Lukas Flueckiger Wins Swiss National Cyclo-Cross Title

It's a title that is very much prized in the nation of Switzerland, and one that has many great names in the list of champions that have won the event over the years. This year, Trek World Racing's Lukas Flueckiger won his first ever elite title in Swiss Cycling, and he did so in great style. Not considered a true favorite before the event, and not completely sure his preparation had been ideal, Luk had a good look at the flat course beforte the race, which was super icy in sections upon a frozen ground, and gave himself a shot at possibly winning a medal. A good number of world class mountain bikers took to the startline in Rennaz-Noville, including Ralph Näf, Florian Vogel, and Martin Gujan, and many considered the short course with its multitude of short climbs and tight corners very suitable for the visitors from the 26 inch world. However, the main favorite for the title remained as Christian Heule, ranked number 9 in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Rankings. Luk said about his race: "I had a good start and rode the first 2 laps in the lead. Later came Heule and Vogel back up to me. We then rode the first 6 laps together. From the beginning this race was very very fast and we had no chance for recovery!!! 3 laps from the finish, Vogel and I attacked and Heule had a small crash. We were now 15 seconds in lead. Then with 2 laps to go, Heule was still 15 seconds behind us and then he punctured. This was now the chance for Vogel and me. I felt really good and tried to make one attack after the other on Florian. In the last lap I attacked on a technical section and made a 15 second advantage on him". In the end, Luk took his Trek XO Alpha to the finish line to win by 10 seconds from Florian Vogel and Christian Heule a further 39 seconds back in 3rd, Ralp Naef 4th. Full results here: www.cyclingnews.com Luk will now consider racing the World Championships in Tabor (CZE) at the end of this month.