sent onto the rain-soaked circuit with a two-minute time handicap, although there were hardly any topographical obstacles. The riders rode accordingly fast. However, despite a simplification of the course on the first lap, the elite riders were unable to make up their handicap and finish ahead of the juniors. The two U19 riders Finn Treudler and Lars Sommer, who had already dominated the competition in Uster, received additional help from last year's Swiss cross-country champion Dario Lillo. This trio also went into the final sprint, which Lillo decided in his favor with aplomb - ahead of Sommer and Treudler.

Konny Looser, the strongest elite rider, came within 42 seconds of the top U19 trio - making up 1:18 minutes - and mastered the leading quartet of elite/U23 riders with a dry start. Andrin Gees, Emilien Barben and Sven Olivetti reached the finish line seconds apart, which was located on Alex Scheiwiller's farm, just like in the legendary cyclo-cross race.

"It's nice to come back from injury with a win," said Dario Lillo, adding: "I was expecting this race constellation and knew I had a chance when it came to the sprint." He had broken his collarbone in a fall during training and underwent surgery six weeks ago. This victory was important for his self-confidence. Next week he will go to the World Championships in Austria.

Recognition from the top

Konny Looser was full of praise for the juniors' performance: "It's incredible how high the level of the juniors is." However, they are already training like professionals. "I've met some juniors at altitude training camps. They hardly train any less than I do," added the Hinwil native.

His wife Vera, who finished second behind Fabienne Kipfmüller in the women's race, was annoyed about the wrong choice of tires. She said: "There was a short section in the forest that was super slippery. That was enough for me to lose touch with the leaders."

On Sunday, it was the kids' turn. The weather was once again at its best with sunshine and pleasant temperatures. This also had an effect on the young bikers. Half a year without a race was like a punishment for most of them. They were accordingly motivated to get down to business in Wetzikon. The organizers of RV Wetzikon, under the new management of Pascal Steingruber, had set up an attractive course with artificial banked turns and pump track elements in the finish area, which did its part. It was noticeable that the same young bikers were often to be found in the top positions as in Uster. This brought this year's EKZ Cup, which only had two races due to the coronavirus, to a worthy conclusion.

A big thank you to sponsor EKZ

Apropos conclusion: After 16 years of successful partnership with sponsor and namesake EKZ, a new chapter begins for the former Zürcher Oberländer Bike Cup next year. We would like to thank those responsible at Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich, whose generous support has enabled the promotion of countless talented bikers and the high organizational standard of the junior racing series for so long.