Alessandra Keller makes it onto the podium in the Olympic cross-country at the World Cup in Andorra for the first time this season. The athlete from Nidwalden finishes second after a strong chase.
13.07.2025, 13:35
13.07.2025, 15:09
SDA
After her victory in the short track on Friday, Alessandra Keller was only beaten by New Zealand's overall World Cup leader Samara Maxwell in the race at over 2000 meters above sea level in the Pal Arinsal ski station. Keller did not get off to a good start, but steadily worked her way forward to leave Sweden's Jenny Rissveds and Italy's Martina Berta behind in the last of seven laps.
Koller remains consistent
Nicole Koller, the most consistent Swiss rider this season, also made it into the top 8 in the sixth race of the season in fifth place. Ronja Blöchlinger achieved a career-best result in 8th place two days after her podium debut in the short race. Jolanda Neff's form is also continuing to improve a month and a half before the home World Championships in Valais. The 2021 Olympic champion finished in the top ten in ninth place for the third time in a row.
Linda Indergand achieved the required top 20 classification to meet the World Championship selection criteria with a 14th place at the last minute - and on her 32nd birthday.
World champion in bad luck
The race was characterized by numerous crashes on a track soaked by the overnight rain. Halfway through the race, Puck Pieterse, who was alone in the lead, also suffered a crash. The world champion from the Netherlands only finished tenth in the end. Meanwhile, Samara Maxwell, who won the World Cup for the second time, also finished on the podium in the sixth race of the season. After six of ten stops, the New Zealander leads the overall World Cup standings with a 445-point lead over Koller.
