Schurter & Lechner win Swisspower Cup round

U23 World champion Nino Schurter (Swisspower) won the elite race in Savognin, Switzerland, in difficult conditions ahead of Mathias Flückiger (Athleticum MTB Team) and Martin Gujan (Athleticum MTB Team). Pouring rain caused officials to shorten the race. Eva Lechner (Colnago) won the women's race ahead of Petra Henzi (Fischer-BMC) and Nathalie Schneitter (Colnago).

Schurter went away from the gun with his team-mate Florian Vogel. In the third lap, a fatigued Vogel abandoned. That left Swisspower Cup leader Gujan to hold second place for a long time, riding solo, but on the final section, Flückiger passed him for second. Schurter stayed in control at the front and celebrated his win in front of a lot of spectators who came out in spite of the rain.

"It was hard, particularly with these conditions," said winner Schurter.

In the women's race, Lechner won by thirty seconds over Henzi and three minutes over Schneitter, who finished second at the U23 women's world championships.

A knee injury kept Olympic Champion Julien Absalon from starting while former world champion Russian Irina Kalentieva cancelled her participation on short notice due to a problem with her retina which required an urgent operation.

See Cyclingnews' full coverage of the Swisspower Cup in Savognin.