Race report Huttwil

Mountain bike spectacle in Oberaargau. Mathias Flückiger wins his home race at the final of the ÖKK BIKE REVOLUTION in Huttwil and thrills the more than 8,000 fans on site. In the women's race, Alessandra Keller from Nidwald secured the day's victory.

At the international mountain bike race of the ÖKK BIKE REVOLUTION in Huttwil, fans could enjoy exciting races. Athletes from over 20 nations took part in the Oberaargau. Among them were this year's World Cup winners Lars Forster and Mathias Flückiger as well as the world number 1 Alessandra Keller or the 2018 world champion Kate Courtney from the USA.

In the elite women's race, the same Keller and Courtney were able to pull away from the field already in the first lap. It quickly became clear that the victory would go to these two. Good for Keller, she absolutely needed a top 2 place to decide the overall standings for herself. But today Keller was just too strong. In the end the American had to let go and Alessandra Keller celebrated her second win of the season in the ÖKK BIKE REVOLUTION. Courtney came in second. The U23 World Champion Samara Maxwell from New Zealand came in third. With the victory Keller also made the triumph in the overall ranking clear.

Mathias Flückiger was the centre of interest in the elite men's race. The local hero attracted many fans who created a great atmosphere. Flückiger was visibly spurred on by this and was already outrunning the rest of the field in the first half of the race. Flückiger was not going to let anyone take this victory away from him. Behind Flückiger, Joel Roth rode a lonely race in second place. The battle for third place was different. Martins Blums, Vital Albin, Marcel Guerrini and Lars Forster were in the mix. With the better end for Blums. The Latvian celebrated his first podium place at his first participation in the ÖKK BIKE REVOLUTION.

In the overall standings, the virtual lead changed practically every lap. In the end Lars Forster won with 10 points ahead of Vital Albin and Mathias Flückiger, who made the Thömus triple victory perfect.

More than 800 participants moved their mountain bikes during the weekend in various races and formats, from top sport to children's races and tours for amateur athletes. No other cross-country mountain bike race in Switzerland attracted more participants this year.

The ÖKK BIKE REVOLUTION will continue in 2024. The calendar with 5-6 races will be communicated in the next few weeks.

Ranking elite men

1. Mathias Flückiger, SUI, Thömus maxon, 1:20.17

2. Joel Roth, SUI, BIXS Performance Team, + 0.20

3. Martins Blums, LAT, KMC Racing Team, + 0.27

4. Vital Albin, SUI, Thömus maxon, + 0.29

5. Lars Forster, SUI, Thömus maxon, + 0.47

Ranking elite women

1. Alessandra Keller, SUI, Thömus maxon, 1:20.17

2. Kate Courtney, USA, Scott Sram Team, + 0.26

3. Samara Maxwell, NZL, Cycling NZ, + 2.47

4. Nicole Koller, SUI, Ghost Factory, + 3.36

5. Haley Batten, USA, Specialized Team, + 4.17

The complete ranking lists including race analyses can be found at https://velocorner.ch/en/oekkbikerevolution/huttwil/results.

Impressions