Published on 10.02.2023
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Track Cycling » The Swiss “four” was eliminated by Belgium in the main European round.
At the European Track Championships in Granges, the Swiss men’s “four” did not show the expected progress and found themselves eliminated by Belgium in the main round. The quartet formed by Valère Thiébaud, Alex Vogel, Noah Bögli and Claudio Imhof did not convince like the day before. In 3’57”059, they conceded more than five seconds to their opponent, Belgium and had to settle for seventh place. For the men’s title, Italy beat Great Britain in the final with a new track record (3’47”667). France took the bronze.
National coach Mickaël Bouget was disappointed by the Swiss performance, but the last minute defection of Simon Vitzthum might not be compensated.
Victim of a broken bone of the collarbone following a fall in training, it was largely lacking. “We lack the depth to be able to hide the package from a runner of Simon Vitzthum’s size, explains Bouget. But it’s not just that. We know we have to ride faster and we can ride faster.”
The Swiss four ladies with Marlen Reusser, Fabienne Buri, Jasmin Liechti and Aline Seitz easily dominated Spain to secure sixth place. They very slightly improved their Swiss record by three hundredths (4’21”751). Reusser drew a positive balance following the race: “I learned a lot and I had a lot of fun and I think we saw that this project has potential.” How will the team develop in the future? The question remains open. “We now know where we stand,” says Patrick Müller, head of performance at Swiss Cycling.
In the evening, Great Britain took the title ahead of Italy and Germany. ats
