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N1NO Schurter is the 2021 XCO World Champion

Aug 30, 2021 | News | 0 comments

In a spectacular race and thrilling finish, Nino Schurter showed once again the character of a true champion making history as he claimed his 9th World Champion title.

Val di Sole, Italy. Nino Schurter wins the 2021 XCO World Championships in incredible fashion leaving a mark on the history books. Being the youngest athlete winning his first title in 2009, his 9th World Champion title in 2021 marks him as the oldest athlete in history to earn the rainbow stripes.
After a difficult and challenging season so far with various 2nd place finishes, the tables have turned. Finding the right answer and going all in for the Worlds, played out in a brilliant way. By winning his 9th World Champion title, Nino proved once more he is the best in the world and hungry as ever before.

Imagery: Michal Cerveny, Remi Fabregue
It’s no secret Nino Schurter was very disappointed to miss a medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo by only seconds. However, with World Championships and his home race of the Lenzerheide World Cup (Sept 5), Nino knew he had two occasions to prove his critics wrong. Facing the mental challenge of switching his focus towards the new goal shortly after Olympics, Nino found the motivation and fire to peak once more for the race of the World Champion stripes.

The Perfect Race

Even though the newly crowned Olympic champion, Tom Pidcock (Vuelta Spain) and Mathieu Van der Poel (injured) were missing, the competition was high. Many athletes who walked away from Tokyo without a medal saw the World Championship as the next opportunity to chase a 2021 title.

One of them, Ondřej Cink, charged hard at the beginning of the race. Nino stayed present at the front, successfully managing to close the gap on the descent and went into an early lead. After the first 20 minutes of racing the tempo dropped a bit and a bigger leading group formed, where also Lars Forster was hanging on at the far end.

With only Nino able to stick with the high pace set by Swiss National Champion Matthias Flückiger, the two started to collaborate and built a comfortable lead over the followers Ondřej Cink, Victor Koretzky, Vlad Dascalu and Henrique Avancini. Midway through the race it started to become clear, the decision was about to be made between these two swiss riders.

The World Cup leader, Mathias Flückiger was riding in excellent form, especially on the many steep climbs of the very demanding course, which many athletes say is the toughest of the circuit.

However, Nino was able to hang on and close the gap on the descent thanks to his 120mm SCOTT Spark RC and his extraordinary riding skills. Even Flückigers attack on the very last climb couldn’t shake Nino. In a thrilling finale, Nino made some risky moves to eventually claim the lead before the last stretch to the finish line. Nino punched with incredible power towards the line securing his first victory of the 2021 season, and one for the history books.

Nino charging the final sprint over the finish line against Matthias Flückiger
Imagery: Remi Fabregue
After the finish, we saw Nino Schurter more emotional than ever. The relief was obvious and could also be heard in his statements:
“It’s been a difficult 2021 season for me. Especially with the Olympics not going my way. This World Champion title is among the most important of the nine I have in the books now. It’s not just another title. It’s a big release to know I’m still capable of winning big races. I did believe in myself and had people around me supporting me in this. But there were also a lot of people who called me off after not winning anymore. They now they know: I’m still here!”
“It’s been a difficult 2021 season for me. Especially with the Olympics not going my way. Therefore this World Champion title is among the most important ones of the 9 I have in the books now. It’s not just another title. It’s a big release to know I’m still capable winning big races. I did believe in myself and had people around me supporting me in this. But there were also a lot of people who called me off after not winning anymore. They now got a reminder: I’m still here!”

Nino Schurter
9x World Champion
SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing

Nino Schurter and team members of the SCOTT-SRAM Racing Team celebrate the win!
Imagery: Jochen Haar

Kate Courtney & Lars Forster

Not such a success story was the race of Lars Forster (14th) and Kate Courtney (23rd). Both finished under their expectations. With the silver medal of Team USA in the team relay, Kate though brings home a nice souvenir from this years World Championships.

Look Ahead on the Season

Next stop for SCOTT-SRAM’s athletes will be the World Cup in Lenzerheide September 3-5. Stay tuned!