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Second Place and Another Step Closer to the Overall World Cup Title

Oct 3, 2023 | News | 0 comments

In one of the tightest and most thrilling races of this season, N1NO was very close to winning his 36th World Cup race. While Filippo Colombo makes a huge move up into the top 10.
Snow Shoe, West Virginia. With the second last stop in the Appalachian Mountains the 2023 World Cup season is in its final decision state.
Nr.1 N1NO Schurter scored high with a second place behind Jordan Sarrou, who now is right on N1NO’s tail going into the final round in Mont Saint Anne, Canada .
Imagery: Michal Cerveny
The men’s XCO race was some of the best Mountain Bike racing delivered this year. A large lead group of 10 riders set a furious pace from the beginning where even N1NO Schurter seemed to have a hard time to follow. Each lap saw another protagonist seemingly break away from the rest. Early in the race it looked like Victor Korezky was on another terrific day. Then Luca Schwarbauer took over followed by World Champion Tom Pidcock and eventually Jordan Sarrou. Some of those escapes ended with flat tires.

The longer the race lasted, the better N1NO got going. It was only at the very end of the last lap that N1NO was actually able to put himself in first position.

With hard charging Marcel Guerrini and Jordan Sarrou, N1NO had two strong looking companions to battle it out for the win. At the end it was Jordan Sarrou who overtook N1NO right before the last corner, meters away from the finish line, to win his first ever World Cup race. N1NO in 2nd, one second down, followed by Marcel Guerrini, Mathias Flückiger and Tom Pidcock only 10 seconds apart.

4th Matthias Flückiger- 2nd Nino Schurter- 1st Jordan Sarrou- 3rd Marcel Guerrini- 5th Tom Pidcock

“I suffered a lot throughout the whole race. With only one thing in mind: Getting the points for the overall. I’m happy with my second place, yet nothing is decided”

Nino Schurter
Overall World Cup Leader
SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing

The outcome here in Snow Shoe will make the final race in Mont Saint Anne a delicate affair. Going into the grande finale, N1NO has an 89 point advantage over Jordan Sarrou. Not enough to be on the safe side. It will all come down to the battle between Jordan and N1NO.

Filippo Colombo from 66 to top 10

Another success story was written by Filippo Colombo. Still ranked far back due to his injury, he had the disadvantage of starting in 66th position. Filippo was on a mission moving from start to finish in only one direction: forward. Two laps into the race we saw him already in the top 30, 44 seconds down to the leader. Twice he put in the fastest lap time, he even had a top 10 in reach going into the last lap. He crossed the line in an incredible 9th place only 39 seconds behind Jordan Sarrou. What if Filippo was starting front row…? It sure proves he’s on track to getting back to where he was before his injury. We are very much looking forward to seeing him continue on his journey back to the top.

Andri Frischknecht 

“I’m trying to squeeze the lemon, but there is no juice left” was Andri’s analysis after his 45th place finish.

Kate Courtney

Kate had a really tough day at the office. After a good start she had a brutal crash right on her face. 

This crash not only took her breath away but also the wind out of the sails for a moment. But as tough as she is, she got going again and made the best out of the situation she was in.

Lucky she walked away with only bruises. With a smile in her face she said at the finish: ” You can’t land on your face – and have a good race!”

N1NO’s SCOTT Spark RC

For the World Cup overall leader Nino Schurter, his all-new Spark RC in the unique Endorphin Special Edition design ticks all the boxes! Some of the finest parts available, well balanced with an eye for details.

This Spark RC comes with a very special setup featuring all-new SRAM XX Eagle AXS Drivetrain, the Syncros Silverton SL (30mm) carbon wheels, Fraser iC SL combo, and even a lighter version of his Tofino saddle saving 50g.