The premiere was a year ago and the short track not only celebrated a successful debut in Albstadt, but also became a success story in the following five races. So the opening competition on Friday at 17:30 (women) and 18:00 (men) will not be a trivial gallop into the weekend, but an exciting piece of racing, for which half of the points of the cross-country races are awarded. And because it is the first World Cup race of the season, the winner will be able to put on the white World Cup leader's jersey on Friday and go into the cross-country race on Sunday.

There is not (yet) a short track discipline classification, but if you add up the points, then the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (575) would have won it with three victories, ahead of the Brazilian Henrique Avancini (429) and the New Zealander Sam Gaze (422), who has to miss the first two World Cups this year for health reasons.
Van der Poel must therefore also be considered the favorite, but there will be many who can challenge him for victory.

In the women's race, Annika Langvad from Denmark (725) has clearly dominated the inaugural season with five wins and a second place in Andorra behind Alessandra Keller (Switzerland, 480). Although compatriot Jolanda Neff did not win any of these competitions, she still collected the second most points with 490 points.

Men's race as a duel between Schurter and van der Poel?

Rarely has a World Cup opener generated so much excitement in the run-up. Albstadt will be the big showdown. Mathieu van der Poel made sure of that. The all-rounder ended a cyclo-cross season in February in which he won 32 UCI races, including the World and European Championships. This was followed by fascinating performances in a number of road classics in the spring, with victory in the Amstel Gold Race as the crowning glory.

Now a cross-country World Cup victory is on the superstar's bucket list. Nino Schurter would of course like to prevent that. Although the seven-time world champion welcomes the fact that he has such a competitor in van der Poel, it should motivate him a little more.

Albstadt is not my favorite course, but...

And finally, he has the 33 mark in the back of his mind. Schurter is still three wins away from Julien Absalon's record.
"Albstadt is not my favorite course," says Schurter, who won last Saturday in Solothurn just ahead of compatriot Mathias Flückiger. "But I've always ridden well there." Yes exactly, winning the last three years and finishing second twice before that.When two people fight, a third might be happy. Can this saying also be applied to a cross-country race? They would have to bring each other down or tactic too much.
Nevertheless, it is not appropriate to count Mathias Flückiger, European champion Lars Forster (Switzerland), runner-up Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Italy) or last season's rising star, marathon world champion Henrique Avancini, out of the equation. "I will be able to compete at the front in big races. The preparation for the season is better than ever before," predicts the Brazilian.
Frenchmen Stephane Tempier and Maxime Marotte also have ambitions, they have both been riding at the front for years but have yet to win a World Cup.

Fumic: I have to lower my expectations

"I've been feeling much better since the middle of last week, I'm happy to be back to normal. But of course I missed a lot on the track. At the beginning of the season, Albstadt was meant to be a second highlight, but now I have to lower my expectations. I'm still quite relaxed, it doesn't help," says Fumic.

Georg Egger (Aichen) is on the up, but the German vice-champion is not yet ready to keep up with the world elite. A top 25 result would definitely be a success for the 24-year-old. He has also been suffering from a slight cold recently, but hopes to be fit again for the short track, which he would be competing in for the first time.

Women: First World Cup win for the world champion?

The women said goodbye to the season last year in La Bresse, France, with perhaps the most exciting race in World Cup history. Turbulent, thrilling, nerve-wracking, a rollercoaster of emotions in which it was not only about the day's victory, but also the overall victory.
Jolanda Neff came out on top, a few seconds ahead of Canada's Emily Batty and Annika Langvad. She was followed by Pauline Ferrand Prevot from France.

Ferrand Prevot not yet fit enough

If you declare these four ladies the favorites, then you're certainly not wrong. However, this does not apply to Pauline Ferrand Prevot for Albstadt, as she is only riding her second race after undergoing surgery for endofibrosis and describes it more as "training". She has to be realistic, a good result is not (yet) to be expected.

European champion Jolanda Neff, who at just 26 years old is already the most successful Swiss rider in World Cup history (12 wins, three overall victories), says she has "consciously" not yet reached the peak of her form this year. "I want to be able to improve towards the World Championships," she says. But of course she wants to be competitive at the start.

Marathon world champion Annika Langvad finished the Cape Epic with her fifth victory, had an extremely strong spring on the road and also won both races of the Sea Otter Classic in the USA. There is no question that she is one of the top favorites.Emily Batty has been in the World Cup business for ten years, since 2012 she has stood on the five-person World Cup podium a total of 18 times, finishing second four times, but it has not yet been enough for the 30-year-old to win. "One day it will happen," says Batty. Why not on Sunday in Albstadt?

Courtney in good form

The young guard should not be ignored. This includes world champion Kate Courtney (USA), who is only 23 years old. She has never won a World Cup race to date, but that has happened before. Nino Schurter also first became world champion and then won his first World Cup race the very next year.
The story would fit, as they are now even riding in the same team. Last Saturday, she won her European debut in Solothurn ahead of Jolanda Neff.

Anne Tauber from the Netherlands has already finished on the podium several times in 2015 and as a 23-year-old and lateral entrant from the sport of speed skating, she certainly still has room for improvement. Most recently at the BiketheRock, she was clearly stronger than Jolanda Neff on the mountain. Oh yes: she turns 24 on Sunday, which would be an ideal time for a party.

The same would apply to U23 world champion Alessandra Keller (Switzerland). However, she broke both hands in a fall last Saturday in Solothurn and is out for the time being.

Brandau: I see myself more in the top 15

Elisabeth Brandau is the most promising Map in the game from a German perspective. Last year, she finished fifth in Albstadt to claim the World Cup podium for the first time. This year, the mother of two has also taken it a little easier in the spring after competing in the cyclo-cross season up until the World Championships.
"I skipped the race in Solothurn, which was good for me. I don't see myself in the top five this year, rather between ten and 15," says the German champion.

Maps for the top sporting event in the region are available in advance from the Albstadt Tourist Information Office (touristinformation@albstadt.de) oder über world-cup-albstadt.de at Reservix.de. On the days of the event, tickets can also be purchased at the ticket offices at the event site.

www.world-cup-albstadt.de