A week after the World Championships in Glasgow, some riders from Switzerland and abroad used the races on the Schänzli, which were integrated into the 27th Bikefestival Basel, to maintain their top form. And so the races at the CIC ON Swiss Bike Cup in Basel adapted to the outside temperatures: It was hot and heavy.

Filippo Colombo is back!

After a heated start, a fairly large leading group quickly formed in the men's race, which resulted in many battles and changes of position and made the race extremely fast. The particularly good news: Filippo Colombo, whose comeback after a long injury break was more than just a success, was always there.

The rider from Ticino had crashed in the Paris-Roubaix road classic at the beginning of April and started the race without any great expectations. Thomas Frischknecht, the Scott-Sram team manager, traveled to Basel especially to watch and support his rider closely. He was able to draw a thoroughly positive conclusion after the race.

Colombo showed right from the start in Basel that he is once again a force to be reckoned with. He rode to the front immediately after the start and dominated the race. In the sprint, only the New Zealander Anton Cooper (Trek Factory Racing XC) was a tick faster. Colombo finished just behind him in 2nd place at the same time as Ben Oliver (NZ). Last year's winner Marcel Guerrini (BiXS Performance Race Team), Andrin Gees (Team Pedale Simplon) and Joel Roth (BiXS Performance Race Team) finished in 4th, 5th and 6th place, a committed Swiss team that had always played an active role in shaping the race.

Keller and Neff - a hot duel

The women's race was also hotly contested. World Championship starters Alessandra Keller and Jolanda Neff from the Trek Factory Racing XC team made for an exciting duel at the front. In a real battle of the heats, they both actively led the way and even coordinated with each other during the race. Jolanda Neff, the Olympic champion from Tokyo 2021, who is still searching for her top form this season, once again showed an increase in performance with her active race planning.

However, on the last lap on the notoriously steep climb, Alessandra Keller showed why she has been riding at a consistently high level all season: The Ennet native pulled away from her companion with an attack and brought about the decision. Neff, who had won on the Schänzli in 2019, tried to make up ground on the descent, but produced a "slide" with her rear wheel. Alessandra Keller, overall World Cup winner and fifth and sixth at the World Championships (short track), finished safely once again ahead of Jolanda Neff and Linda Indergand (Liv Factory Racing), the relay world champion from Glasgow.

Local hero Seraina Leugger (BiXS-Performance Race Team) from Arlesheim came seventh after recovering from illness.

UCI Junior Series XCO: Halter and Liehner

Nicolas Halter (KA Boom Krapf) won the junior category, which is held as a junior World Cup in the Swiss Bike Cup. Halter, the relay world champion from Glasgow, was the favorite and won confidently ahead of Micha Alder (Infinity BiXS Development Team) and Mauro Hassler (Thömus Akros - Youngstars).

In the juniors, Lara Liehner (Thömus Akros - Youngstars) came out on top ahead of Austrian Eva Herzog and Norwegian Kamilla Aasebø.

Full results