Indergand back on the World Cup podium, Batten and Koretzky win
The women's short track race gets off to a moderate start, with the field led by Italy's Chiara Teocchi and Jolanda Neff. The other Swiss riders, such as Alessandra Keller, Sina Frei, Steffi Häberlin and Nicole Koller, are also well positioned. After the start lap, Linda Indergand also catches up to the front positions, whereupon Neff falls back.
The pace remains relatively moderate on the short-track course, mostly controlled by Alessandra Keller, Evie Richards (GBR) and Haley Batten (USA). On the penultimate lap of all laps, when the pace picks up, Keller gets stuck on Indergand's rear wheel on the climb, tips over and has to get off her bike briefly. A group of three at the front with Batten, Richards and Indergand pulls away, Keller tries to catch up in the chasing group.
The final lap has begun, and now Batten catches the hard-working Richards on the wrong foot. The US-American gets a good lead and rides to the finish just a few seconds ahead of Linda Indergand. The Swiss skier also celebrated her first World Cup podium finish since 2021. Behind her, however, it was not Evie Richards (crash) but Savillia Blunk who rode to third place, just ahead of Alessandra Keller, who was able to resume the fight for the podium thanks to a strong final lap.
Laura Stigger from Austria rode to sixth place, while Swiss riders Steffi Häberlin - her best World Cup result - and Nicole Koller took seventh and eighth place respectively to secure the first starting row for the Cross-Country World Cup.
Decision on the last lap
A similar picture emerged in the men's race. Here, too, they are riding at a controlled high pace. Britain's Charlie Aldrigde, on the other hand, rode into a lead on the starting lap, made possible by his team-mate Simon Andreassen. But as soon as the first full lap has begun, Aldridge takes himself out of the race due to a simple driving mistake that results in a crash.
Now the race continues on an orderly course, fast but unspectacular in terms of racing style. The rocket is only ignited on the last lap: It is Christopher Blevins (USA) who seeks the escape to the front and immediately pulls out a significant gap. Only his team colleague Victor Koretzky was able to slowly close the gap without bringing his opponents closer. On the home straight, the Frenchman then ignites the afterburner and leaves Blevins behind in the final meters. Alan Hatherly from South Africa finished third.
Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) took fifth place behind Jordan Sarrou, Filippo Colombo sixth and Swiss champion Thomas Litscher seventh. Nino Schurter is stuck in the final lap and cannot convert his good feeling. Nevertheless, the record-breaking world champion secures a cross-country starting position on the second row. Mathias Flückiger did not start in the short track due to health reasons.
Amos and Böhm again
In the U23 races, Riley Amos and Kira Böhm once again ride to victory.
German newcomer Kira Böhm also wins the Short Track World Cup in Araxá, Brazil. Second place went to Canadian Jennifer Jackson, while Böhm's compatriot Carla Hahn came third. The best Swiss woman is Ginia Caluori in ninth place.
In the men's race, Riley and Riley strike again. Riley Amos (USA) takes his third win in a row, while Bjorn Riley (USA) rides to second place. And once again, a Swiss rider is among the front runners. Luke Wiedmann shows a clear improvement compared to the first World Cup race a week ago - he takes third place. Finn Treudler and Dario Lillo (both SUI) finish in eighth and eleventh place.
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.