After an unsuccessful Cape Epic in March, the Triple Crown Champion is back with a winning streak leading into the European World Cup race season.
It was a somewhat a frustrating Cape Epic. Instead of defending the title, Nino Schurter and Matthias Stirnemann were sidelined after only two days due to a stomach virus Matthias caught. Soon later, the SCOTT-SRAM young guns, Andri Frischknecht and Michiel Van der Heijden, also had to drop out of the race due to Andri’s knee inflammation. However, after this huge disappointment, World Champion Nino Schurter is back to business and winning races once again.
The champion sending it in Schaan, Liechtenstein. Action Photos: Armin Küstenbrück
Dropping out of the Cape Epic gave N1NO some extra time to train for the European World Cup races at the end of May. The first race for the SCOTT-SRAM Team after Cape Epic was part of the Swiss Bike Cup held in Schaan, Liechtenstein, a small country next to Switzerland. N1NO was dominant from start to finish arriving before Lars Forster and Reto Indergand.
Matthias Stirnemann on his way back from a sever illness
The stomach virus Matthias Stirnemann suffered from during Cape Epic was quite a severe one, putting him into intensive care for several days. It took him quite some time to recover. Even so, he got a well deserved 5th place in Schaan which was a postive sign of recovery. Michiel van der Heijden finished 11th.
The German crowd gathering around the Triple Crown Champion and Heubach winner – Nino Schurter.
The next stop was the Bundesliga race in Heubach, Germany. Even though the hors category race was internationaly well attended, the top 3 podium spots were the same as the previous weekend, fully Swiss.
Neither Matthias nor Michael achieved a good result, finishing in 29th and 31st place.
N1NO goning solo in one of the last laps in Solothurn.
Bike Days Solothurn is not only part of the Swiss Bike Cup, but also Switzerland’s largest bike festival with over 20’000 visitors. A great opportunity to demonstrate a good performance and get more confidence before the World Cup in Albstadt.
The winners of this race were once again all Swiss. The same rider claimed 3rd place, but Nino’s biggest threat was Matthias Flückiger. The leading duo stayed together until the last 2 laps. N1NO launched the turbo and won the race. This just shows that the champion is more than ready to head into the next World Cup race.
Matthias Flückiger (in red) taking the lead at Bike Days Solothurn.
The past weeks turned out to be the perfect build up for the World Cup races in two weeks. This brings us back to good memories from last year’s perfect season.
Nino Schurter: “Indeed I’m happy with how things went. I had a good month to train and the winning streak is perfect proof that I’m in good shape. But let’s not forget the World Cup is a bigger game. Especially the new short track races that are included in the World Cup circuit are going to be a very interesting addition to XC racing.”
Both Matthias Stirnemann and Michiel van der Heijden are still training hard to get into top shape. However, they both know they will be ready for the World Cup races to come. Matthias finished 10th, Michiel 13th at Bike Days.
Left: Matthias Stirnemann. Right: Dutch Champion Michiel van der Heijden.
Wondering what’s up with Andri Frischknecht? He is suffering from a knee injury since Cape Epic. This injury is requiring quite some time to recover from. He had to stay out of the game for the whole month of April and has just started training again. He missed out on the last three races, but will hopefully be back for the Albstadt World Cup.
Andri Frischknecht will hopefully be back in Albstadt. He will most likely not be able to rank top 10.
The Winner’s bike
For those who thought hard tails are out of fashion, the last three races proved differently. All races were won on a SCOTT SCALE 900 RC World Cup.
N1NO’s winning SCOTT SCALE 900 RC World Cup