April 14, 2007 (Winterthur, Switzerland) — The Swisspower Cup Series’ second race of the season is history for the Pro Men and Women. The race was a UCI Class 2 event and hosted a smaller field than the season’s debut on April 1 in Lichtenstein.

However, a smaller field didn’t mean a lower quality field. Pro Men’s World and Olympic Champion France’s Julien Absalon (FRA, Orbea) was on course and won the event decisively, finishing the start loop plus seven laps three minutes faster than World Cup contender Frederik Kessiakoff (SWE, Cannondale-Vredestein) of Sweden, who placed second.

Florian Vogel (SUI, Swisspower) lead out the Swiss militia — a little thin this time around, as powerhouses Thomas Frischknecht (SUI, Swisspower), Christoph Sauser (SUI, Specialized) and Nino Schurter (SUI, Swisspower) are competing at the Sea Otter Classic in California. Vogel finished third.

On the women’s side, Switzerland’s Renata Bucher (SUI, Stoeckli-Craft), who brought home the nation’s best result at the season opener two weeks ago, proved herself with a win in Winterthur, finishing the start loop plus five laps in 1:37:08. Austria’s National Champ Elisabeth Osl (AUT, Toni’s Pro Team Kirchberg) was second, followed by Katrin Leumann (SUI, goldwurst-power.ch) in third and Canada’s Sandra Walter (CAN, X.O-Felt Women’s MTB Team) in fourth.

The 6.2-kilometre course was dry, and included 181 vertical metres of climbing per loop. The weather and course conditions were a far cry from the Swisspower Cup in Winterthur last year, where a cold wet day and weeks of rain turned the trails into a muddy, miserable mess. Today’s sky was precipitation-free and temperatures reached 25 degrees. A rain-less, snow-less winter meant dry, hard-packed and even dusty sections.

Results

Men

1. Julien Absalon (FRA, Orbea) 1:51:18
2. Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE, Cannondale-Vredestein) 1:53:34
3. Florian Vogel (SUI, Swisspower) 1:55:49
4. Jürg Graf (SUI, Scott Allianz Suisse) 1:57:17
5. Christian Heule (SUI, VC Gippingen) 1:57:29
6. Hannes Metzler (AUT, Giant-Swiss-Team) 1:57:31
7. Fabian Giger (SUI, VC Eschenbach) 1:57:47
8. Marek Galinski (POL, CCC-Polsat-Polkowice) 1:58:14
9. Christof Bischof (SUI, Bikin’ Cyprus) 1:58:23
10. Balz Weber (SUI, Bikepark.ch-Tui) 1:58:31

Women

1. Renata Bucher (SUI, Stöckli-Craft) 1:37:08
2. Elisabeth Osl (AUT, Toni’s Pro Team Kirchberg) 1:38:08
3. Katrin Leumann (SUI, goldwurst-power.ch) 1:39:04
4. Sandra Walter(CAN, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 1:39:50
5. Nathalie Schneitter (SUI, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 1:40:35
6. Esther Süss (SUI, BikErich/RC Gränichen) 1:40:53
7. Maria Osl (AUT, Toni’s Pro Team Kirchberg) 1:42:05
8. Bettina Schmid (SUI, Fischer-BMC) 1:42:42
9. Franziska Röthlin (SUI, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 1:43:07
10. Anita Steiner (SUI, RV Einsiedeln/Move on) 1:43:40

Overall after 2 of 7 events

Men

1. Julien Absalon (FRA, Orbea) 200
2. Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE, Cannondale-Vredestein) 160
3. Florian Vogel (SUI, Swisspower) 140
4. Jürg Graf (SUI, Scott Allianz Suisse) 109
5. Christof Bischof (SUI, Bikin’ Cyprus) 97
6. Daniel Suter (SUI, Giant-Swiss-Team) 93
7. Ivan Planzer (SUI, Giant-Swiss-Team) 92
8. Fabian Giger (SUI, Tower Sports-VC Eschenbach) 90
9. Samuel Jud (SUI, Bergamont/Windrad) 82
10. Andreas Moser (SUI, Kona Verbier Swiss Factory) 81

Women

1. Renata Bucher (SUI, Stöckli-Craft) 160
2. Katrin Leumann (SUI, goldwurst-power.ch) 125
3. Sandra Walter (CAN, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 122
4. Esther Süss (SUI, BikErich/ RC Gränichen) 112
5. Nathalie Schneitter (SUI, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 110
6. Franziska Röthlin (SUI, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 106
7. Bettina Schmid (SUI, Fischer-BMC) 103
8. Sabine Spitz (GER, Ghost International) 100
9. Nadia Walker (SUI, X.0-Felt Womens MTB Team) 97
10. Kathrin Heimberg (SUI, Velo Franz-Gary Fischer) 94