The first race of the EKZ-CrossTour on the Baldegg in Baden offers something for everyone. The fog in the morning, the intermittent rain showers in the afternoon and the sunshine during the kids' cross at midday made for challenging conditions. The Swiss showed a strong race in the men's elite race and were repeatedly among the front runners. In the first half of the race, it was mainly last year's overall winner Marcel Wildhaber and Lars Forster who were even able to pull away a little in the meantime. While Forster had to retire from the race after a crash resulting in a defect, Wildhaber was relegated and the maps were reshuffled.

As the race enters the decisive phase, it is Lukas Flückiger and Nicola Rohrbach who are able to pull away together with the Belgians Klaas Vantornout and Nicolas Cleppe. On the last lap, Rohrbach then sets the pace one last time, which only last year's winner Vantornout can follow. However, the final decision was not made until the very last meter, when Rohrbach was sprinted over at the last moment. The Belgian is and remains the only rider who is unbeaten in Baden. This is because the two-time Belgian champion has announced his retirement from professional sport at the end of the year.

First EKZ CrossTour podium for Rohrbach

Although it was close in the end, Rohrbach was extremely satisfied at the award ceremony: "It was a tough race and I didn't have the best legs at the start. Fortunately, things got better and better. It's my first podium finish in an EKZ-CrossTour race and I'm super happy with it. The winner from Belgium, Klaas Vantornout, is also happy. "I was very happy when it started to rain before the start. These are conditions that I love. A challenging course with rain and dirt. A real cyclo-cross for tough guys," said Vantornout with a laugh at the finish. "It wasn't easy against the young guns, but in the end I beat them all. It was a great race here in Baden again this year. I miss races like this with tough climbs, stairs and muddy conditions in Belgium," said the Belgian, praising the organizers. The young Belgian Nicoals Cleppe reached the podium in third place after finishing fifteenth last year on the Baldegg.

World champion wins on the Baldegg

The elite women's race also offers plenty of excitement and in the end the former overall winner of the EKZ-CrossTour Pavla Havlikova and the U23 world champion Annemarie Worst deliver a thrilling duel for the day's victory. In the end, Dutchwoman Worst ignites the turbo on the last lap and leaves her rivals no chance. It was exactly six years ago that the then elite world champion Zdenek Stybar last celebrated a world championship triumph on the Baldegg in Baden.
Havlikova from the Czech Republic finished second and Laura Verdonschot from Belgium came third. Jasmin Egger-Achermann, last year's overall runner-up, was the best Swiss woman in a strong fifth place. After a slow start, she was able to make up places over the course of the race and ultimately finished in the top 5.

Successful start to the season

Christian Rocha, President of the EKZ-CrossTour, is very satisfied with the start of the season in Baden. "It was probably the best of all the events here on the Baldegg in Baden. On the one hand because the weather provided a colorful mix of changing course conditions and on the other hand because the Swiss showed a great team performance, especially in the men's elite race." The fact that six riders were still in contention for a possible victory right up to the last lap shows how entertaining and great this sport is. Much to the delight of the 2,500 spectators watching the spectacle live on the Baldegg in Baden. The new record number of participants and the huge field at the Kids Cross are also extremely pleasing. It is particularly noteworthy that a third of the 663 participants are registered for the Kids Cross alone.

Full ranking lists EKZ Cross Tour Baden

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