In the women's race, Jolanda Neff was always in the first positions over the nine-lap distance with a changing lead, but when Woodruff mounted a strong attack at the end of lap six, she didn't dare to work on the pace either. Woodruff quickly increased her lead to up to 18 seconds and ultimately won the first World Cup competition of her career by eight seconds.

British champion Annie Last won the sprint of the large chasing group ahead of Jolanda Neff, who at least managed to keep world champion Kate Courtney (USA) behind her.
"I felt great," says Neff. "Now I have two second places and a third, I'm super happy with that. Of course I would love to win a short track race. I'll have another chance at the next World Cup. The race today was very tactical, Woodruff had the courage to attack and deserved to win. I don't think I would have gotten away, they would have ridden after me."

Linda Indergand finished sixth (+0:09). "I was surprised when she left three laps before the end, but that also makes it exciting. I'm happy with my result, on the front row on Sunday, that's great," she says.

Men: Van der Poel with fifth short track success

In the fourth of ten 1.1-kilometer laps, there is movement in the men's field. Brazilian champion Henrique Avancini attacks, followed by New Zealander Anton Cooper. The duo have a lead of perhaps four seconds, then Mathieu Van der Poel gets serious.

He stretches out in front of the chasing group and closes the gap. He takes the lead on the climb and attacks immediately. Nino Schurter neutralizes the attack, but on the following lap Van der Poel repeats his method at the same point.
"When Mathieu attacked for the second time, I let him go. It was very tactical, I felt good, but I wanted to save as much energy as possible," said Nino Schurter.

His rivals also make no attempt to follow Van der Poel with power, only Avancini tries, but also without success. Above all, he can't get rid of his companions.
Mathieu van der Poel rides confidently to his fifth success in this discipline. He is able to coast down the finishing straight, allowing Frenchman Maxime Marotte to ride across the line in the same seconds as the chasers in the sprint. Avancini finished third behind him, half a bike length ahead of Nino Schurter.

Reto Indergand was the second best Swiss in tenth place (+0:04). He had bad luck in the early stages when a competitor touched his gears and he subsequently had to ride with a gear handicap.
"The battles for position were brutal on the first few laps. Someone rode into my gear changer, so the gearshift was almost semi-automatic. I lacked a bit of power at the end, but I'm satisfied," explains Reto Indergand.

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