Aline Seitz wins the silver medal at the European Track Cycling Championships
Keystone
The Swiss national team impresses on the first day of the European Track Cycling Championships in Konya, Turkey. First and foremost Aline Seitz, who won the silver medal in the scratch race.
Aline Seitz was only beaten by Helene Hesters from Belgium in the 10 km scratch race. With her silver medal, the 28-year-old realized the first medal win for the Swiss women’s team at international title competitions since the women’s track project was launched by Swiss Cycling in 2017. Seitz, from Aargau, has been one of the mainstays of the national team for years and took part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In the team pursuit, the quartet of Michelle Andres, Lorena Leu, Jasmin Liechti and Annika Liehner covered the 4000 meters in 4:15.003 minutes, almost 2.8 seconds faster than last spring at the same venue. Noah Bögli, Mats Poot, Pascal Tappeiner and Alex Vogel were clocked in 3:46.699 minutes. The ensemble beat the previous record, set at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, by a good 2.4 seconds.
In the main round on Monday afternoon, the sixth-ranked Swiss women will face the Belgians, led by exceptional skater Lotte Kopecky, who were only marginally faster in qualifying. The Swiss men, who finished third in qualifying, will face the British, who completed the 16 laps two tenths faster, in the main round.