"Vital and I were constantly pushing and soon there were only three of us left. I was a bit worried that it was too fast for me, but then Yuri started to suffer," Roth analyzes the initial phase. He and Albin were alone at the front, worked well together from then on and were able to keep the Italian at bay until the last lap. Then the duel for gold broke out: "I always tried to ride at the front where I was weaker than Vital and accelerate where I was stronger, so I was able to leave him behind a little and that was just enough to get to the finish," said the man from Aargau, pleased with his successful tactics.

For Vital Albin, the end of his U23 years is only partially conciliatory: "My goal was to win the title on my favorite course in my last U23 season. However, it was clear to me that Joel would be my toughest rival and I realized early on that he had the better legs. He then left me behind on the last lap." In the end, there were only six seconds between the two Swiss riders, while Zanotti lost almost half a minute.

Due to the limited number of spectators allowed on the course, the atmosphere on the course is above average for this season. The spectators definitely helped to make today go so well. I heard our names in every spectator area," said Roth, praising the supportive spectators.