[Gallery] Näf And Neff Win The Tesserete Battle

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The XC Worldcup will start very late this year, giving the pros lots of time to test their shape in smaller races, like this one, held in Tesserete, Switzerland, the second stop of the BMC Cup 2015. The starter field was filled by big names, and the technical track became really challenging after the rain started falling on Saturday. World Champion Julien Absalon, Ralph Näf and Manuel Fumic were only some of the strong riders who raced today. The men got lucky, because the rain stopped falling half an hour before their start. This didn’t mean the track would dry up.

The women had to race under the rain, but Jolanda Neff had no problem to finish first ahead of Esther Süss and Sabine Spitz.

World champion Kalentyeva finished fourth.

Absalon had some technical problems already from the first lap: his Di2 rear wasn’t working properly, as the French champion says:

It was steep, muddy and rooty. Gnarly.

Until Friday this was a sweet technical track.

Ralph Näf took the leadership from the first lap on, riding well in the difficult downhills.

Lars Forster managed to stay in front of Manuel Fumic only for two laps.

Behind them lots of riders were struggling.

Probably the most technical spot: a tricky rock, wet and covered with mud.

It’s a matter of style!

An enduro bike would have probably ben the best choice for this part of the track.

Anyway, the Swiss Army was ready for rescue.

The first guys again, from another angle. It was a pleasure watching them.

Forster probably didn’t think so during the fourth lap. Take a look at his rear wheel.

He struggled to get back in saddle.

Näf for the win. Take a closer look at his new BMC Impec.

Manuel Fumic wasn’t too happy about his second place.

Forster finished third and plays Fontana. Marco should have been here, but he had to stay home because of a stomach virus.

Results

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