The Swiss XCO championship is one of the most hard-fought national championships given the high level of the riders. Most of their favorites are also favorites at all World Cup events.
The big news of the Swiss XCO 2022 championship was the absence of Nino Schurter. The world champion is looking to focus entirely on the World Cup (currently in testing) and has gone through a tough week of training with the aim of doing well in the next cup event in Leogang next week. This left the stakes a little more open. Mathias Fluckiger, Lars Forster and Filippo Colombo were some of the more likely candidates.
But there is no way to beat a Mathias Fluckiger in top form today. He dominated the game with authority, winning with over 2 minutes of advantage. In this case on his teammate, Vital Albin. The podium was completed by Andri Frischknecht, while Colombo (8th) and Forster (11th) were far from what could be expected of them.
Women's race
Keller and Indergand fought for the title until the end on a day when Neff was far from his usual level.
In the female category, things were more contested. If in the male category Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest level on the planet, in the female category there is no doubt that it is number one in the world. In Tokyo in the first 3 places there were three Swiss athletes. The rehearsal ended up being a duel between Alessandra Keller and Linda Indergand.
Keller was faster in the final meters of the race and managed to wear the national champion jersey, ahead of Indergand and Sina Frei.
The one who was not at her usual level was Jolanda Neff, 7th. From now on we will see Fluckiger and Keller, both of the Thomus Maxon team, carry the Swiss flag on their chests in the best XCO races.
