Elba Island, Italy. After a long and successful 2021 racing season with various wins and titles added to the books, SCOTT-SRAM Racing Team been focused on closing out this season with a big weekend of racing before finally heading into a well-deserved off-season.
With Marathon World Championships on the international racing calendar, this was the chance for SCOTT-SRAM riders Nino Schurter, Lars Forster and Andri Frischknecht to take a first dip into the uncharted territory of long-distance marathon racing. The SCOTT-SRAM team are no strangers to Elba Island (Italy), a location boasting spectacular ocean vistas, Mediterranean sunshine and dreamworthy singletrack. Determined to give it everything, the team rolled up to the start line set for this tough new experience.
If this race wasn’t enough to close out an already packed season, Lars Forster and Andri Frischknecht then drove through the night in order to make the start line for the final round of the Proffix Swiss Cup in Schaan, Lichtenstein, the following morning.
Find out more about the packed weekend of racing below.
Experiment for Experience – XCM World Championships
Nino Schurter and Lars Forster, both winners of the untamed Absa Cape Epic and Swiss Epic, as well as Andri Frischknecht, winner of the Swiss Epic, are some of the world’s best athletes when it comes to marathon stage racing.
Backed by their array of experience, each of the riders were poised and ready to venture into unfamiliar terrain and build on their experience in marathon racing. It’s no secret that Nino has been eyeballing an XCM World Champion title, therefore participation at this years marathon World Championships on the Island of Elba was aimed at being as a first foray into the pain-cave of marathon racing. With the course being one of the toughest in the history of Marathon World Championships (115km, 4500m in elevation), SCOTT-SRAM’s athletes accepted the massive physical challenge with determination.
While Nino was able to start at front line due to a special ruling, teammates Lars Forster and Andri Frischknecht took to the start line in 101st and 103rd position, respectively, in the field of 115 participants. With the race launching straight into a steep and narrow 20 minute climb right from the beginning, these starting positions most definitely set them at a disadvantage. Despite the odds, both Lars and Andri managed to work their way to the very front of the field by the first descent, with Andri having the lead position.
With such an explosive start, Andri managed an early 1 min lead at the front, with Nino and Lars setting the pace in a chasing group made up of all the race-favorites. By the end of the first lap, this chasing group had closed the gap to Andri, with all three SCOTT-SRAM athletes still looking strong.
Disaster struck at the beginning of lap 2 for Lars, with a broken chain forcing him to bury any hopes for a good result despite the fact he was still feeling strong at this point.
After 3 hours of intense racing, past the half-way mark, Andri had to pay tribute to his aggressive start and quit the race by end of the 2nd lap.
Things were looking very good for Nino until the last 3rd of the race. 3.5 hours in, Nino started to experience stomach pain which ultimately forced him to drop out of the race later on.
With the riders running into marathon worlds without any special preparation off the back of a fully packed racing schedule in September, the team managed to gain a wealth of experience to call upon when setting out to tackle future challenges in MTB marathon racing.
Swiss Cup – Final Round
With the tough race in Elba now behind them, Lars and Andri decided to drive back throughout the night from XCM World Championships overnight in order to line up the following day for the final round of the Proffix Swiss Cup in Schaan, Lichtenstein. Tired legs and lacking proper sleep, the duo rolled up to the start line for their last race of 2021 fueled by the burning drive of one last good result to close out the season.
Imagery: EGO-Promotion
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