Disaster for Nino Schurter in Switzerland at Lenzerheide World Cup

A race-long battle between Nino Schurter and Mathias Flueckiger ended in disaster on Sunday in Lenzerheide. The two Swiss rivals were leading just moments from the finish line before both crashed, opening the door for Luca Braidot to take his first World Cup win.

Canadians in Lenzerheide

Gunnar Holmgren (Pivot Cycles-OTE) again leads the Canadian elite men’s results, finishing 39th in Lenzerheide. Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) was not far behind in 42nd. Sean Fincham (Norco Factory Team) was 52nd and Tyler Orschel (Canyon Devo) 62nd. After a strong start that saw him riding in the mid-30s, Léandre Bouchard (Forresco Holdings ProCo RL) finished 63rd in his first World Cup back from injury.

Quinton Disera (Canyon MTB) in 70th, Malcom Barton in 83rd, Marc Andre Fortier (Pivot Cycles-OTE) in 88th and Raphael Auclair in 95th round out the Canadian results in Switzerland.

The Canucks now head to Andorra for one more World Cup before 2022 Canadian XCO national championships at Hardwood Ski & Bike in Oro, Ont. on July 23-24.

Elite Men’s Race – The Schurter Show

Asked if he was excited about the opportunity to surpass Julien Absalon’s career World Cup record at home, a smiling Nino Schurter responded “For sure, but it’s not going to be an easy one. It’s a tough course and tough competitors, but I will give it my best.”

Off the start, everything looked to be going according to plan. Schurter (Scott-SRAM) immediately made his intentions clear. The Swiss sensation took to the front right away, followed by French national champion Tituon Carod (BMC).

Schurter, despite leading at a furious pace, was having fun. The Swiss star was throwing whips for the crowd and sprinting through the feed zone already on the start lap. As he rounded the course, massive roars followed him from the Swiss fans lining the track.

As they starteded the first full lap, Schurter already had created a gap to the field. Only Filippo Colombo (BMC) and Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Racing) could follow. After a slow start, Mathias Flueckiger (Thomus Maxon) led the chase with Vlad Dascalu (Trek Factory Racing) following in his wheel as they rejoined the front group.

Flueckiger responds

While Schurter had his mind on writing history in his backyard, he wasn’t the only Swiss rider with eyes on a win at home. Flueckiger worked his way through the front group and latched onto Schurter’s wheel. Behind him, Filippo Colombo. Only Hatherly could hold on to the pace of the Swiss trio.

After sprinting into the base of a climb at the start of lap two, Schurter came nearly to a stop to force Flueckiger to take the lead. Quite willing to keep the pace high, Flueckiger continued to open the quartet, extending their lead to 16 seconds over the chasers as tehy started the third of six laps.

As the furious pace settled slightly, David Valero Serrano (BH Templo) and Luca Braidot (Santa Cruz FSA) were able to rejoin the front group.

Schurter had a scary moment when Flueckiger made a sneaky pass on Valero, leaving the world champion stuck behind the tall Spaniard. Flueckiger poured on the pace, forcing Schurter to chase. This broke up the lead group instantly. Schurter made contact, creating a battle of Swiss titans. Colombo was left chasing alone 12-second behind in third as the race entered the penultimate lap.

As the two Swiss marked eachother, Luca Braidot rejoined the front, threatening to ruin the party for the home crowd. Eventually, Hatherly made it four.

Last lap showdown leads to disaster

Heading out onto the final lap, Schurter sat on the front of the leading quartet. After Schurter tested the pace with a few short attacks, it was Luca Braidot who responded to take the lead. The Italian was chasing his first World Cup win, leading Schurter in his hunt for a 34th.

In an reversal of what happened on the fourth lap, Schurter attacked again, leaving Flueckiger momentarily stuck behind Braidot. The Swiss national champion found his way back to Schurter’s wheel, but it was still a dangerous group of three with Hatherly lurking just second behind. With half a lap left, anything could happen.

Fluickiger sprints past Schurter on the final climb to take the lead as they descended towards the finish sprint. Schurter found space to respond, squeezing past his countryman and rival. The two nearly came together after taking alternate lines, but Schurter held the advantage.

