Rabobank-Giant rider Fabian Giger rode his Giant XtC Advanced SL to his best-ever XC World Cup result Sunday, finishing sixth at Round 3 in Offenburg, Germany. Despite a tough start that put him outside the top-50 in the first lap, the 23-year-old Swiss rider surged forward, passing dozens of riders en route to the impressive finish.

“It was a pity I just missed the podium but this is my best World Cup result so far and I am very motivated for the upcoming races,” Giger reported after the race.

The seven-lap race featured dry, dusty conditions on a course that favors riders with strong technical skills. Giger’s lap times in the second half of the race put him on par with the world’s best, including Frenchman Julien Absalon, who won at Offenburg for the fifth straight year. In fact, Giger, who improved from his 13th-place finish in Great Britain the previous week, had the day’s fastest time on the final lap.

Giger’s finish moved him up to 13th overall in the World Cup standings after three races.

In other categories at Sunday's World Cup event, 19-year-old Dutch rider Michiel van der Heijden finished ninth in the men’s Under-23 race. In the elite women’s race, American Katie Compton finished 16th and New Zealander Rosara Joseph finished 21st.