The seven-man lead group remains for an unusually long time. At the start of the final climb to the Ächerli Pass, Mennen (GER) pulls away with an increase in speed. "We didn't follow him immediately. I concentrated on Buchli, who set the pace in the chasing group. Huber, in turn, only looked at me," said Sauser, describing the decisive phase of the race. Shortly before the culmination point, the reigning world champion took the initiative himself and picked up the pace after it had collapsed.

Sauser's calculation works out. He put his downhill skills to good use, distanced Huber by a few seconds and caught Mennen in the final kilometers. With his victory, Sauser secures the overall victory of the "iXS-Bike-Classic" ahead of time. Lukas Buchli is unable to intervene in the decision. On the bumpy final descent, last year's winner jammed his chain, meaning he also lost the battle for fourth place to local hero Martin Fanger.

In the women's race, Ariane Kleinhans took the initiative on the first climb and set a pace that none of her rivals could match. "I knew that the climb would suit me. That's why I wanted to pull out a bit of a lead," explains the Thun resident from South Africa. Knowing that her closest rival, Milena Landtwing, is stronger on the downhill, Kleinhans has the opportunity to take it a little easier on the downhill and doesn't have to take unnecessary risks. "I was a bit nervous at the start, as I was also in contention for overall victory. But when I heard about my lead later on, the nervousness quickly subsided," says Kleinhans, who also secured overall victory ahead of time.Landtwing takes her defeat in her stride. "Riding races is much more fun when you have a competitor like Ariane at eye level. It spurs you on a lot more," explains the 32-year-old.Stefan Peter triumphs in the middle distance. The Giswil native has already achieved many a top result on the "O-Tour" in the past. His team-mate Silvan Kälin, who leads the overall standings of the "iXS Bike Classic", finishes in fifth place. This is enough to take his lead into the final round of the race series.Last year's winner Nadja Walker once again lives up to her role as favorite. The 31-year-old wins the middle distance race ahead of Franziska Brun and Margrit Abächerli. Sue Tanner finishes in fourth place, which is enough for her to defend her lead in the overall standings.On September 22, the final stage of the six-race marathon series will take place in Einsiedeln with the "Iron Bike Race".www.ixsclassic.ch