On the start climb, it was Ralph Näf who rode to the front and was the first to hit the singletrail. On the descent, however, the world champion crashes hard: "I hit the ground hard, but fortunately nothing happened to me," explains Näf. But: "The cockpit was completely displaced. Fortunately, I had a mini tool with me so I was able to straighten the brakes and handlebars again."

This mishap meant that Lukas Winterberg took the lead early on, while Michael Wildhaber installed himself in second place. "I actually expected Näf to catch up again at some point," Winterberg admits. But this worry was completely unfounded. At the finish, Winterberg had a lead of over four minutes. "I really had great form and was able to keep going. I rode the faster lap times even after Näf was back on the bike," said the winner happily.

Näf still catches Wildhaber
Local hero Näf fights his way up to Wildhaber in second place until the last lap. The latter risked everything again to take a small cushion into the final stitch after the downhill. However, a mistake by Wildhaber ruins this plan. Näf takes advantage of this and secures second place ahead of Wildhaber.
In the women's race, Erika Speck from Appenzell triumphed ahead of Sabrina Baumgartner and Rahel Signer.

Despite the rainy weather, almost 350 weatherproof bikers signed up on the start lists. The organizers were particularly surprised by the 60 late registrations from last-minute participants. "Despite difficult route conditions, there were no accidents," said OC boss Andy Steiger, who paid tribute to all the volunteers. The helpers were cheerful and motivated right up to the end, despite the miserable weather. They deserve a big thank you for this.

TV summary after the race
The six-minute EKZ Cup magazines will now be broadcast on two channels: Tuesdays at 5.50 pm on Tele Top and Wednesdays at 7.05 pm on S1. In addition, further exciting video and photo reports will be available on the social media channels from Monday.

www.ekz-cup.ch