Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) already opened up a gap on lap one of seven, took an eleven-second lead over Linda Indergand (Focus XC) into the second lap and was unstoppable. Behind her, Ramona Forchini (jb Brunex Felt) surprisingly managed to close a gap of almost 20 seconds by the start of the third lap and then distanced last year's runner-up by a few meters on the first climb.

Linda Indergand confirmed the impression gained at the finish: "You can always be happy with a medal at the Swiss Championships, even if the legs certainly weren't that good today."

For Ramona Forchini, it is the first championship medal in the elite and underlines the performances that she had already shown throughout the spring. "It was a fast race right from the start, but I was able to maintain my pace and keep going. I got the best out of it - Jolanda, on the other hand, was in a class of her own," Forchini analyzes her race and is delighted. She is more jubilant about her silver than Jolanda Neff is about her gold - her fourth overall in the elite and of course a favorite victory. She won in 1:27:53 hours, 2:37 minutes ahead of Forchini and 3:19 minutes ahead of Linda Indergand.

Ex-Swiss champion Kathrin Stirnemann (Thömus RN Racing) wins the duel for fourth place (+6:24) against Andrea Waldis (Track Team BE electric, +8:25).

Packed duel in the U23

The U23 women's race was even more interesting. Defending champion and world champion Sina Frei (Ghost Factory Racing) and Alessandra Keller (Thömus RN Racing) duel right into the final lap. And in the end it was just six seconds that gave Alessandra Keller her first U23 title and confirmed her recent performances once again. "It's cool to be Swiss U23 champion," says Keller with a laugh. "It was a tough race. I attacked several times, but never got away." On the final lap, she tried to distance Frei on the last climb, but it didn't really work. "I then rode full throttle on the trail and just kept pushing on the flat," said Keller, explaining how she came to win.

Nicole Koller (Möbel Märki) rode a relatively lonely race in third position. In the end, she was 3:15 minutes behind Keller, but 4:19 minutes ahead of Pauline Roy (RDR Italia) in fourth place.

Decisive lead change on lap two

In the women's U19 category, Ronja Blöchlinger (Biketeam Bulls-Auerpower) was a good 20 seconds ahead after two laps. But then Jaqueline Schneebeli (RV Cham-Hagedorn) took the lead and pulled away. She wins 42 seconds ahead of Noelle Buri (RV Ersigen), who also belongs to the younger age group. Bronze goes to Melanie Tresch (Strüby BiXS) from Silenen, who is 2:37 minutes behind.