SWISS SEIZE GAP
Switzerland beats dominant French relay team in new format
SMITHFIELD’S mountain bike trails are a far cry from the Swiss Alps but they have proven the perfect place for Switzerland to kick off the world titles in style.
The European nation made the most of the new five-rider format to blow away the competition in the Cross Country Team Relay World Championships race yesterday, ending France’s past domination.
Swiss world No.1 and defending XCO elite men’s world champion Nino Schurter anchored the relay and said he had a relatively easy job after the efforts of his team, celebrating a 24-second win over Denmark and France.
“I couldn’t have a better team. It was already a perfect situation. I had a gap to the other elite riders behind me and I just had to do one good average lap and I was safe,” he said.
“A big thanks to the team. They already did a really good job before I went into the race.”
Schurter was one minute ahead when he took to the track after Yolanda Neff, Sina Frei, Joel Roth and Filippo Colombo set the pace.
Australia crossed the line in 14th after suffering mechanical issues.
Schurter said having strong riders in every category – including Junior Men, Junior Women and Under-23 – was advantageous for Switzerland on the back of young rider development and participation.
“Switzerland is the perfect country to ride a mountain bike. We have beautiful mountains and an awesome trail network,” he said,
“I would say it’s almost unique in the world to have such a trail network, and since almost ever, we’ve had an awesome Swiss Cup, where kids can start competing in a playful race and they can also see professional riders and this Cup is probably one of the most important things to always have new, strong riders.”
The 31-year-old has individually dominated the World Cup season and shapes as an almost unbackable favourite for the Elite Men XCO race on Saturday.