Alessandra Keller rides a smart race in the short track, showing herself at the front without investing too much energy. When Jolanda Neff attacked four laps before the end, Keller followed and took command from Neff on the final lap. She quickly gained a few meters on her rivals and rode inexorably towards her first World Cup victory in the elite category. "I felt really good from lap one, even in the technical sections. I thought I was going to be first in the downhill and then I got away. First World Cup win, I'm still U23, that's brilliant," commented Keller on her success.

Jolanda Neff is passed by three-time short track winner Annika Langvad and Barbara Benko. The world champion does not believe that her attack came too early. "If I had better form, I could have gone all the way. But with my current form, I can't do that yet. Those at the front certainly deserve it. The next chance is on Sunday."

The riders obviously have respect for the altitude of around 1900 meters in the bike park, or rather it slows them down, because overall the action seems very restrained.

First Brazilian World Cup victory - Schurter saves energy to finish fourth

The altitude also slows down the action in the men's race. Avancini can often be seen at the front, but the South American doesn't really put the pressure on. A group of ten remained together until four laps before the end. Then Gerhard Kerschbaumer takes over, but is replaced by an attack from Mathieu Van der Poel. The Dutchman opens up a small gap, but before the final lap begins, ten riders are together again.

It is Avancini who still has reserves on the final lap. He takes the lead again and pulls out a few meters ahead before the finishing straight. He rides to his first ever Brazilian World Cup victory in 19:53 minutes.

One second behind, Van der Poel takes second place ahead of Gerhard Kerschbaumer. Nino Schurter finished fourth at the same time. "I am satisfied. My goal was top eight and that went well. I felt good and didn't lose much energy. Especially here at altitude, I wanted to save as much energy as possible. Avancini did a lot of work and deserved to win. I'm confident for Sunday," explains Schurter.

The next Swiss rider is Florian Vogel in eleventh place (+0:18). Lars Forster, who was in the lead for a while, ends up 16th (+0:26), three places behind Mathias Flückiger (+0:13), who is holding back this time.