Philipp Walsleben and Francis Mourey (FRA) already pull away from their opponents on the first lap. The two then completed their laps alone. But only until halfway through the race. Walsleben was able to distance himself from the favorite Mourey shortly afterwards. "The weather suited me. The course was harder than last year because of the rain. So I was able to show off my skills," explained a satisfied Walsleben. "However, I didn't expect to win the first race of the season," continued Walsleben. In the end, the German champion came out on top with a lead of more than a minute. The surprise comes from Spaniard Egoitz Murgoitio, who rides to third place.

Murgoitio takes the place that was actually expected to go to the Swiss. Simon Zahner and national champion Julien Taramarcaz were on the podium at the start of the race, but the longer the race went on, the further away they got from the podium. Taramarzac ends up as the best local in sixth place. In the final phase, he just managed to cross the finish line ahead of Lukas Müller, who was coming on strong. Ralph Näf, who rode the World Cup final in Norway the day before, is at the start of the Crossquer less than 24 hours later. Barely recovered from the race and journey, Näf struggles in the midfield before catapulting himself to a respectable eleventh place with a chase in the last two laps.

Swiss surprise in the women's race
Belgium's Sanne Cant, four-time champion in her country and fifth in the world rankings, takes the lead in the first round of the very well-staffed women's race. Dutch rider Sophie de Boer set off in pursuit of Cant early on, but was unable to catch her and had to settle for second place. Sanne Cant is delighted with her victory: "That was my first race of the season. The course wasn't easy, but I was able to hold on and ride home to victory."

Swiss rider Nicole Koller is in for a big surprise. The 16-year-old kept up with the leaders right from the start and managed to establish herself in third place. Koller holds this position until the finish: "I'm surprised myself about this position. It went really well for me and I was able to defend this position." Whether Koller will continue to ride cyclocross races is not clear at the moment: "I've done the whole mountain bike season and am now taking a break." Nicole Hanselmann is the second-best Swiss rider in sixth place. She leaves last year's winner Marlene Petitgirard (FRA) behind her.

Swiss television "SRF" reports on Ralph Näf's double effort.
http://www.srf.ch/player/tv/sport-clip/video/ralph-naef-am-suepercross-in-baden?id=683d3ad3-b1c1-48b5-a617-bbcd4cabcd39

www.suepercross-baden.ch