We Win Together – We Lose Together | SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team

The 2020 World Championship turned out to be the worst in the history of the SCOTT-SRAM Team. As we live by the #NOSHORTCUTS slogan, we have no excuses. But we know we will come out of this stronger. We win together- we lose together.

Leogang, Austria. A difficult year followed by a difficult season reflected in a disappointing World Championships. Since we have long been spoiled with successes, walking away without a title or medal is a huge disappointment. Several things did not play out for us. The luck wasn’t on our side this time. We have no excuses for the worst racing day since the existence of our team. We were somehow just not up to speed for this one.

Nino beginning of the race in the bunch instead of the front. Behind World Cup winner of Nove Mesto, Simon Andreassen. Imagery by Michal Cerveny.

After dealing with a stomach bug in Nove Mesto, Kate Courtney was back to full power and excited for the World Championship. She had the extremely demanding course well dialed and was optimistic for the race she worked towards all year long. Disappointing no one more than herself, Kate crashed on her head early in the race that forced her to pull out with a minor concussion.

Start of the women’s race in still in good weather conditions

In Kate’s own words:

“I was incredibly excited and optimistic heading into world championships in Leogang. After struggling with a stomach bug and taking a very restful week, my body was feeling back on track and I found myself loving the muddy course – thanks primarily to the help of the mud master Frischi and pro bike set up from Brad that included prototype Maxxis mud tires.

Race day unfortunately did not go quite to plan. After a bit of a slow start, I was sitting in the top 10 and hoping to make up some ground when I made a mistake and had a high speed crash in a non-technical section of the course. I primarily landed on my face and knee and made my way to the tech zone where I got my bars straightened and made an initial assessment. When I got back on the bike, adrenaline carried me through another half lap before my head started to really hurt. As an athlete who has suffered multiple concussions and worked on a concussion research and education project while at Stanford, I recognized the early signs of a head injury and knew it was not the right decision to continue racing.

It was devastating to walk off the course and accept only the 3rd DNF of my career but it is one I am at least in some ways proud of as protecting long term health is always the right decision. While it’s a bummer, this setback will only leave me more motivated heading into the offseason and has certainly lit a fire for my aspirations in 2021. I am incredibly grateful for the team around me and their support both in the good times and the challenging ones. Let the comeback begin.”

While Pauline Ferrand Prevot defended her World Champion title in an impressive manner, Eva Lechner of Italy and Rebecca Mc Connell of Australia rounded out the podium.

Not being able to finish a race- especially a World Championships, hurts every athlete.

“While it’s a bummer, this setback will only leave me more motivated heading into the offseason and has certainly lit a fire for my aspirations in 2021. I am incredibly grateful for the team around me and their support both in the good times and the challenging ones. Let the comeback begin.”

Kate Courtney
2018 World Champion
2019 World Cup Champion
SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing

Still having some aces in the team left the hopes on regaining world champion Nino Schurter, Lars Forster and Andri Frischknecht. The weather turned within half an hour from sunny to cold and windy. A bad weather system with rain was expected during the men’s race. Yet, at the start of the race the track was fairly dry compared to the days prior when the whole course was super muddy and at some sections, unrideable. Tire and bike choice was a pure gamble at this moment. Our riders choose the SCOTT Scale hardtail with MAXXIS Beaver extreme mud tires to be prepared when the rain hits the race. Unfortunately, that rain only started when the race was over. Looking back now, the bike setup was the wrong choice. But it might as well have gone the other way.

N1NO’s titles on the top tube will remain the same for 2021- still very impressive of what this man achieved over the past years.

During the first minute in the heat of the battle, Nino clipped out of the pedal twice getting tangled up with other riders. Immediately he was out of the top ten and with his back to the wall. As the guys in front of the race already had a good gap on him, Nino fought to close the gap. Unfortunately, he never got close enough to become a medal contender. It didn’t seem to be his race from start to finish. A 9th place at World Championships is a strong performance, yet not satisfying for someone that was first the past 5 years.

Words from Nino:

“The 2020 world championship sure is a huge disappointment for me. A few things did not fit right from the start and I soon realized soon this was not going to be my day. I can look back on five years of wearing the rainbow stripes with pride. And now I will give it all I have to get this title back the next chance I get. Now I will write off this world champs and focus on the next chance for a title. European Championships in my home country are calling this Saturday.“

“The 2020 world championship is a huge disappointment for me. Few things did not fit right from the start. I realized early this wasn’t going to be my day. I can look back to five years wearing the rainbow stripes with pride. And now I will give it all I have to get this title back next chance I get.”

Nino Schurter
2016 Olympic Champion
2019 World Champion
2020 Swiss Epic Champion
SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing

Same race story only with an even worse outcome for Lars Forster and Andri Frischknecht. Both had quite a slow start followed by not finding into the race. While Lars managed to hold his position throughout the race finishing 20th, Andri dropped back far to P46.

The newly crowned World Champion is 28-year-old Jordan Sarrou of France. Swiss Matthias Flückiger repeated his silver medal from last year. Bronze went to the Frenchman, Titouan Carod.

Looking Ahead

There is still one big opportunity for our Swiss boys to show what they are capable of. The final race of this super intense but short season will be held this coming Saturday at the European Championships in Rivera, Switzerland. Live on SF2 for those who have excess to Swiss Television. A track and hopefully conditions that suit us better than the ones in Leogang.

Both not on top of what they are able to show.
Left Lars Forster- right Andri Frischknecht

World Champs – Team bikes

At World Champs Leogang the team rode the SCOTT Scale RC World Cup. While Nino lined up at the starting line his personalized bike, Kate Courtney was able to showcase another one of a kind special edition bike, her SCOTT’s Contessa Signature Scale RC.

SRAM’s latest state-of-the-art wireless shifting AXS technology and TwinLoc. Discover N1NO Schurter’s and Kate Courtney’s Contessa Signature SCOTT Scale RC.

SCOTT Contessa Scale RC – Contessa Signature Special Edition
Imagery: Michal Cerveny

Special edition team bikes for special athletes. No matter if Nino’s, Lars’s or Andri’s Supersonic Spark RC’s from Nove Mesto World Cup or Kate’s Contessa Signature Spark and Scale RC’s, the pro’s rigs always been appreciated by media.

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