Forchini and Albin secure Swiss victories in the classic in Gränichen
Ramona Forchini's (JB Brunex Superior) victory in the women's race came as a big surprise. Before the start, other athletes such as Rebecca McConnell (Aus), Kate Courtney (USA) and Line Burquier (Fra) were the favorites. But the 28-year-old Forchini showed no respect for the big names from the very first meter. In the absence of the strongest Swiss riders, who are all competing in the Tour de Suisse, the former U23 world champion seized the moment. Forchini soon had a lead of more than 15 seconds. She then extended this from lap to lap. This meant that McConnell, Courtney and Burquier could only fight for second place behind Forchini.
Forchini: "Completely unexpected"
At the finish line, Ramona Forchini was quite surprised by her first victory in an HC race: "This is completely unexpected for me. After I had a gap on the first lap, I just rode my pace." Forchini said at the finish that she had never been sure of victory and had always expected Rebecca McConnell to close the gap at some point.
McConnell, the four-time World Cup winner this season, did indeed try to close the gap to Forchini - in vain. In the end, the Australian also had to give way to 19-year-old Line Burquier. Seraina Leugger was the second-best Swiss in fifth place. The Basel rider thus defended her lead in the overall classification of the Proffix Swiss Bike Cup.
Vital Albin with a lot of patience
Andri Frischknecht was the first to attack. Cooper and Wiedmann fell victim to this increase in pace. However, Vital Albin, who had mostly been in second position up to this point, counterattacked on the same climb. He took the lead and was able to pull out a small lead on the second half of the extremely spectacular and demanding lap to the finish. Like Forchini, it was Albin's first victory in an HC race: "Everything was just right today: My form, my tactics. The wait until the final lap was worth it," summed up the 23-year-old from Team Thömus maxon. Second place went to Andri Frischknecht. With third place, Joel Roth secured a podium finish at his home race.
With his victory in Gränichen, Vital Albin also took the lead in the overall standings - just ahead of last year's overall winner Andri Frischknecht.
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.