A perfect season had never been done before. Winning every World Cup in the year. If Swiss rider Nino Schurter hadn’t already been knocking on the doors of making history, in 2017 he had completely blown it off the hinges.
Not only that, he topped it off with a World Championship win in none other than Cairns, Queensland.
Fast forward to 2025 and Schurter announced his retirement, with his final race being his local World Cup at Lenzerheide, Switzerland. This also marked the end of the European World Cup season.
We headed to the race to see just what a World Cup in the home of cross country mountain biking is like, and to farewell the unchallenged GOAT of the sport.
Nino Schurter’s race statistics
- 10 World Championships (including his first in 2009 at Stromlo, Canberra, beating Julien Absalon, and his sixth World Championship title in 2017 in Cairns, Australia)
- 7 National Championships
- 37 World Cups
- 1 Olympic Gold
- 100 World Cup podiums
Lenzerheide, Switzerland is special to Nino. Not only is it his local course (living one mountain away in Chur), it is also the course of his fifth World Championship win in 2016 as well as the course where he broke Absalon’s record number of World Cup wins in 2023).
Nino is known for his style on, and professionalism off the bike, managing to steer clear of controversy that tends to arise when an athlete is in the spotlight for such a long time – aside from one event. Schurter posted a photo on Instagram ‘mooning’ the White House in 2019, and was reprimanded by the Swiss Army. No knives came out as a result.
In addition to Nino’s retirement, the Lenzerheide World Cup round saw several riders farewell their professional careers including Linda Indergand, Camile Balanche and Thomas Litscher.
Where to now?
Nino has announced big plans in retirement, stating he plans to continue tenure with the Scott-SRAM team as a consultant, compete in some ‘fun’ enduro and gravel races, while also announcing the launch of a trail building company – GOAT Trails, working with his father Ernest Schurter.
The Racing: Full gas at Lenzerheide World Cup 2025
The speed of the riders and sound of a committed Swiss crowd simply exceeds written expression. The Elite men’s race exploded from the gun, with a group of riders forming at the front of the race early, with Canadian Cole Punchard and Danish rider Simon Andreasson setting a blistering pace.
Punchard fades, while Luca Martin and Victor Koretzky move to the front. Disaster strikes for Koretzky, as he rides his tyre off the rim, and World Champion Alan Hatherly takes the lead just a week after nabbing the rainbow stripes for the second time.
Despite tight racing and ultra-short lap times, Hatherly managed to quickly distance himself from chasers and at one point had a minute lead on the group behind. It looked to be all done and dusted when Hatherly experienced his own misfortune, with his chain seeking freedom from life on the cogs – bringing his lead down to 30seconds.
British rider Charlie Aldridge muscled his way into second, making a late surge to get a gap ahead of third rather than risking a sprint – celebrating with an endo 360 over the finish line. Adrien Boichis rode into third.
Nino surfed the trails in top-20 until his last lap, finishing 24th. The crowd acted like a verbal Mexican wave, erupting each lap around the course as Schurter rode past. Heading into the final straight, it was easy to see what racing meant to him, as he pedalled to the finish with a smile from ear to ear, a remarkable feat after riding on the limit for nearly 90minutes.
In the Elite Women’s race, World Champion Jenny Rissveds managed a cracking start, taking the lead early in her newly donned World Championship stripes, flanked by World Cup overall leader (and Kiwi) Samara Maxwell.
What’s it really like at a European World Cup?
In Australia, we have swimmers; Italy has footballers and Ethiopia has marathon runners. In Switzerland, though, cross country mountain biking is a national sport. With the retirement of Schurter – a national icon – crowd numbers were insane at Lenzerheide.
‘Entschuldigung!” was muttered on repeat as people milled around the course, so tightly packed were the crowds.
There’s one thing that’s for sure – despite its national popularity as a recreational activity, mountain bike racing remains a niche sport in Australia, and that’s evidenced by the level of support seen at European World Cups compared to high-level mountain biking events in Australia.
It’s impossible to explain the collective excitement and emotion of the World Cup – the sense of ‘frission’ and feeling experienced as we sat on the embankment at the finish line, watching Keller ride to a World Cup win before a home crowd. And again, the goosebumps in the Elite Men’s race as the crowd increased in decibels around you, knowing that Schurter is about to lap through again.
One thing is for sure – if you are a dedicated mountain bike fan, heading to a European World Cup simply must be added to the bucket list.
