Mathias Flückiger caused the first sensation of the season with his start at the CIC ON Swiss Bike Cup in Gränichen. In December, Swiss Olympic lifted Flückiger's provisional - and controversial - ban from August 18, 2022. The Olympic silver medal winner from Tokyo 2020 has already signaled that he has lost none of his class. At the end of February, he finished a good sixth in a UCI race in Banyoles (Spain).

Of course, the 34-year-old Bernese rider is one of the favourites in Gränichen. The strong field of participants, including the two French stars Titouan Carod, overall World Cup runner-up in 2022, and Jordan Sarrou, 2020 World Champion, both from Team BMC, will certainly challenge Flückiger.

Overall World Cup winner Keller against Olympic champion Neff

The women's field offers a similarly exciting constellation: the overall World Cup winner - Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) - will face the Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020 - Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing).

Neff, from eastern Switzerland, will only start the season in Gränichen, as this year's World Cup season is longer than in previous years. "I think it's very cool that we have high-level races like the one in Gränichen in Switzerland. For me, it's the perfect preparation for the first World Cups, where I can test the set-up, continue to hone my form and familiarize myself with all the processes with the team. I don't want to start a World Cup season without having ridden other races first. It's clear that I also want to achieve a good result in Gränichen," says Jolanda Neff about the starting position.

Alessandra Keller, on the other hand, has already clocked up a few racing kilometers this season and has already won a test race in South Africa. So nothing stands in the way of a hot duel in Gränichen.

The bike races in Gränichen are taking place for the 31st time and up to 800 participants are expected. The junior category races will be held on Saturday and the UCI categories on Sunday, with races from the international UCI Junior Series also on the program.

In the 2023 season, the strongest climbers in the series will be determined at all rounds of the CIC ON Swiss Bike Cup. An additional split time will be installed on a climbing-specific section of the route. The participants with the fastest split times will receive cash prizes at all stages. The Climber overall classification includes those who took part in all seven races.