Lukas Flückiger and Adelheid Morath win in Gränichen

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Lukas Flueckiger raced to victory at the fourth round of the BMC Racing Cup in Gränichen. Flueckiger won ahead of two-time Olympic champion Julien Absalon and Thomas Litscher. In the women's race, Esther Suess had bad luck, missing her fourth straight win in the series due to a technical problem that handicapped her in the last lap. German Adelheid Morath took the win, Suess was second, and Jolanda Neff was third.

Men

In front of a large crowd of spectators at Gränichens's gravel plant, Lukas Flueckiger managed to confirm that he is still in great shape after a couple of demanding races in recent weeks. After 36.4 kilometers, the rider from Leimiswil won the race just a second ahead of his BMC teammate Julien Absalon and thus celebrated his first victory of the season.

On the technically demanding 4.55-kilometer course, Flueckiger took command right from the very first lap onwards. In the second lap, he already had a lead of 15 seconds on a chase group. He was riding well after racing the GP Aargau road race on Thursday.

Using clever tactics, Absalon let his teammate pull away from the field. But when Absalon noticed that Fabian Giger was slowing down a bit in the chase group, he attacked immediately and caught up with Flueckiger in the third of eight laps.

They both worked together and increased their lead to one minute.

"Julien had noticed that in some sections I was a little stronger than him. I am familiar with the race course and that, of course, is an advantage. So we agreed to work together until the final lap, also to save some energy. Then, in the final lap, we both fought for the victory," said Flueckiger.

"For me this victory affirms that I have been able to keep the form that I had at the World Cup races."

Absalon was raving about a "tactically perfect race" and hopes for a similar cooperation at the World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy next Saturday. "Then perhaps with a reverse result," said the Frenchman, laughing.

In the chasing group Matthias Stirnemann surprised his home crowd by fighting for a place on the podium. The U23 rider defied Giant pro racer Fabian Giger. They both benefited from Mathias Flueckiger's misfortune. Lukas' younger brother was in third position when a mechanical problem forced him to drop back.

Due to some injuries, Thomas Litscher was not able to keep up with the field in the beginning, but in the fifth lap charged up to the chasing group - and the Multivan Merida rider came out on top. 1:00 minute back in third.

"On the final climb, I was able to counter attack Fabian," said Litscher.

BMC rider Stirnemann defended fifth place and showed himself deeply moved on the podium. "The audience was a huge motivation for me, I am overwhelmed. During the week, I have already noticed that things are getting better and, of course, I know this race track by heart," said Stirnemann.

Women

"The race was not long enough to come back again. During the first five laps, I did a perfect race. This certainty I can take with me to the World Cup and to the European Championships in Bern," said a somewhat disappointed Süss.

Morath said, "I was really lucky today. In the beginning, I felt a little tired, but in each lap, things were getting better. Now I can take on my next tasks with a good basic feeling." Morath, ninth at the World Cup opener in Albstadt, had worked her way to the front from sixth place in the first lap.

Neff had fallen back to fifth place during the race, but was able to fight her way back to third position, after she had caught up to Corina Gantenbein and to Kathrin Stirnemann, who had been in second position for some time.

Neff said, "It was hard, because this year we are not yet used to the heat. It took me a while to find my rhythm. Sure, it would have been nice to win, but the other girls were stronger today." Neff had also suffered from some bruises sustained from a crash during a recent stay in the USA.

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