Lake Placid, USA. September 29th. The racing weekend at the new World Cup venue in Lake Placid was packed with action and surprises. Fast and furious races ended in tight finishes. For the first half, SCOTT-SRAM had two aces in the game. Unfortunately Nino Schurter suffered a double flat in the front and rear which threw him out of contention. But with Filippo Colombo, we remained in the game with a protagonist in the finale of the race, which eventually ended in a fine third place finish.
Unfortunate Result for Nino Schurter
The brand new track was beautiful, surrounded by Indian Summer colors. But somehow not selective enough to spread out the field. This resulted in a very tactical race where a dozen riders stayed in contention for the podium. The only thing that mixed up the ranks were the unusual number of flat tires. The freshly crowned World Champion Alan Hatherly was one of the victims, soon after Nino Schurter’s double flat. The first time he had a front and rear flat in all his long career. But as if two flats were not enough, he even had to change the rear wheel once more after a 3rd flat tire… Our mechanic Kurt Gross had his hands full more than he wanted. In the style of a true champion Nino resisted the unfortunate and was still able to fight to P25 at the end.
Being second overall in the World Cup standing before this race, his hopes for the 10th World Cup Champion title are now gone.
Colombo on the Podium
While Victor Koretzky was just following the wheels and Alan Hatherly was on his way back to the front after his flat, it was the Swiss Champion who tried to make a selection towards the end of the race. He did lead out the whole last lap, but was never able to get rid of his competitors. It came down to a bunch sprint of almost 7 riders. Also a first in a World Cup Mountain Bike race.
The first World Cup win for Filippo was in reach. Though, both Koretzky and Hatherly had the faster legs in the end. Even if the dream did not come through, Filippo can be pleased with what he showed. With Mont-Saint-Anne, Canada still to come, the next chance is waiting.
Filippo Colombo
Swiss National Champion 2024
SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing
Andri Frischknecht
Andri launched with a good start but got tangled up in a crash in front of him on lap one, which took him out of the top 60. Steadily he moved up in the ranks to finish in solid 30th place.
Kate Courtney
Kate wasn’t able to unfold her full potential in front of her home fans.
The snap wasn’t quite there on this fast and hectic track to stay in contention with the top 10. She put up a good fight as best she could in a race where everything was close. Finishing 18th is not what she had hoped for, but her race was certainly solid. Next race next chance.
Stay tuned!
