Sticky start into the Season

Either mud or heat. There seems to be no in-between at the Swiss Bike Cup in Gränichen. This year, it was the mud that dominated. Recurring rain showers turned the technically demanding track in Gränichen into a true challenge. The Fun & Kids races on Saturday carved thick, sticky ruts into the descents, which were just waiting to cause some difficulties for a few on Sunday.

Nothing that should get in the way of our riders. The Swiss Bike Cup in Gränichen marked the definitive season start for the entire Bike Team Solothurn. After Nick in Ticino and Fabio in Greece had already collected their first race kilometers, Luca and Fiona also joined the season.

For Fiona, this race also marked her first start with the big ones. The first time in an Elite race, which with Jolanda Neff, Alessandra Keller, and Linda Indergand left nothing to be desired. But this didn't impress her in the slightest. With a magnificent start, she found a solid rhythm, fought her way through the mud of Gränichen round after round. After a good 1.5 hours, she crossed the finish line as 17th overall and 8th U23 rider. Successful season start, let's keep it up.

Only a short time later, the boys were up. Luca, Fabio, and Nick knew what was coming after watching the women's race. But this should hardly stand in their way. As if there had never been a winter break, the race started. Luca got the best start of the three and thus had relatively clear passage at the first bottleneck. For the other two, it meant dismounting and pushing. After about 2 laps, everything started to settle down. Luca soon found himself at the front in a 3-man leading group with Lars Forster and Vital Albin. Not far behind, Fabio and Nick fought in a tight race for top 10 positions. Due to the conditions, the race was very selective, and not a few had to pay for their efforts at the beginning of the race. Luca lost the leading group after some technical problems and finished the race in a very strong 3rd place. Fabio & Nick managed to keep up the pace until the end and achieved 11th and 12th place.

Next Sunday, it's already time for the Tamaro Trophy in Ticino. Stay tuned!