Known for it's steep climbs and tricky descents, Albstadt has caught many riders by surprise after going out too hard in the early laps and then fading.
Jolanda Neff attacked on the first climb and no one could stay with her. Defending Albstadt champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Rabo Liv) led the chase for one lap but then had to pull out of the race due to an injury she has been dealing with. However, at that point Neff was already 56 seconds ahead of her chasers.
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida) and world champion Catharine Pendrel (Luna) took up the chase, but for the first half of the race could only manage to hold Neff at a minute. In the second half of the race they began to slowly reel the Swiss rider in, but it was 'too little, too late', as Neff rolled across the line to take her second win.
Dahle Flesjaa outsprinted Pendrel to take second, with Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) finishing fourth and Maja Wloszczowska (Kross Racing) completing the podium in fifth.
"Well, I didn't start so quickly," explained Neff. "I waited the whole start loop, and I only went in the first big lap. So I think that made a bit of a difference, so I could save myself some energy at the beginning of the race and I could pull through to the finish."
"It is absolutely awesome that I will be riding in the leader's jersey in Lenzerheide [Round 3], which is my home World Cup. That's a big goal for me and I am looking forward very much to that race."
Neff leads the overall standings with a perfect score of 500 points, followed by Dahle Flesjaa with 400 and Pendrel at 310.
While Neff led the women's race from start to finish, the men's was a battle to the end. Absalon, the defending champion, came into this race as a favourite, however, his constant rival Nino Schurter (Scott-Odlo) gave no ground.
Four riders finished the first lap together at the front - Absalon, Schurter, Round 1 winner Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) and Florian Vogel (Focus XC). A lap later, Kulhavy and Vogel were still there but starting to show the pressure and, by the third lap it was just Absalon and Schurter.
Absalon tried attacking his rival on the climbs in the final laps but could not drop the Swiss champion. Schurter then attacked before the final descent to the finish and got a small gap, only to crash in the final gravel corner after carrying too much speed. Absalon was then able to get by Schurter to record the 30th World Cup victory of his career.
Kulhavy was dropped by Vogel in the middle portion of the race, only to retake the lead in the final lap for third, followed by Vogel and then Mathias Fluckiger (Stoeckli) in fifth.
"It is always hard to beat him [Schurter]," agreed Absalon, "but I really like this track, this kind of climb it suits me really well. I am really happy also because it was hard for me to start my preparation this year; I started late because of sickness. So I am really happy to be in the rhythm now."
In the last lap I realized 'oh it's not possible to do a gap', so I knew it would be difficult on the last downhill to beat him. I tried on the last climb, but he passed me just before the last downhill and then I try to go full gas and keep his wheel, but lost only maybe five seconds. After the last downhill, I don't know, he did a mistake on a corner and I passed him, and then full gas to the finish."
The men's standings couldn't get much tighter, with Absalon tied at 410 points with Kulhavy (Absalon holds the jersey due to the most recent win), followed by Schurter at 400 points.
The day began with the Under 23 men's race, won by Spain's Pablo Rodriguez, ahead of Romain Seigle (Focus Rotor Ekoi) and Round 1 winner Lars Forster (Wheeler-IXS). With his win, Rodriguez takes the lead in the series standings, with 160 points to Forster's 150.