Alessandra Keller also impresses in the cross-country at the World Cup premiere in Crans-Montana. The athlete from Nidwalden comes second, as she did the day before in the short track. The Frenchwoman Loana Lecomte wins in superior style.
Keller secured her second podium finish in the cross-country category this year. A month ago, the athlete from Nidwalden came third in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic. Thanks to this latest top result, Keller took the lead in the overall World Cup rankings.
The premiere of the Mountain Bike World Cup, which was also the main rehearsal for next year's World Championships, took place in difficult conditions and low temperatures for the time of year. The heavy rain had softened the course and turned it into a muddy track in places.
Keller had caught up with the leading Lecomte in the meantime, but had to let the Frenchwoman, who had already pulled away from the field on the starting lap, go again. The racer from Central Switzerland crossed the finish line 46 seconds behind last year's World Championship silver medallist, who won a cross-country race in the World Cup for the tenth time. Third place went to Puck Pieterse from the Netherlands, the winner of Saturday's short track competition.
Several prominent female riders were not at the start in Crans-Montana. In addition to Olympic champion Jolanda Neff, who is undergoing outpatient therapy for her breathing problems, the athletes who had shared the victories in the previous four cross-country races of the season were also absent.
Five-time world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who had won the last two Olympic-distance races in Val di Sole in Trentino and Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, did not compete in view of the Olympic Games in Paris. Sweden's Jenny Rissveds, who had dominated the opener in Mairiporä in Brazil, and the American Haley Batten, the winner a week later in Araxa, were absent due to injury.
