July 21, 2008

Gold medals for Vogel and Schurter

www.swisspowerteam.ch

Swiss Olympic riders Florian Vogel (Elite Men) and Nino Schurter (U-23 men) stood up to their competitors and won the Swiss Championships this weekend.   The riders of the Swisspowerteam, including Florian Vogel, Thomas Frischnknecht, Jürg Graf and Till Marx, set the pace together with the Athleticum-Team from the beginning of the race. By the third lap, Florian Vogel was in the lead with Graf and Martin Gujan. Just before the halfway point, Vogel succeeded to distance himself from the rest of the field despite the heavy rain. He increased his lead and celebrated victory, his first championship in the Elite category.   “The race went according to the tactics, I am more than happy, and it has boosted my motivation for Beijing,” Vogel said after the race. Also, dethroned champion Jürg Graf was happy with his achievement and his third podium.


Flückiger, Vogel, Graf

Nino Schurter and Mathias Flückiger dueled for a long time in the U-23 race. In the middle of the race, Flückiger had a lead of 25 seconds. “I started with dry tires and when it started to rain I had to change to rain tires, which took me one lap to catch up Mathias,” said Schurter, who celebrated his fourth title in the U-23 category. The riders in the U-23 race started 5 minutes after the elite category but Nino Schurter caught up to most of the elite riders - only Florian Vogel was faster than Nino. Patrik Gallati had a flat tire in the first lap but thanks to a great final lap, he punched beyond his weight and earned the bronze medal.
  Flückiger, Schurter, Gallati

Only Mathias Rupp couldn’t live up to the high expectations. He didn’t excel and settled for a disappointing sixth place.

Click here for more information about the Swisspowerteam.