36 wins! Nino Schurter back on top in Val di Sole World Cup
G.O.A.T. grazes on Italian singletrack
Photo by:
bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
If any rider knows how to win in Val di Sole, it’s Nino Schurter. Of the Swiss riders historic 35 World Cup wins coming into this weekend, seven came at the wildly technical Italian venue. On Sunday, Schurter made it 36.
Solo adventures were the name of the game this year. After pushing the pace from the gun, Schurter’s win looked much like Isabella Holmgren and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot’s wins earlier in the day, though Alan Hatherly kept the G.O.A.T. in his sights for much longer than either woman’s competition.
Elite men: Schurter goes soloÂ
When Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) went to the front, it quickly whittled down the group at the front of the race. Soon, it was Martin Vidaurre (Specialized Factory Racing), Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Simon Andreassen (Cannondale Factory Racing)
Vidaurre soon dropped of the pace, joining a sizeable chase group not far behind. Andreassen dropped out of the race entirely. Whatever was happening, the winner of Araxa World Cup was not feeling it.
That left Hatherly and Schurter riding together, though the chase group lurked close behind for a few laps. 18 seconds, then 30 seconds a few laps later left little room for the front duo to play games.
On lap five of seven, Hatherly managed to force Schurter ot the front. The Swiss racer obliged, then put in a turn of pace when Hatherly dipped into the tech-feed zone. That created a small gap, though there was a gulf between their body language. Schurter raced with momentum while Hatherly seemed, for at least part of a lap, resigned on the bike.
That acceleration put the chase group of out conntention for the win, dropping them to over a minute back by the end of the lap.
Hatherly dug in, found some energy reserves, and refused to give up. Schurter looked back more than once only to find the South African still hanging on, within striking distance of the win should the Scott-SRAM racer slip up at all.
On the final lap, Hatherly regained a handful of seconds, but not enough to stop Schruter.
Nino Schurter wins in Val di Sole. It’s a remarkable 36th career World Cup victory, putting Julien Absalon’s record of 34 wins further in the rear view. It’s also Schurter’s first World Cup win of 2024, 80th World Cup podium and his eighth win in Val di Sole.
“I’m super happy about this victory. It’s nice to still be able to win at 38, great to still be at the top.” a beaming Schurter said afterwards. “It’s a really cool course – tactical but also physical. A group doesn’t help much. So my plan was to make it hard from the start. That’s something I know I can do, start hard and keep going. I tried to rest a bit in the middle, then keep pushing.”
Alan Hatherly holds on for second place,
Behind, Luca Braidot (Santa Cruz RockShox), Italian champ who won here a few years ago was leading the race for third. Filipo Colombo (Scott-SRAM) was initally the only rider to follow the Braidot’s acceleration towards the finish line. Mathis Azzaro (Decathlon Ford), though, bridged up to the pair. Colombo led out the sprint but Azzaro, then Braidot both passed him in the long finishing straight. They round out the extended podium in that order: Azzaro, Braidot, Colombo.
Canadians struggle in Italy
While Schurter was adding to the history books, the Canadians were not having their best day out. Raphael Auclair (Pivot Cycles-OTE) led in 55th. Tyler Orschel and Gunnar Holmgren followed in 62nd and 63rd. Victor Verreault was 78th. William Maltais-Pilote was 87th and, rounding out the Canadian effort, Dylan Kerr was 90th.
