The race weekend of the XCC and XCO Swiss Championships starts on Friday evening with a highlight. The short track races, part of the national title matches since 2022, provide action and excitement. With the broad power density in Switzerland, the expected tactical gimmicks and the high speeds, the XCC race promises great spectacle.

At the start, 35-year-old veteran Thomas Litscher (Lapierre-Mavic Unity XC Team) is the reigning Swiss short track champion who wants to defend his title. He recently showed that Litscher is one of the fastest in short track with a third place at the Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave (Czech Republic).

Linda Indergand with intact title opportunities

For women, the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 cast their shadow ahead. Defending champion Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon) will refrain from participating in this year's Swiss Championships and thus also from the XCC race in order to prepare for the Olympics. Linda Indergand (Liv Factory Racing), Olympic rider from Tokyo 2020 and team world champion 2023, is therefore considered the favorite for the short track title. The female from Uri, currently fifth in the overall XCC World Cup, has confirmed this favorite role in the current season with very good results in the Short-Track World Cup.

The program on Friday evening will be supplemented by an XCC race for juniors to also give young talent the opportunity to gain important experience in the short track discipline.

Colombo challenges Schurter

Olympic Champion Nino Schurter (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team) is the big favorite in Sunday's cross-country championship race. The ten-time world champion, nine-time overall winner of the UCI overall World Cup and 36-time World Cup winner would like to get fine-tuning and racing toughness in Vaud in view of the 2024 Olympic Games. Schurter comes to Echallens from the high-altitude training camp in Engadin well prepared.

Schurter's probably biggest challenger comes from within the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team: 26-year-old Filippo Colombo from Ticino is still missing an elite cross-country title in his Palmarès. Colombo, currently third in the overall World Cup, has proven several times this season that he is in excellent form.

Jolanda Neff before taking a position

For Olympic Champion Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing), the second Swiss Olympian, the national championships are an important position assessment. At her last XCO race, the World Cup at the end of May in Nove Mesto, she was still struggling with health problems.

There are some strong female drivers lurking behind 31-year-old St. Gallerin. These included Nicole Koller (GHOST Factory Racing), Sina Frei (SPECIALIZED Factory Racing), Steffi Häberlin (Team BMC), Ronja Blöchlinger (LIV Factory Racing), Linda Indergand, Seraina Leugger (BIXS PERFORMANCE Race Team) and Ramona Forchini (JB BRUNEX Superior Factory Racing). They have all been able to finish in the top 20 in the World Cup this season. Excitement is therefore guaranteed!

In addition to the official nine Swiss Champion titles, the U17 Swiss Champion Awards are also presented as part of the CIC Swiss Bike Cup.

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Start list:

https://www.swissbikecup.ch/startliste 

Pictures available for free:

https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/46286eac-763e-4b9c-8f1c-b426a0c12333

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