The man of the day was Timon Rüegg. The multiple Swiss cyclo-cross champion struck twice in Leysin. The 28-year-old made the most of his opportunity and also took the lead in the overall standings of the CIC Swiss Bike Cup with a commanding victory - his first ever in a UCI mountain bike race. In doing so, the Zurich native, who now lives in Graubünden, also secured important points for the UCI world rankings.

Rüegg announced his intentions on the very first lap, pulling away from riders such as Ursin Spescha (KA BOOM Krapf) and Joris Ryf (Specialized Factory Racing). And he kept the Frenchman Loan Cheneval (Team Massi UCI), who was steadily working his way forward, at a distance. Timon Rüegg, who continuously extended his lead, won comfortably by 52 seconds ahead of the Frenchman and Ursin Spescha (+1:15 min.).

The best U23 rider was Ben Schweizer (Stop&Go Marderabwehr MTB Team) from the Black Forest in 10th place.

Samara Maxwell with a successful comeback

There was also a superior victory in the women's race. The young New Zealander Samara Maxwell, the U23 world champion from 2023, won by 1:03 minutes ahead of the big favorite. She also left no room for discussion in a physically challenging race with a commanding start-finish victory and a rather longer winning time of over 1:30 hours.

For the 22-year-old from the Decathlon Ford Racing Team, the race in Vaud was also a successful comeback and confirmation that she is on the right track. Maxwell had taken a creative break immediately after a successful start to the season - she won the titles at the Oceania and New Zealand championships - partly to clear her head.

Seraina Leugger from the BIXS Performance Race Team from Arlesheim took second place. She proved once again that her form curve is on the rise. Leugger clearly outpaced Rebekka Estermann (VC Sursee/Grüter Hans AG) from Sursee, who for her part had done a lot of leading work behind Maxwell at times. The two Swiss riders brought excitement to the race with their position changes.

With a fourth place, Polish champion Paula Gorycka (Strüby Sting) was able to secure her lead in the overall classification of the CIC Swiss Bike Cup with 277 points, with Leugger (258) and Estermann (245) now lurking behind.

The best U23 rider in the field provided a small highlight: Lea Huber (Trek Future Racing) rode to the finish in a good 6th place.

UCI Junior victories for Toth and Furrer

The versatile Noel Toth (RC & Bikecenter Steffisburg) from Oberhofen am Thunersee won the UCI Junior Series race at the CIC Swiss Bike Cup. The 17-year-old had already taken second place at the CIC Swiss Bike Cup in Lugano. The podium in Leysin was completed by Roger Surén (Fischer Junior MTB Team), the current Namibian junior champion on the road and in the individual time trial, in second place, and Lewin Iten from the Winterthur team RVW Pasolino Racing in third place. Iten is currently second in the overall classification.

Muriel Furrer from the BiXS Performance Race Team won the junior women's race by half a minute ahead of Seraina Hosner (Bike Team Solothurn) and the overall leader in the Cup, Timea Reichmuth (Team Gadola Wetzikon).

Almost 500 participants had registered in Leysin, with 416 starting.

Next stop: Swiss Championships in Echallens VD

The next stop of the CIC Swiss Bike will be in Echallens in Vaud from July 12-14, where the Swiss Championships in the short track and cross-country disciplines will be held at the same time. The XC course on the training grounds of the traditional club VC Echallens is characterized by a high proportion of technically challenging single trails.

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