Lars Forster takes the crown as European Champion again!

It’s clear the blue and white jersey with the yellow stars is a SCOTT-SRAM team affair. Already taking the crown in 2018, Lars Forster showed his best form on Serbian soil to take back the prestigious title from fellow teammate, Nino Schurter.

Novi Sad, Serbia. With the Tokyo Olympics in the books where Nino Schurter missed his 4th Olympic medal only by seconds the season continues with many stories still to be written. The first huge highlight is achieved by Lars Forster winning the European Championships in Serbia. Even though some of the riders who participated at the Olympic Games were missing, the title was hard-earned by a determined Forster who already wore the jersey in 2018. The win is a hopeful sign of a strong second half of the season still to come for SCOTT-SRAM!

Imagery: Ego Promotion & Michele Mondini

Back on Track

It has been a season with a lot of ups and downs for Lars Forster. He kicked it off on a high note winning the first big race of the season, the Internazionali d’Italia in Andora. After that the ambitions were high for the World Cup and the Olympic qualification that went along with it. Lars did not perform as he had hoped and narrowly missed the Tokyo Olympics. Such a disappointment is not easy to overcome and Lars was struggling with the missing opportunity. Meanwhile, he focused forward and found success winning some smaller races like the Swiss Cup in Savognin and a week ago in Dornbirn, Austria, which have helped him find his confidence back. With time and patience, it’s clear Lars is a force to be reckoned with for the important races still ahead this season!

Perfect Race

It was the perfect race for Lars. Even though there was a bigger group of 10 riders in the lead of the not-so-selective course, he never lost control, always staying in the top positions or even setting a higher pace to stretch out the field. It was obvious watching – it’s Lars at his best. And like that, it’s clear he is always dangerous for the win, no matter the race. Everything played out just fine when he attacked with half a lap to go to get ahead on his last two competitors, Sebastian Fini from Denmark and Swiss teammate, Filipo Colombo. Crossing the finish line in first was a huge release for the 28-year-old Swiss who gets married this fall.

His statement after the race was full of emotion. Understandably after what he went through the past months:
“It’s been a roller coaster this season. Missing out on the Olympics was tough and difficult to overcome at first. Believing in myself and having people around me helping me in this direction brought me back to what I achieved today. This is more than just a second European Champion title to me. This is the turnaround to get me back where I wanted to be.”

Silver – Sebastian Fini (Denmark), Gold – Lars Forster (SCOTT-SRAM, Switzerland), Bronze – Filipo Colombo (Switzerland)

A Fighting Chance

Great performance, but a disappointing result is the story of Andri Frischknecht’s race at Europeans. He was left at the very back of the field after a crash at the start. Midway through the race, he moved up all the way to 10 seconds behind the lead group but unfortunately had bad luck again dropping his chain, where he lost another minute. Even though he made it from far back in the field up to 15th place again, this was obviously a race of pure disappointment for him. The time he lost with the misshapen was the time he lost to Lars at the finish. With some luck, he would have been one of the contenders for a medal. The week prior in Austria, Andri finishing second and showed he is up with the ones who stepped on the podium at Europeans. At least he knows he’s on track, and with patience, success can come.

Look Ahead on the Season

The 2021 season continues at full speed with a Swiss Cup in Muttenz this weekend where Kate Courtney, Lars, and Andri will take part, followed by the World Championship in Val Di Sole, Italy on August 25-28. We hope to see many of you at the next highlight, the World Cup in Lenzerheide September 3-5. Stay tuned!