Van der Poel races away from the Swiss
In the third lap, it becomes clear that the winner of the ninth World Cup edition in Val di Sole will come from the trio of Van der Poel, Schurter and Mathias Flückiger. The triumvirate extended their lead over the Brazilian Henrique Avancini and later the Italian Luca Braidot.
Mathias Flückiger is active, but he can't open up a gap. "I was probably the strongest on the long climbs today. I tried to ride offensively, but I didn't have the confidence to follow through," explained Flückiger later.
Nino Schurter is defensive because after two laps he feels that "third place would be the maximum today". "I was missing something at the maximum today."
"If Mathieu goes like this... "
Van der Poel also pushes the pace at times, but because Schurter is able to close the small gaps he concedes on the downhills, the three rivals go into the final lap wheel to wheel.
Schurter once again stretches out in front and accelerates up the first climb. "That was more of a desperate attack," he says later with a laugh.
Mathieu van der Poel takes over the pace and marks a cracking attack. "When Mathieu goes like that, it's awesome. Maybe I should have been more aggressive on the climb beforehand, then it would have been difficult for him too," says Mathias Flückiger.
Small comeback despite defect
Thomas Litscher finished in eighth place (+2:55), his best result of the season. Due to a technical defect, he lost the group around Avancini, who were fighting for the podium places. "That was a shame and I was very annoyed, but the rest was good and I managed the race well. In the end, I'm happy with the top ten," explained Litscher.
Matthias Stirnemann rode a solid race and finished 17th, ahead of Reto Indergand and Lukas Flückiger in 20th place.
Full results
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