Absalon prevails in Switzerland

Olympic champion Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Switzerland's Esther Süss (Wheeler-IXS Pro Team) prevailed in the elite men's and women's races comprising the third round of the Racer Bikes Cup.

In the elite men's event, Absalon set a furious tempo from the start and distanced everyone except world champion Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing) and his teammate Florian Vogel. Schurter, however, suffered a flat tire on the fourth of eight laps and dropped out of contention for the victory.

Absalon shared the pace-making with Vogel until the final lap, when the Frenchman gapped Vogel and soloed to the finish for the win 28 seconds ahead of the Swiss. Third place went to 21-year-old former junior world champion Thomas Litscher (MIG-Bike-Team), 2:30 down on Absalon, while Schurter ended up fourth 1:32 later.

Absalon took his second victory in the series and assumed the overall lead.

The elite women's race was decided on the second lap when Esther Süss attacked and rapidly distanced herself from the field. Süss bested Swiss champion Katrin Leumann (goldwurst-power / Sputnik) by 3:36 with Italy's Eva Lechner (Colnago Arreghini Südtirol) rounding out the podium for third one second later.