In the starting lap, it was the Dutch champion Milan Vader who pulled away after a fast start. A little behind is the French trio of Titouan Carod, Jordan Sarrou and Victor Koretzky. Nino Schurter slips off the pedals on the start lap and is then over 20 seconds behind in tenth place, Mathias Flückiger in 14th. But it has only just begun - even at the front. On the first full lap, Vader pays tribute to his dictated pace, which Sarrou takes over and distances the Dutchman slightly.

Mathias Flückiger is in seventh position in the chasing group, while Schurter rides another group behind. Things don't seem to be going particularly well for Schurter. The defending champion loses some ground again and is then also overtaken by Filippo Colombo. Flückiger, on the other hand, continues to ride forwards and is even in third position on lap two. It is increasingly confirmed that Milan Vader may have overdone it at the start: the Dutchman crashes in the technically demanding descent on the third lap. This gives his pursuers the opportunity to catch up - Vader crashes again - and then close the gap.

The four-man chasing group with Flückiger, Avancini, Luca Braidot (ITA) and Titouan Carod has consolidated, a good minute behind the leading Frenchman. Nino Schurter has recovered somewhat and is in eleventh position on lap four, while Colombo is now in ninth place, then one lap later even moves up to eighth - not far ahead of SChurter, who is now in ninth place.

Meanwhile, Avancini struggles and falls back, while Flückiger works to secure second place - slowly distancing Braidot and Carod.
The Frenchman is able to catch up with Flückiger again on the final lap - Sarrou is now over 1:20 minutes ahead of his pursuers. Maxime Marotte (FRA) is now slowly closing the gap. A little further behind, Filippo Colombo from Ticino is also closing the gap and is now in seventh place, with Nino Schurter in tenth.

Nothing changes - Jordan Sarrou surprisingly takes the world title. His lead has shrunk somewhat, as Flückiger accelerates again to keep Marotte at bay. Carod, on the other hand, can no longer maintain his pace and the positions remain the same, Flückiger is delighted with silver: "When I think back to last week, I'm more than happy with second place. After the perfect preparation, I would have liked to have been in contention for victory, but that was no longer possible after I was ill at the World Cup the week before last!"

Filippo Colombo manages to ride to the finish in seventh place and is also over the moon - it's his first Elite World Championships. Nino Schurter may have failed to defend his title, but he shows right to the end that even a bad day is something to fight for. He gains another place and finishes ninth. "It certainly didn't go perfectly, I was involved in two scuffles at the start and then just didn't really get into the race. But I had some doubts throughout the week, as these are not my conditions. Now it just didn't work out after celebrating the world championship title five years in a row. On the other hand, maybe it's also good not to go into the Olympic season with the world champion jersey, it takes some of the pressure off me and I can prepare more in peace," says Schurter reflectively.

Results World Championship Elite Men
1st Jordan Sarrou (FRA)
2nd Mathias Flückiger (SUI)
3rd Titouan Carod (FRA)
4th Luca Braidot (ITA)
5th Ondrej Cink (CZE)
6th Maxime Marotte (FRA)
7th Filippo Colombo (SUI)
8. Nadir Colledani (ITA)
9. Nino Schurter (SUI)
10th Henrique Avancini (BRA)
20th Lars Forster (SUI)
28th Matthias Stirnemann (SUI)
45th Lukas Flückiger (SUI)
46th Andri Frischknecht (SUI)
59th Thomas Litscher (SUI)