At the start of the European Championships in Graz-Stattegg, the Swiss relay team missed out on their third European Championship title in a row by 14 seconds. U23 champion Filippo Colombo brings his team to the finish line in silver behind Italy (1:23:18). Bronze goes to Denmark (+0:45). Because the titles in the elite categories will be awarded in Glasgow this year, almost only U23 and U19 athletes will be represented in the relay in Graz-Stattegg.

Italy is an exception, with Olympic participant Luca Braidot riding the starting lap as an elite rider. He has already gained 1:31 minutes on the Swiss starting rider Joris Ryf (U23), laying the foundation for the Italians' third relay title overall. Junior Juri Zanotti rides the final lap and takes a 25-second lead over Filippo Colombo on the 4.2-kilometer lap. Colombo only gets closer towards the end of the loop, but chalks it up to himself. "I think I can ride 25 seconds faster than him, but I made too many mistakes on the uphill," admits Colombo. As a result, he and his four teammates missed out on their third European Championship title in a row. "But a medal is always good," says the man from Ticino.

Ryf is not satisfied with himself. "I overdid it on the first mountain," he says, explaining why he lost so much time. Junior Alexandra Balmer is also struggling. "I don't know how many times I crashed, it was okay uphill, but I rode very badly downhill," he says.

However, this also has to do with the external conditions, as it rained before the start. This made the forest floor extremely slippery and many riders crashed once or several times. Alessandra Keller was no exception. "It was a pure slide," says the U23 champion. "I was still doing well on the first climb, but because the track had already dried out on my side, the tires took a beating. Then it was also difficult uphill," she explains.

Sina Frei makes up the most time. The U23 world champion made pretty good progress. "I only had to get off my bike briefly once on the climb, but otherwise it went quite well," she says. Her time is the absolute best among the women. However, this can only be compared to a very limited extent because the conditions have changed. Colombo's bike no longer looked as dirty as Frei's, who had handed over to Colombo.

Results Team Relay EM Graz-Stattegg