After the start of the elite women's race, Loana Lecomte storms away on the first lap. On the first big lap, Puck Pieterse tries to catch up, with Alessandra Keller and Kate Courtney close behind. Larger gaps soon form between the individual riders. After one lap, there is already a gap of one minute from Alessandra Keller in third position to Laura Stigger (AUT) in fourth.

However, Lecomte's lead is not set in stone. While Pieterse falls back a little, Keller closes the gap at the start of the third lap. But Keller's ride resembled a hand organ. While Lecomte regularly rides difficult climbs, Keller often jumps off her bike and completes them on foot. As a result, she repeatedly loses some ground, which she tries to make up. 

Soon, however, Keller is no longer able to close the gaps and the positions are now leveling out. Behind Stigger, who is still in fourth position, two Swiss women, Nicole Koller and Linda Indergand, are fighting for the promising fifth and sixth positions, but later drop back to sixth and eighth, while Evie Richards from Great Britain makes up a lot of ground and moves up into the podium ranks.

The last lap brings no more changes at the top. After a tough spring, Loana Lecomte wins a World Cup race again for the first time - her tenth - and in convincing style. "This victory feels great, especially as I doubted myself for a long time when things weren't going well. It's hard in situations like this to keep believing in your goal and that the training path is the right one."

Alessandra Keller was able to manage her gap to Puck Pieterse and was celebrated by the home crowd for second place, saying: "I was really just concentrating on myself, riding my rhythm and constantly trying to adapt to the fast-changing lines, which I did well. But I didn't think it would go so well."

Laura Stigger and Evie Richards secured fourth and fifth place. Even though she didn't make it onto the podium for the first time, Nicole Koller was delighted with sixth place, which was also a new best performance for the Swiss athlete. "Riding so well in front of my home crowd is great, especially as I've been struggling mentally in recent weeks. It was also crucial that I enjoyed the sport again and that the focus was not on the result. The course was a challenge, but it was also great fun!"

Behind Koller, her Danish team-mate Caroline Bohe rode to seventh place, while Linda Indergand celebrated her season's best performance with eighth place. Sina Frei also used her home advantage to make a remarkable comeback in ninth place. She was unable to race for a while due to a hand injury.

Results Elite Women

Pidcock solo - great tension for third place

The start of the men's race is relatively orderly, given the 180-degree bend after the start straight. At the start of the first big lap, all the favorites are in the leading group, including Mathias Flückiger, who skipped the short track to save energy and accepted a worse starting position. But first Julian Schelb (GER) opens up a gap, while the chasing group with Schelb's compatriot Max Brandl, Nino Schurter, Mathias Flückiger and Tom Pidcock is a few seconds behind.

However, Schelb is unable to maintain his pace and Brandl also drops back, while Flückiger, Pidcock and Schurter are the new leaders. But gaps soon open up here too, and the two Swiss riders also lose the rear wheel of the Olympic champion shortly before the start of the third lap. To make matters worse, Schurter falls further behind when he gets stuck in a groove on the downhill and crashes. The World Cup record winner takes up the race directly behind Schelb, who is now in third place. Having barely found his stride, Schurter falls again. This time in the Rock Garden.

Schurter seems to be struggling to regain focus and rhythm. Luca Schwarzbauer and Lars Forster catch up with Schurter at the start of the fourth lap. But Pidcock doesn't manage a perfect ride either and crashes for the second time on lap four, albeit without any consequences. And Lars Forster also goes down, albeit roughly, while Max Brandl even drops out of the race after a heavy fall.

Tom Pidcock is now doing his laps alone, Mathias Flückiger is still in second place and keeps the gap constant. Meanwhile, the chasing group reshuffles and now consists of Schurter, Schelb and the Italian Luca Braidot, while Luca Schwarzbauer falls behind the second Italian Nadir Colledani.

The last lap enters the final phase and Pidcock rides safely to victory, while Flückiger is honored by the home crowd for second place. "It felt good for the first time this season. I could just ride my pace again, listen to myself and not what others were saying! I'm very happy and grateful to everyone who believed in me. It's all the nicer to experience this at my home World Cup. It was a great crowd," says a delighted Flückiger. Pidcock says: "It was difficult for me to find my rhythm on the first few laps. Once I had it, I was able to open up a gap and pull out a bit of a lead, but then got sloppy. After my crash, I concentrated better again, also because of my team." Due to the higher risk of injury, Team Ineos-Grenadiers was not happy with Pidcock's decision to start in Crans-Montana.

The battle for third place began behind the top two. Schelb now seems to be the weakest link in this battle, in contrast to Schurter, who is now firing on all cylinders for third place. But Braidot refused to be shaken off and snatched third place in the final meters, while Schelb celebrated fifth place, his best career result.

"For one lap it felt like I only had crashes," smiled Schurter. "It's not my favorite conditions and I didn't have the best legs. I wanted to ride my race and didn't even try to keep up with Pidcock. The crashes made it all the more difficult. The fact that I still finished fourth shows that my timetable for Paris is right.

Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) holds on to his seventh place, and Lars Forster is able to recover and finishes in a very good eighth place. Filippo Colombo takes tenth place. Luca Schätti (SUI) rides to his best World Cup result with twelfth place, and another German, David List, achieves a remarkable result in 13th place. Timon Rüegg also improved on his best World Cup performance with 17th place.

Les Gets without Schurter

The next Cross-Country World Cup will take place on July 7th in Les Gets. Nino Schurter is foregoing the French round and is taking his time to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Results Elite Men

Pieterse and Pidcock dominate the short track races

The short track races at the World Cup in Crans-Montana are more like short cross-country races. And soon a leading quartet is formed with Loana Lecomte (FRA), Chiara Teocchi (ITA), Puck Pieterse and Alessandra Keller. Pieterse is always at the front, but is unable to assert herself. Pieterse's compatriot Anne Tauber joins the leading group, and it is she who attempts the long climb. 

For the time being, only Pieterse is able to follow the pace, taking the lead at the end and gaining a few seconds. This was enough for her to take the win despite technical difficulties. Tauber also has to give up second place in the end, which Alessandra Keller snatches.

Results Elite Women  

Despite bad luck to victory

The men's race starts without World Cup leader Victor Koretzky. The Frenchman is skipping the race due to illness. Mathias Flückiger will also be missing out, but for tactical reasons. In addition to the local heroes such as Nino Schurter, Filippo Colombo and Lars Forster, all eyes will also be on Tom Pidcock. The Briton slipped off the pedals after the start in the second row and was passed to the back. On his chase to catch up, he collides with a competitor, but the Olympic champion is by no means out of the picture.

Discord at the front allows Pidcock to catch up again on the third and fourth laps. When he attacked from the front for the first time at the start of the penultimate lap, only the Scott-Sram duo of Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo were able to keep up with Pidcock's pace before his compatriot Charlie Aldridge joined them. But another rider comes up in the final. The German, Julian Schelb passes Aldrigde and rides to second place behind Pidcock. The Italian Luca Braidot finished third. Another German, Max Brandl, rides into the top 5, just ahead of the Swiss trio of Schurter, Colombo and Marcel Guerrini.

Results Elite Men