Rachel Atherton, Jordan Williams mountain biking success ‘really cool to see’ says Nino Schurter

Nino Schurter said it was “really cool” to see British riders Rachel Atherton and Jordan Williams claim stunning UCI Mountain Bike World Cup wins.

“It’s really cool to see who can win a World Cup,” said Schurter. “You can be a kid coming up from juniors, or a mum, or a 37-year-old old guy like me.

“Or [Greg] Minnaar, he is four years older than me and he is doing a sport that is all about explosivity. To see him still at the sharp end gives me a lot of motivation.

“That’s mountain biking, you can bring in a young kid with explosivity, going all in, and the older ones can also play their cards in different ways and that’s pretty cool to see.”

For Schurter it was a dream weekend as he broke the overall record at home in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

“It ranked really high,” he said.

“I am not the youngest anymore, I had years where I was expecting to win World Cups, and now I know I need to have a perfect day and if everything comes together I can still win. That makes it even more emotional and nicer in a way.

“It was a really cool victory and it ranks really high in my career highlights.

“It’s beautiful if you can achieve something like this as a team. I think the team knows it’s probably some of my last big victories and I think that makes it more emotional for everyone knowing it’s going to end.”

The next round of the World Cup takes place in Leogang, Austria this weekend.

Schurter finished second at the course last year but was out of the medals when the Mountain Bike World Championships were held in Leogang in 2020.

“It’s probably the course with the most climbing in the World Cup, it’s physically hard, but also there is some technical downhill,” he said.

“I have a bit of mixed memories from this venue. At the Worlds in 2020 I was really disappointed and last year I had a great race getting second, but it’s not my favourite course. I will try to change that this year and try to get a really good memory.”

As for his future in the sport and what comes next after setting the all-time winning record, Schurter said: “I am just enjoying it at the moment.

“I still love to race and love to be at the venues. As long as I am still racing strong and have chances to win I am also really motivated.”

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