April 15, 2013 – Grenchen

Press release

BMC Racing Cup #2, Lugano/Tesserete, 14. April 2013

Schurter wins BMC Racing Cup in Lugano

Great racing atmosphere, smooth organisation and glorious spring weather made for a thrilling second round of the BMC Racing Cup in Lugano/Tesserete. 720 participants in all race categories enjoyed the 6.1-km-course which is well-known and well-liked for its many technical sections. The spectators witnessed enthralling races, culminating in the anticipated battle between two giants of mountain biking: Julien Absalon (BMC Racing) and Nino Schurter (Scott Swisspower).

Once again the two competitors showed no mercy in their fight for victory. Just like in many of their dramatic duels on the World Cup level, they had to find out in a final sprint who would be today’s champion. Only for a short period of time after the start did the two icons tolerate companions: Lukas Flückiger was hampered by a flat tire, and last year’s winner Moritz Milatz suffered from the hot weather. Martin Fanger, who eventually finished third, was the last to lose contact with Schurter and Absalon.

The two race favorites set a blistering pace and fought a hard battle to the finish line. A critical situation arose when Schurter overtook Absalon in a somewhat risky way in the final U-turn just before the finish line. But this scuffle was deemed to be within the limits of permissible body contact.

However, Absalon did not waste much time to grieve over the lost victory. He found solace in what he had experienced on the race course, riding his brand-new BMC twenty-niner bike: "I am delighted that with this awesome new bike I managed to keep up with Nino in the descents. He used to be faster than I am in the downhills. Now this experience gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming big races. And I know now that I am in good shape.“ Schurter was also impressed by Absalon's performance in the downhill sections: „He came so close, he even pushed me,“ the Swiss rider said.

All in all, in the top positions the elite men’s race was a fight between two big teams, both located in Switzerland. With only one exception, all riders up to eighth place were either members of team BMC Racing or of Scott Swisspower. Whereas Schurter scored the elite victory for Scott Swisspower, Matthias Stirnemann won the Under-23 competition (4th place) for BMC Racing.

In the women’s event Esther Süss (Wheeler-IXS) found the right rhythm from the beginning. Very early in the race she broke away from her competitors and remained virtually unchallenged till she crossed the finish line after five laps in 1:17:49,9. Katrin Leumann (Ghost Factory Racing) was second almost one minute back. Last year’s champion Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team) snatched the third spot on the podium. Race winner Esther Süss was feeling strong throughout her lonely race in the front position, but she also was careful not to take any risks: „If I can push myself to speed up, then my competitors are capable to do so as well. Never feel safe with a leading position! Therefore I kept on riding very fast.“ Katrin Leumann was quite happy with second place. She offered two explanations for not being able to challenge Süss: „My legs were fine, but I had breathing problems due to pollen levels.. In addition, I have recently done some rigorous training for the World Cup races.“

Frenchman Hugo Pigeon (Velococ laplesse) won the juniors’ race.He was twelve seconds faster than Swiss rider Dominic Grab (Grab-Credo/VC Maur). Frenchman Neilo Perrin-Ganier (Focus Rotor Coaching-system) was third. Alessandra Keller (Strüby MTB Kader) won the junior women’s race ahead of Laura Charles (Focus Rotor Coaching-system) and Mallory Barth (JB Felt Team).