The second-to-last round of the EKZ Cup took place in perfect conditions. However, the battle for the overall classification was only one side of the race. For most of the young and young-at-heart bikers, the focus was on having fun on a prepared and closed-off course. The elite race was won by Annika Liehner and Simon Zahner. The overall winners in the various categories will be decided next Sunday in Egg near Zurich.

This Sunday morning did not offer postcard weather. However, the temperature and the few drops of rain were perfect for fast bike races. It wasn't too hot, the riders weren't dragging plumes of dust behind them and the track was grippy. The bikers swarmed around the Buecholz riding area early on, testing out the course and honing their riding technique on the skill obstacles that were set up next to it. Above all, however, you could see that the children and young people were having fun on their bikes.

425 participants - and hardly anyone over 20

As time went on, the spectator stands filled up and more and more participants registered at the registration table. In the end there were 425, an impressive number. René Gull, one of the junior coaches of the organizing VC Volketswil and course manager, was delighted: "Some said they didn't want to take part but only wanted to help. Now they signed up after all!". If proof were needed that riding a race and having fun on a bike go hand in hand, then the EKZ Cup in Uster provided hours of visual instruction.
Category after category, from the U17 juniors down to the U7 "Pfüderi", offered thrilling races, the odd funny interlude, impressive bike mastery at every age level and heart-warming scenes with the little ones on their running bikes.

A junior shakes up the pros

At the end, it was the turn of the adults. The U19 juniors and masters (seniors) were sent into the race with a two-minute lead, while the elite set off in pursuit. Annika Liehner made her way to the front towards the middle of the women's race. "When I upped the pace, no one was able to keep up, so I kept my rhythm until the finish," said the talented rider from Wetzikon, who was the youngest rider in the women's field at just under 17 years of age.

In the men's race, it took a few laps for Simon Zahner and Marcel Wildhaber to catch up with the fastest junior Andrin Gees. From then on, they sped around the course as a three-man fast train. When they turned into the start-finish area for the last time, Zahner was in front and could no longer be overtaken in the tight bends. Andrin Gees had fought his way past Marcel Wildhaber shortly beforehand and won the junior race by a clear margin. "That was way over the limit," he admitted at the finish. Marcel Wildhaber was delighted that he had come a few important points closer to his goal of overall victory. And Simon Zahner had really wanted to win the day at the end of his bike season: "The other two didn't make it easy for me, but my plan worked today," he summarized, adding: "Tomorrow I'll clean the mountain bike and put it in the corner. The cyclo-cross season starts for me now."
For Wildhaber and hundreds of other bikers, however, the focus is now on the last race of the EKZ Cup. The decisions will be made in Egg near Zurich. And of course, the joy of mountain biking will be the main thing there too.www.ekzcup.ch