"I rode the Elsa Bike Trophy like a fifth stage of the German stage race "Four Peak", which I won yesterday," said Sauser at the finish line, as he was once again crowned the winner after 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2013. He adds: "I knew that I was in good shape and had good legs throughout the race." The heat also suited him.

As in previous years, a leading group with all the favorites set the pace until around 18 kilometers before the finish. Then Christoph Sauser began his attrition tactics: riding at maximum speed into the short and steep climbs and keeping the pace high. "Christoph simply had more reserves at the end. I had to let him go," acknowledged Reto Indergand, who lost a good minute on the marathon world champion. "I knew that I could keep up with the best for 90 minutes, because that's how long a cross-country race lasts. The remaining 50 minutes were an experiment for me that ended to my satisfaction. It's no disgrace to come second against the world champion."

Konny Looser loses touch earlier and then makes common cause with Jérémy Huegenin. In the end, he won the sprint against the Frenchman by one bike length. "My goal was to make it a sprint. Unfortunately, I had to let Sauser and Indergand go," says Looser.

"It's not so easy to torture yourself when you're riding alone," admits women's winner Milena Landtwing, who reached the finish with a lead of more than five minutes. "I missed the duel with Ariane Kleinhans like last year." The battle was limited to the change in temperature. "The heat was extreme for me. It's much cooler in the Engadin, where I live. That's why I'm glad the race didn't take longer." Michelle Wittlin reached the finish line in second place: "I coped well with the heat, as most of the lap was in the forest." However, she never saw Milena, who broke away on her own right after the start, explained Wittlin.

In third place, just nine seconds behind Wittlin, was Nadia Walker: "I'm mega happy that I was able to ride here at all. I had a car accident in December and was the victim of a rear-end collision on the highway. The whiplash cost me a lot of time, which I spent in physio." She also fell behind in her training as a result. She is all the happier that it was even enough for third place on the podium. However, Walker cannot yet say what will happen next. "I'll take it from here and see how it goes. It would have been exciting to ride the long distances of the iXS-classic."

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