The penultimate round of this year’s BMC Racing Cup will be staged this weekend in Davos. High-caliber staff has proclaimed its presence at the C2 race on a newly arranged race course. The prominent personnel includes Olympic Campions Sabine Spitz and Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa, as well as World Championship runner-up Lukas Flückiger and Sprint World Champion Ralph Näf.
The women’s race promises a highly interesting duel. To everybody’s surprise 41-year old Spitz Sabine (GER) earned the second World Cup victory of her career last Saturday in Andorra.
After a thrilling race the 2008 Olympic Champion triumphed in a very close decision over Nash Katerina (CZE), Lechner Eva (ITA) and in front of her old rival Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (40) from Norway. The 2004 Olympic champion and record World Cup winner was fourth, just nine seconds behind Spitz, although Dahle had had to overcome a crash on the first lap.
Due to a shoulder injury suffered in May, Spitz had been out of action for seven weeks. Therefore it is no surprise that concerning the race in Davos she explains: "It is still very important for me to get more competition practice and intensity." But she also adds that she is keen on acquiring „world ranking points“.
Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa has participated in only a few races so far due to some infections .„For me it is important to get back into competition mode“, says the four time World Champion from Multivan-Merida Biking Team, who of course would very much like to retaliate.
Spitz’s teammate in team Haibike, Adelheid Morath (GER), who suffered a broken collarbone in June while training for the European Championships in Bern, also appears among the best riders in the world. She finished her comeback race on 13th position on Saturday. Right behind her was former World Champion Irina Kalentieva from Russia. She will also be lining up at the start in Davos.
Giant teamrider Jolanda Neff (SUI) who was seventh in Andorra, and European Marathon Champion Esther Süss (SUI) of team Wheeler-iXS will represent the Swiss aspirations. Süss was twelth last weekend in front of Morath and Kalentieva: „I was not quite satisfied with the rank, but I was happy with my performance".
Since she had entered the World Cup race without any high-altitude preparation, she will be well acclimatized, because she will travel from the Engadine to Davos.
“I am looking forward to this test of strength with Sabine and Gunn-Rita, which is always very nice. Let’s see, how I can challenge them,“ says Süss. Of course, this is also true for super talent Jolanda Neff (20), who may as well defy these competitors who are twice her age.
However, there are two more Swiss women who will make for an exciting women's race: Kathrin Stirnemann (SUI), the Sprint World Cup winner of Andorra, and third placed U23 cross country racer Andrea Waldis (SUI) of team Colnago-Südtirol.
Men: Flückiger wants to be up at the front
In the men’s competition Fluckiger Lukas of BMC Racing Team is the defending champion. The man from Leimiswil will travel to Davos from the near Engadine and he wants to overcome the disappointment about 22nd place at the Andorra World Cup, where a mechanical was responsible for this setback. "I will certainly incorporate the race on Sunday in my training program, but my form is good. If everything goes well, I should be able to be up front," said Flückiger.
His main rivals? Very likely Giant rider Giger Fabian. He was sixth in Andorra although hampered in the race by some tough luck. "y training is having a great effect. I am on the right path“ says Giger. Therefore he will certainly be one of the contenders for the win in Davos.
The same will most likely hold true for Vogel Florian (SUI) of Scott-Swisspower. He has just returned to the ranks of the world’s best with an impressive seventh place at the World Cup in the Pyrenees.
The three of them will also have to contend with Flückiger’s teammate Ralph Näf (SUI) who was unhappy about his 15th place result in Andorra, but clearly shows an upward trend. Since former European Champion Moritz Milatz (BMC) from Germany also travels to Davos „with some anger inside“, presuppositions are perfect for a high class mountain bike race. Milatz had had to abandon the World Cup race due to stomach cramps. For the same reasons, his teammate Martin Fanger (SUI) did not even line up for the start.
Multivan-Merida riders Thomas Litscher (SUI) and José Antonio Hermida (ESP) had had to cope with disappointment at the World Cup and will try to rehabilitate themselves.
Race course changed
The Davos race course has been re-arranged. Start and finish have been moved to the Bünda grounds near Parsenn parking lot. The track is 5.0 km long, and provides a jagged profile after a 500-meter climb. This profile seems to allow for an interesting race.
Source: press release
