Forster, Indergand and Flückiger selected for MTB World Championships

Lars Forster, Reto Indergand and Lukas Flückiger are part of the eight-man Swiss squad that will take part in the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships next month.

Swiss Cycling announced its selection for the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships that will happen in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic on the 4th of July. The eight Swiss riders were selected based on their performances at the World Cups in Albstadt and La Bresse and the Hors-Category race in Gränichen, Switzerland last weekend.

Three riders of the BMC MTB Racing Team will be taking part in the event that was moved forward to the beginning of July because of the Olympic Games taking place later that month.

Despite his selection for Rio, Lars Forster keeps the World Championships highly ranked on his priority list. The newcomer to the Elite category has great memories of racing in Nove Mesto na Morave since winning his first World Cup race (in the U23 category) there last year. “I love the course there. It has a bit of everything and is very technical.”

Thanks to two World Cup top 10 places, and his podium result in Gränichen, Reto Indergand qualified for his first World Championships in the Elite ranks. “I am very happy of course to be part of the team and I already look forward to July. The course in Nove Mesto suits me well (he finished 2nd there in the U23 category in 2013) and I to repeat, if not improve on, my latest World cup results.”

For Lukas Flückiger, this selection comes at the right time. The 2012 vice World Champion didn’t have a great start to the season and couldn’t qualify for Rio, so a participation at the World Championships gives him a great reason to keep motivated for the weeks to come. “I didn’t expect to be selected to be honest. I had a few good races but could never score a good result so I am surprised but happy of course. It gives me a big boost and I’ll do everything I can to grab this second chance Swiss Cycling gave me and to stand on the podium there. It might sound unreasonable but I believe in it.”

Julien Absalon will also take part in the World Championships with the French National Team.

Photo: Jérémie Reuiller – ILL Prod

Credits: BMC