At the start, it doesn't look like Schurter or Flückiger will be fighting for victory in the end. Flückiger is pushed into the barriers at the start and is initially only in 30th position. Schurter suffers a crash on lap one and is therefore only twelfth after half a lap.

At the front, it is first Henrique Avancini who sets the pace, then Ondrej Cink takes over. The Czech, who has already finished second in the World Cup twice in the Vallnord Bike Park and third in the World Championships in 2015, attacks and opens up a gap that grows to over 20 seconds.
But on lap five of seven, he suddenly slows down, is caught and then also stops at the feed zone. He clutches his heart. The explanation comes later: Cink had emptied very cold water over his head half a lap earlier. His circulation doesn't seem to have been able to cope with this. He registers a heart rate of 230 and slows down. After a minute, his heart rate is back up to 160 and he rides on. He even rides a fastest lap time, but it is only enough for tenth place.

After this dramatic incident, the chasing trio of Nino Schurter, Mathias Flückiger and Henrique Avancini are suddenly in front and fighting for the win after last year's winner Gerhard Kerschbaumer has lost the lead.
There are repeated bursts of speed, but the decision is not made until the final lap.
Nino Schurter accelerates on the first climb. While Avancini loses a few seconds, Mathias Flückiger remains on his rear wheel. He is also able to parry Schurter's attack on the second climb and takes the lead himself.

So it goes into the longest and steepest climb. Schurter tries to pass him, but Flückiger parries and stays in the lead. He also keeps it in the following technical passages.
Schurter gets stuck once, but Flückiger doesn't notice and can't capitalize.
"That might have been my chance," he says later. As it is, the world champion is back on his rear wheel while Flückiger does the work up front. "I may not have behaved optimally tactically, but I didn't want Avancini to get close again," explained Flückiger.

The Brazilian did indeed come within a few meters, but then had to capitulate when Schurter attacked on the way through the feed zone, perhaps 300 meters before the finish. Flückiger no longer has enough resistance.
"I think that was one of the toughest races I've ever ridden," says Nino Schurter. "The crash at the start put me on the defensive, I had to get back into rhythm. That was quite an ordeal."
Flückiger was very offensive and he then thought he had to give it a go. "I couldn't get Mathias away and so I went for the sprint, which worked. Now it's all about recovering well in five days."

Flückiger is a little torn in his assessment

"If I want to stay ahead in the overall standings, it's about every point. I was suddenly top ten, then top five and then it was all about the win," explained Flückiger. "If I look at the whole race, I'm satisfied. If I look at the last few laps, I could have won."

Florian Vogel has bad luck on the first lap because he loses air from the front wheel. He decides to ride on for the time being so as not to lose too many positions. "I had to be very careful on the descents," explains Vogel. "But then I decided to go through with it and I think that was the right decision. Without the problem, it would certainly have been enough for a top ten result, but that's part and parcel of our sport," explained Vogel, who finished 13th, 1:46 minutes behind.

Thomas Litscher also has a defect (at the back), but he has it repaired and therefore also loses sight of the top ten. He finishes 17th (+2:12).

Filippo Colombo once again on the U23 podium

Swiss U23 champion Filippo Colombo finished third on the podium for the third time this season at the World Cup in the Bikepark Vallnord, Andorra. Colombo finished third, 1:32 minutes ahead of Vlad Dascalu. The Romanian thus extends his lead in the overall standings. Joel Roth finishes in ninth place (+2:54).

Filippo Colombo is part of a four-man lead group that loses its first rider, Canadian Sean Fincham, on the fourth lap. In the penultimate lap, the Spaniard Jofre Cullell attacks, only the Romanian Dascalu can follow, while Colombo loses the connection.
"When the attack came, I had no legs. More was not possible today, the others were stronger. That's why I'm satisfied," explains Colombo.
He had to fight to the end to ensure Fincham didn't steal third place from him. But the BMC rider fights and earns his place on the podium.

Joel Roth has the misfortune that Colombo ahead of him sees the green start signal on the traffic lights with a slight delay. Roth immediately loses positions and is in 20th place when he crashes in a meadow descent on lap one.
"Too bad, the legs were good today, maybe even for the top five," regrets Roth.

He doesn't lose heart and continues to fight his way forward. In the end, ninth place is still a top ten result.
In the battle for victory, Dascalu launches the decisive attack at the start of the final lap on the first climb and leaves Jofre Cullell behind. The Romanian quickly extended his lead and won in the end, 45 seconds ahead of Cullell.