The battle lines in the men's race are quickly drawn. After Severin Schweisguth's (GER) fast start, Ralph Näf takes the lead. He pushed the pace so hard that he immediately opened up a gap, which he then extended almost permanently over nine 2.4-kilometre laps. "I wanted to set the pace right at the start to keep myself out of everything. When you're riding in second or third position, you can always fall off," said Näf, explaining his strategy, which he confidently implemented five days before the Swiss Championships. "The course was difficult to ride with the snow, but I like it when you can make differences in the technical area. It actually went quite well for me. A few percent may still be missing to reach top form," summarized the two-time mountain bike world champion from the BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team.

In the end, after 51:55 minutes, Näf put 1:31 minutes between himself and Julian Schelb (Multivan-Merida). The German U23 runner-up from last winter struggled a little on the first two laps. He also crashes and has to change bikes due to shifting problems. This dropped him from third to fifth place, but on the fourth lap he rode past Max Holz (GER) into second place. "After that it went quite well, my basis was right," says Schelb, quite satisfied. He makes no attempt to ride behind his coach Ralph Näf. When he leaves Holz behind, Schelb's only concern is to secure second place.

Holz makes a mistake with his tire choice. As the ground continues to thaw, he starts to slip. "Unfortunately, I had the same tires on my spare. Julian took a second or two off me in every bend and at some point I was no longer able to close the gap," explains the man from Munich. Markus Kaufmann (GER), who is known above all as an excellent marathon biker, didn't get a good start and then needed some time before he was able to ride clear in the field. The Centurion-Vaude rider fights his way up to fourth place and is not dissatisfied. Kaufmann only appears on the entry list at short notice. "It was a small organizational mishap, but when I heard that there was a race in Albstadt, I immediately planned for it. Firstly because it was sponsored by Centurion and secondly because it's a Skyder event and those are always good," commented Kaufmann.

Recognition from the right people
Bernhard Baldinger is impressed by the Albstadion site. The man from South Baden says: "I've ridden in the Bullentäle myself before, but the terrain here is even better. It can still be expanded," says Baldinger. The recognition comes from a competent source. He has been the Luxembourg national coach for all cycling disciplines for more than ten years and was the sporting director of German road teams for a long time.

So the RSG Zollernalb, as well as Stephan Salscheider and his Skyder Sportpromotion can pack up with satisfaction after the revival of cyclo-cross in Albstadt. Despite competing events in Albstadt and the surrounding area, the men's race attracted a great crowd of spectators to the side of the track at the Albstadion. "We are highly satisfied with this premiere at short notice. The feedback from riders and spectators was very good, but it was also noticeable that many people are no longer familiar with the sport of cyclocross." They want to change that next winter. The next edition of the Challenge Cyclo Cross Race powered by Centurion will then take place. The date is still being discussed.

www.cross-race-albstadt.de