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Flueckiger tops Van der Poel in Albstadt

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Sarrou rounds out podium

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Mathias Flueckiger (Thömus-RN Racing Team)

Mathias Flueckiger (Thömus-RN Racing Team) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike Team) before the rain

Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike Team) before the rain (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Jordan Sarrou (Absolute-Absalon)

Jordan Sarrou (Absolute-Absalon) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus)

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathias Flueckiger (Thömus RN Swiss Bike Team) rode his own race

Mathias Flueckiger (Thömus RN Swiss Bike Team) rode his own race (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Nino Schurter (Scott- SRAM MTB Racing)

Nino Schurter (Scott- SRAM MTB Racing) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Florian Vogel (KMC- Ekoi- Orbea)

Florian Vogel (KMC- Ekoi- Orbea) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathias Flueckiger (Thömus RN Swiss Bike Team)

Mathias Flueckiger (Thömus RN Swiss Bike Team) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) caught and passed Schurter on the climb

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) caught and passed Schurter on the climb (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Reto Indergand (BMC Mountainbike Racing Team)

Reto Indergand (BMC Mountainbike Racing Team) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Top team Scott- SRAM MTB Racing

Top team Scott- SRAM MTB Racing (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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World Cup leader Mathieu van der Poel

World Cup leader Mathieu van der Poel (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) leading just after the start

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) leading just after the start (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Maxime Marotte (Cannondale Factory Racing)

Maxime Marotte (Cannondale Factory Racing) (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike Team) slowly transitions into mudman

Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike Team) slowly transitions into mudman (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) said this was a fun race?

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) said this was a fun race? (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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It is a rare ocassion when Nino Schurter (Scott- SRAM MTB Racing) finishes off the podium

It is a rare ocassion when Nino Schurter (Scott- SRAM MTB Racing) finishes off the podium (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike Team) wins

Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike Team) wins (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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An exhausted Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) finishing 2nd

An exhausted Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon- Circus) finishing 2nd (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Mathias Flueckiger contemplates chugging the entire glass of beer

Mathias Flueckiger contemplates chugging the entire glass of beer (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Podium: l to r - Titouan Carod, Mathieu van der Poel, Mathias Flueckiger, Jordan Sarrou, Florian Vogel

Podium: l to r - Titouan Carod, Mathieu van der Poel, Mathias Flueckiger, Jordan Sarrou, Florian Vogel (Image credit: Rob Jones)
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Greeting the fans

Greeting the fans (Image credit: Rob Jones)

Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus RN Swiss Bike) took the second World Cup win of his career in Albstadt, Germany, on Sunday, flying through the rain and mud that everyone else struggled with.

The men's race began with light rain, that turned into a deluge for nearly 30 minutes mid-race, before the sun came out for the final lap and a half. World champion Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and his usual rival, short track winner Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus) took the lead on the start loop, but van der Poel then struggled for the next lap and a half, dropping back as far as 12th. Schurter was joined at the front by Flueckiger, Jordan Sarrou (Absolute-Absalon), Florian Vogel (KMC-Ekoi-Orbea) and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory), but the group was quickly whittled down to Schurter, Flueckiger and Sarrou by Lap 3.

A lap later, and Flueckiger was off on his own in front, while the others struggled in the slippery mud. Van der Poel was recovering quickly, moving up to third behind Sarrou while Schurter was uncharacteristically falling back to eventually finish sixth. Flueckiger rolled in for the second World Cup win of his career, while van der Poel caught Sarrou in the final half lap to take second. Van der Poel keeps the World Cup jersey with 325 points, followed by Flueckiger with 305, and Schurter at 210.

"I just rode my own race," said Flueckiger. "I never had to go over my limit, just on the limit. And then I was in the lead and I had wings! I was just in a tunnel and riding to the finish line; in those conditions you just have to ride your own race."

"It was one of the most fun World Cups I've done so far," said van der Poel. "I said to my team that I was hoping for rain, so I was glad when it started pouring. It was a little bit stupid to follow Nino at the beginning and I blew the engine a little bit. It took me a few laps to get back on my pace. I got better and better, but unfortunately it was for second place."

