Alessandra Keller and Thomas Pidcock show flashes of their Olympic form in the short track of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Crans-Montana. Briton Pidcock wins in commanding style, Keller comes second.
Keller showed a strong race over the five laps in Crans-Montana. The 28-year-old from Nidwalden, who will travel to Paris for her first Olympic Games as the clear Swiss number 1, worked her way up from fourth to second place on the last lap and was only beaten by Puck Pieterse. In the final lap, the Dutchwoman irresistibly overtook her compatriot Anne Tauber, who had initially lost the lead, and took victory, just as she had done the previous week in Val di Sole.
"I'm very consistent in the short track, no matter what the topography of the race. That makes me proud. The timetable for Paris is right," said Keller.
Olympic cross-country champion Thomas Pidcock, who finished sixth overall at the Tour de Suisse last week, easily made up for his unfavorable starting position due to his few starts in the Mountain Bike World Cup and did not have to rely on a sprint to finish ahead of Germany's Julian Schelb and Italy's Luca Braidot.
Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo, who led the short race for a while, also had to let go in the final laps. The two Scott team-mates ultimately finished 6th (Schurter) and 7th (Colombo) ahead of Marcel Guerrini (8th).
Colombo can thus continue to aim for the overall World Cup after his bitter non-selection for the Olympic Games. As overall leader Victor Koretzky will not be competing in Crans-Montana, Schurter (currently second) and Colombo (fourth) could take over the lead on Sunday.
