Nino Schurter is the Greatest Of All Time. His record in cross-country Olympic (XCO) is unmatched, and he continues to win, defy expectations and extend records. At the age of 38, his victory in the XCO at Val di Sole (Italy) last weekend was his 36th win and 80th podium at UCI World Cup level.
The man himself commented: “It’s quite nice to still be able to win, at 38 now it feels great to still be at the top.”
Early in 2022, the Swiss rider claimed his 33rd XCO victory in Brazil, to equal Frenchman Julien Absalon, now retired from competition. In the summer of 2023 Schurter won again, this time on his home track in Lenzerheide, where he recovered from a second row start and battled his countryman Mathias Flückiger for victory. Nino’s 35th win came soon after, and now the 36th, another year later, leaves nobody in any doubt about his prowess.
How he got here
A teenage Schurter joined the team of 17-time XCO UCI World Cup winner Thomas Frischknecht 21 years ago. The following year, 2004, he was crowned Junior UCI World Champion. He was three-time Under-23 UCI World Champion and turned professional in 2007 when he joined what is now SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team.
The Swiss rider won his first Elite UCI World Cup round in 2010 in Dalby Forest, England (Great Britain). His second Elite UCI World title came soon afterwards, in Val di Sole – the first of eight wins from 12 starts so far at the legendary Italian course – on a hardtail bike with 26-inch wheels.
When Nino was starting out, the current young stars of the discipline, Puck Pieterse and Tom Pidco*ck were schoolchildren. And the sport’s household names such as Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Mathieu Van der Poel were at the roadside watching their prodigious forebears ply their trade on two wheels.
At 38 years and 34 days, Schurter might not be the oldest rider to win a UCI World Cup round but his longevity makes him a special figure, and the fact that he’s been at the top of the game for almost all of those years is what makes his status legendary.
— UCI MTB (@UCI_MTB) June 16, 2024Men Elite XCO podium in Val di Sole 👇
🥇 Nino Schurter 🇨🇭
🥈 Alan Hatherley 🇿🇦
🥉 Mathis Azzaro 🇫🇷
4️⃣ Luca Braidot 🇮🇹
5️⃣ Filippo Colombo 🇨🇭#MTBWorldCup pic.twitter.com/bxyYeiEsFs
A matchless palmares
Along with the 36 UCI World Cup round victories, Schurter has a record nine overall UCI World Cup titles, between 2010 and 2023. Right now he’s in second place of the 2024 standings, just 34 points behind Frenchman Victor Koretzky and 44 ahead of South African Alan Hatherley. A tenth is not out of sight.
Schurter has been Elite UCI World Champion in XCO an astonishing 10 times. And in the team relay he’s not just the reliable rider who can bring it home in Switzerland's classic battles with France, he’s also the talisman who inspires his compatriots.
He has gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympics. He can take the honours in the cross-country short track (XCC) against the best in the world, and in mountain bike stage races such as the Cape Epic he can pull the legs off the younger competitors over multiple days (winner 2017 and 2019). He’s been Swiss National Champion eight times, remarkable in a country packed with talent, including the likes of 35-year-old Flückiger, who has won the national jersey for the last three years.
The record 36th UCI World Cup win
Last weekend in Val di Sole, Schurter was pushing the pace in the latter stages of the XCC race – not just looking for the win, but also to ensure the front row start for the XCO. He took fourth place as the UCI World Champion Sam Gaze put down huge power for the sprint.
As the Italian sun dried the mud, Sunday’s XCO was fascinating, as those riders who are selected for the Paris Olympics start to hone their form, and those who won’t be going to France in August chased glory in the UCI World Cup.
Schurter has won UCI World Cup XCO races in one-to-one sprints, in bunch finishes, and solo. His tactical toolbox is something his rivals fear along with his physical prowess. And this time, it was a well-paced effort, moving away with Hatherley, then dropping him at half distance and managing the gap. Schurter’s experience paid off, ending with a victory that was more comfortable than the final 7-sec advantage over the South African suggests.
“I’m super happy about this victory here. I love this place, it’s a really cool course, tactical but also physical,” said Schurter. “It’s a track where riding from the group doesn’t help you a lot so my plan was to go hard from the start…That went well and mid-way I tried to save a bit of energy, then I realised I had to make a hard race and try to break the others.”
There are four more XCO rounds of the 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, and the next is in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, this weekend. In this form, who would bet against Schurter ‘doing a Lenzerheide 2023’ for another emotional record-breaking performance?
