Schurter and Suess rule again at BMC Cup in Solothurn

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Scott-Odlo teammates Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel offered a masterly performance and prevailed against BMC's armada, comprised of World Cup leader Julien Absalon, BMC Racing Cup leader Moritz Milatz, Lukas Flueckiger, Ralph Naef, Reto Indergand and Martin Fanger. World Champion Schurter celebrated his fourth victory in Solothurn. In the women's race, Esther Suess even took her fifth win.

Men

After his stint to the Tour de Romandie, Schurter returned to mountain bike racing in a brillant manner. When he upped his pace halfway through the race, he opened up the crucial gap between himself and his pursuers to finally win solo with a lead of 26 seconds.

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Although team BMC was numerically superior, Schurter's mid-race maneuver coerced them to chase him. On the other hand, his Scott teammate Florian Vogel also benefited from this situation. He joined the first chase group, settling into their pace and getting carried along with their momentum. Thanks to this tactically favourable constellation, Vogel saved enough energy to assert himself in the final stage of the race against an armada of BMC riders. Flueckiger was third, grinding his teeth. After his two World Cup wins, Absalon had come to Solothurn with high hopes. But he was not able to intervene in the fight at the top at any time.

"Since neither Lukas Flueckiger nor Martin Fanger went to the front, Florian Vogel held a gap open for me," said Schurter. "Actually, we had not planned to do this so early in the race. After it had happened, it was like a time trial for me."

Vogel said, "This race took a very specific turn. But it has been like that for years in Solothurn because this race is a blend between mountain bike and road race."

"It's possible to win or lose the race in Solothurn during the first five minutes. I lost it today," said Flückiger. He had crossed the finish line in third and was top BMC rider. However, he had actually hoped to win the race. "But things turned against us today. When Nino Schurter rode away, we had to do all the chasing," said Flückiger. "Moritz Milatz, Martin Fanger, and Ralph Naef have sacrificed themselves for the benefit of the team."

Absalon had crossed the finish line in fourth place. He said that he had not yet recovered from the excitement and the long journey home after his victory at the World Cup in Cairns, Australia. The preparation for the race in Solothurn had been difficult for him. "Of course, it's unfortunate to lose the race in this manner, despite our numerical superiority. But Nino was very strong indeed," said the World Cup leader.

Women

Forty-year-old Esther Suess laid the foundation for her fifth victory at the BMC Racing Cup in Solothurn when she put the hammer down in the penultimate of six laps. Her main contenders, World Cup winner Eva Lechner and the young French woman Margotte Moschetti, were some 38 seconds behind her when Suess hit the home stretch. Kathrin Stirnemann was poorly rewarded with fourth place. She had played a very lively part during the first laps of the race, but could not maintain the speed of the leaders in the final part.

"Since the first World Cup race in Pietermaritzburg I have had some breathing problems," said Suess. "I don't get enough air. That's why I was a bit scared entering the Solothurn race."

She was happy about the fact that there was not too high a pace at the beginning of the race. Since she was still able to stay in the leading group after three laps, she regained her self-confidence. Finally, when she launched her attack in the fifth lap she managed to open up a decisive gap.

Runner-up Lechner said, "I was still struggling after all the travelling and the high emotions at the World Cup in Australia." Just when Suess and Stirnemann had pulled clear on a climb in the forest, she made a mistake that finally hindered her from catching up with Suess again.

Third place for Margotte Moschetti was quite a surprise. She had achieved her best result so far as a junior, finishing second at the European Championships in Moscow. However, in her first year as a U23 rider, she was out of luck: Due to a cruciate ligament rupture she was sidelined during most of the season in 2013. Therefore she was all the more happy to gain third place in Solothurn.

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