The weather in Heubach plays along, the course is drier than it has probably been in the past ten years. And the crowd created a great, much-praised atmosphere, which Elisabeth Brandau was able to enjoy to the full at the end of the women's race. Anyone who takes a close look at the Schönaich native's (EBE Racing) spring can at least expect the 32-year-old to play a good role in Heubach. However, not everyone expects her to prevail against world-class riders such as Maja Wloszczowska (Kross Racing) and Yana Belomoina (CST Sandd American Eagle).

"I already knew that I was strong on the climbs. But it was quite slippery downhill and I didn't ride at full throttle for the first four laps," explains Brandau. The race became a typical Heubach pendulum race. At the top of the highest point, after 1.8 kilometers of almost continuous climbing, the German always has a lead over Wloszczowska and also over the world number one Belomoina.
"Elisabeth was incredibly strong uphill. I always tried to make up time on the downhill," says the Pole from her perspective.

At the bottom, Brandau has a lead of between eight and 15 seconds until the fourth of six laps. But then Wloszczwoska was able to close the gap again. "That's when I realized I had to ride fast again. Then I rode at the limit and tore the hole. Then it was just a case of hanging in there and getting through without breaking down," said Brandau, explaining how she fended off the attack from the two-time Olympic silver medalist.

What does winning the "BiketheRock" mean to her? "I can't say, I'm just glad that I came down safely. It was mentally tough and I'm proud that I got through."
Nevertheless, Wloszczwoska is not unhappy with second place. "Elisabeth deserved it. Of course, I would have liked to win because I like the race so much and the atmosphere here is so great, but I can be satisfied," says Wloszczowska, who is still suffering a little from a broken rib.

Yana Belomoina loses the connection to the former world champion during an overtaking maneuver against juniors. "I rode my pace after that," says Belomoina, who is only just making her way back after a long injury break. "Heubach is always tough. The course actually suits me, but I would have preferred it to be a bit colder," she says with a laugh. "But it's good that it was dry."

Sabine Spitz is in fourth place after lap one and is holding her own. "I struggled on the climb and enjoyed the descent," she says with a smile at the finish. "You just have to find your rhythm here and at the end you have 1300 meters of altitude behind you."
"It feels like the climb gets three degrees steeper every lap."

Co-favorite Anne Tauber has to cancel her start. According to team manager Bart Brentjens, the Dutchwoman has been suffering from pain in her knee since the race in Haiming, Austria. World champion Jolanda Neff from Switzerland gives up in the second round. She was "weak", according to her team manager Tomasz Swierzcynski. Neff had injured her thigh two weeks ago.

Schurter enjoys the final lap

At the start of the men's race, French riders Titouan Carod (BMC Racing) and Jordan Sarrou (KMC Ekoi SR Suntour) are still in the leading group. Later, road returnee Ondrej Cink (Primaflor-Mondraker) briefly catches up, but in the end the 18th edition of the "BiketheRock" is primarily a Swiss affair in the men's race.

Nino Schurter (Scott-Sram) is at the front right from the start. But it's apparently not as controlled as it looks. "I struggled at the start because of the pollen and breathing difficulties," explained Schurter at the finish. European champion Florian Vogel (Focus XC) has to show his colors in lap three, so that Lars Forster (BMC Racing) and Nino Schurter form a duo at the front - apart from Cink's intermezzo at the front in lap four. "Lars always lost touch at the bottom, but he got closer again at the top. And he rode super fast on the downhill," says Nino Schurter, outlining the action between the two Swiss riders. But in the end, he opened up such a big gap on the penultimate lap that Forster was no longer able to keep up and the world champion took his second BiketheRock victory in 1:35:26 hours. "I didn't really attack, I just rode my thing. I was then able to enjoy the last lap. This is now my second win in a row, which makes me happy three weeks before the World Cup in Albstadt," says Schurter.

Lars Forster sees his rival "simply as the stronger one". He himself lost out at the start because Ben Zwiehoff (Bergamont) left a gap in front of him on the descent. "That meant I had to over-pace to close the gap," admitted Forster. "Then I got a bigger gap again on the climb and had to catch up again," explained Forster. "The race is very tough, but the event is really cool. The atmosphere is great and it's a lot of fun."

Reto Indergand is not on the radar at first. He positioned himself in sixth or seventh position, then found his rhythm and overtook two riders. "I was already quite happy with the top five, but then I realized that there was still room for improvement," says Indergand. In the second half of the race, he overtakes Florian Vogel and also passes Ondrej Cink. "That's awesome, I didn't think it would go so well," says Indergand, who finishes 54 seconds behind Schurter, thus perfecting the same order as at the Swiss Bike Cup in Schaan a week earlier.
Marcel Guerrini (Focus XC) finished fourth, steadily working his way forward and relegating Ondrej Cink to fifth place with the best final lap.

Race for juniors: Colombo on the podium

In the men's U23 race, German champion Max Brandl has "no chance" against Frenchman Joshua Dubau in the morning, as he says. On lap two, climbing artist Dubau outsprinted last year's winner Brandl and his Lexware teammate Luca Schwarzbauer and rode to victory with a 23-second lead. Max Brandl confesses that he "pretty much broke down" on the final lap after he had caught up quite a bit and then lost air from the tire. "I had no chance of following Joshua. I tried to push again on the fourth lap, but I probably wouldn't have been able to do it even if I hadn't had the sneak. It wasn't quite my day today," commented Brandl. The Swiss Filippo Colombo finished third ahead of the German Luca Schwarzbauer, whose cleat came off halfway through the race.

At the start of the national league races on Sunday, the Swiss favorite Alexandre Balmer came out on top in the junior race. He wins 19 seconds ahead of Frenchman Mathis Azzaro and 42 seconds ahead of Leon Reinhard Kaiser. Alexandre Balmer rides the race in a very controlled manner. He starts the second of five laps in first position and then slowly shakes off his rivals in the second part of the 1.8-kilometre climb. "I rode a little slower at the bottom and then left them behind at the top," says Balmer. "I tried to ride the descent safely and recover."

In the juniors, world champion Laura Stigger from Austria is in a class of her own. She wins 2:06 minutes ahead of Justine Tonso from France and 4:19 minutes ahead of Tamara Wiedmann, also from Austria.

Summary: record number of participants

Number 18 of the "BiketheRock" set a new record in its history with 931 participants over the entire weekend. In addition to the increase in the 3rd Fujibikes Marathon by 15 percent to 354, the 187 starters in the hobby races for school children (U15 to U9) also showed a pleasing development. Eckhard Häffner and his organization team were also very satisfied with the countless spectators. "I think there were even more than in 2017. We had a very nice and successful 18th edition of the 'BiketheRock powered by KMC'," said Häffner.

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