Full Results

#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathias Flueckiger (Swi)1:23:54
2Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned)0:00:32
3Jordan Sarrou (Fra)0:00:33
4Titouan Carod (Fra)0:01:20
5Florian Vogel (Swi)0:01:22
6Nino Schurter (Swi)0:01:39
7Maxime Marotte (Fra)0:01:44
8Reto Indergand (Swi)0:01:55
9Andri Frischknecht (Swi)0:02:08
10David Valero Serrano (Spa)0:02:28
11Stephane Tempier (Fra)0:02:31
12Jens Schuermans (Bel)0:02:37
13Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa)0:02:39
14Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita)0:02:49
15Thomas Litscher (Swi)0:03:01
16Joshua Dubau (Fra)0:03:25
17Nadir Colledani (Ita)
18Henrique Avancini (Bra)0:03:41
19Peter Disera (Can)0:03:53
20Martin Fanger (Swi)0:04:08
21Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa)0:04:13
22Jan Škarnitzl (Cze)0:04:24
23Milan Vader (Ned)0:04:33
24Pablo Rodriguez Guede (Spa)0:04:47
25Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo (Mex)0:04:49
26Matthias Stirnemann (Swi)0:04:55
27Georg Egger (Ger)0:05:02
28Karl Markt (Aut)0:05:06
29Gioele Bertolini (Ita)0:05:09
30Ben Zwiehoff (Ger)0:05:10
31Sebastian Fini Carstensen (Den)0:05:16
32Jan Vastl (Cze)0:05:22
33Luca Braidot (Ita)0:05:29
34Daniel James Mcconnell (Aus)0:05:36
35Thomas Griot (Fra)
36Anton Cooper (NZl)0:05:48
37Alan Hatherly (RSA)0:06:00
38Márton Dina (Hun)0:06:07
39Manuel Fumic (Ger)0:06:17
40Anton Sintsov (Rus)0:06:20
41Daniele Braidot (Ita)0:06:23
42Nicholas Pettina' (Ita)0:06:33
43Martin Haring (Svk)0:06:34
44Luiz Henrique Cocuzzi (Bra)
45Catriel Soto (Arg)0:06:38
46Lukas Flueckiger (Swi)0:06:58
47Luca Schwarzbauer (Ger)0:07:01
48Jakub Zamrozniak (Pol)0:07:03
49Victor Koretzky (Fra)0:07:09
50Gregor Raggl (Aut)0:07:11
51Ben Oliver (NZl)0:07:17
52Grant Ferguson (GBr)0:07:30
53Martin Gluth (Ger)0:07:36
54Andrew L'Esperance (Can)0:07:45
55Simon Vitzthum (Swi)0:07:56
56Mário Costa (Por)0:07:58
57Julian Schelb (Ger)0:08:07
58Cameron Ivory (Aus)0:08:26
59Martin Loo (Est)0:08:31
60Fabian Giger (Swi)0:08:51
61Kevin Panhuyzen (Bel)0:09:00
62Raphael Gay (Fra)0:09:06
63Timofei Ivanov (Rus)0:09:07
64Sergey Nikolaev (Rus)0:09:08
65Florian Chenaux (Swi)0:09:09
66Sven Strähle (Ger)0:09:16
67Thibaud Saint Guilhem (Fra)0:09:28
68Shlomi Haimy (Isr)0:09:44
69Nicola Rohrbach (Swi)0:09:49
70Keegan Swenson (USA)0:09:50
71Noah Blöchlinger (Swi)0:09:51
72Raphael Gagne (Can)
73Leandre Bouchard (Can)0:10:11
74Florian Trigo (Fra)
75Krzysztof Lukasik (Pol)0:10:12
76Martins Blums (Lat)
77David Rosa (Por)0:10:39
78Lorenzo Pellegrini (Ita)0:10:52
79Rok Naglič (Slo)
80Luke Vrouwenvelder (USA)0:10:59
81Léo Lhomme (Swi)0:11:06
82Zsombor Palumby (Hun)0:11:13
83Denis Fumarola (Ita)0:11:35
84Ruslan Boredskiy (Rus)0:11:51
85Edoardo Bonetto (Ita)0:11:59
86Vincent Sibille (Fra)0:12:10
87Lukáš Kobes (Cze)0:12:21
88András Parti (Hun)
89Davide Clerici (Ita)
90Tobias Eise (Ger)
91Moritz Bscherer (Aut)
92Lucas Dubau (Fra)
93Harold Flandre (Fra)
94Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn)
95Severin Disch (Swi)
96Nick Vanpol (Bel)
97Marc Andre Fortier (Can)
98Christian Pfäffle (Ger)
99Erwin Bakker (Ned)
100Rob Vanden Haesevelde (Bel)
101Bastien Rolland (Fra)
102Bruno Vitali (Swi)
103Zdeněk Vobecký (Cze)
104Jakob Hartmann (Ger)
105Mingrun Chen (Chn)
106Guy Sessler (Isr)
107Heiko Hog (Ger)
108Rémi Groslambert (Fra)
109Manuel Sanchez Aldeguer (Spa)
110Andreas Egger (Ger)
111Oleksandr Koniaiev (Ukr)
112Samuel Shaw (NZl)
113Mattia Setti (Ita)
114Stefan Schairer (Ger)
115Jan Withaar (RSA)
116Victor Selles Pardo (Spa)
117Henrik Jansson (Swe)
118Rodolphe Lestievent (Fra)
119Arthur Tropardy (Fra)
120Niklas Grobert (Ger)
121David Duggan (GBr)
122Tobias Sindlinger (Ger)
123Clément Noel (Fra)
124Tumelo Makae (Les)
125Adrian Heinz Willi Horchler (Ger)
DNFHugo Drechou (Fra)
DNFJochen Käß (Ger)
DNFRicardo Marinheiro (Por)
DNFMaximilian Foidl (Aut)
DNFErno Mccrae (Bel)
DNFOndřej Cink (Cze)
DNFLars Forster (Swi)
DNFAndrea Tiberi (Ita)
DNFBartlomiej Wawak (Pol)
DNFMarkus Schulte-Lünzum (Ger)
DNFJaroslav Kulhavý (Cze)
DNFWout Alleman (Bel)
DNSAndrin Beeli (Swi)
DNSGoran Cerovic (Mne)

 

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