Schurter and Flueckiger’s years-long rivalry leads to disaster. What happened is yet a mystery, as the two crashed off camera, but Flueckiger had dirt on his shoulder and Schurter also looked to have hit the ground. Braidot, though, now led Hatherly. Fluckiger was chasing, but Schurter was struggling to get back up to speed.

Braidot leads the sprint. Hatherly, after getting boxed in going inside in Friday’s Short Track, tried to go around the outside but can’t make it happen. Luca Braidot takes his first elite World Cup win in Lenzerheide.

“This is amazing,” a thrilled Braidot said after the finish. “Schurter and Flueckiger crashed and I thought that this was my one shot. I just went as hard as I could, I can’t believe this yet.”

“I swung wide, I didn’t hug the inside like I did in Short Track” Hatherly explained, “I definitely got much closer to the win, but ended up half a wheel short. I’ll take it, it’s my best-ever World Cup finish.”

“It’s not the way I wanted to get it, I wanted a fair clean four-way sprint, but it’s racing, I’ll take it,” Hatherly added, noting he and Braidot had to dodge the crashed Swiss duo just as he’d regained contact with the front riders. “They were hitting pretty hard at the start of the lap, but I was able to ride back on every time. It was a chaotic final.”

Flueckiger takes third. Schurter is fourth, his first time finishing outside the top-three this season. After watching his chance to surpass Absalon’s win record at home in Switzerland and just down the rode from his house, Schurter was very unahppy in the now-silent finish area. Colombo takes fifth, putting a third Swiss rider on the extended podium.

Schurter leads the World Cup overall standings, with 1154 points to Hatherly’s 942. Flueckiger is third with 936.

Speaking after the race, Mathias Flueckiger shed little light on what went down.

“I would say it’s just racing. We passed eachother several times. He passed me pretty tight, but it’s racing. I passed him pretty tight, but it’s racing. We crashed,” Flueckiger explained. “There’s not much more to say. It’s sad for everybody.”

“It’s not nice to end the race like this,” Flueckiger added. “It is like it is. Everybody wants to go for the win. It was tight, it’s racing.”

Results: 2022 World Cup XCO#5 – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

Elite Men

1.		BRAIDOT Luca (SANTA CRUZ FSA MTB PRO TEAM)	1:17:32
2.		HATHERLY Alan (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING)	1:17:32
3.		FLÜCKIGER Mathias (THÖMUS MAXON)	1:17:36 +4
4.		SCHURTER Nino (SCOTT-SRAM MTB RACING TEAM)	1:17:44 +12
5.		COLOMBO Filippo (BMC MTB RACING)	1:18:04 +32
6.		VALERO SERRANO David (BH TEMPLO CAFÉS UCC)	1:18:04 +32
7.		LITSCHER Thomas (KROSS ORLEN CYCLING TEAM)	1:19:10 +1:38
8.		BLEVINS Christopher (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING)	1:19:19 +1:47
9.		KERSCHBAUMER Gerhard (SPECIALIZED FACTORY RACING)	1:19:23 +1:51
10.		CULLELL ESTAPE Jofre (PRIMAFLOR MONDRAKER GENUINS)	1:19:23 +1:51
11.		SCHWARZBAUER Luca (CANYON CLLCTV)	1:19:41 +2:09
12.		COOPER Anton (TREK FACTORY RACING XC)	1:19:41 +2:09
13.		ALBIN Vital (THÖMUS MAXON)	1:19:44 +2:12
14.		ULLOA AREVALO Jose Gerardo (MASSI-BEAUMES DE VENISE)	1:19:52 +2:20
15.		SCHUERMANS Jens (SCOTT CREUSE OXYGENE GUERET)	1:19:59 +2:27
16.		MAROTTE Maxime (SANTA CRUZ FSA MTB PRO TEAM)	1:19:59 +2:27
17.		DASCALU Vlad (TREK FACTORY RACING XC)	1:20:00 +2:28
18.		DE FROIDMONT Pierre (KMC – ORBEA)	1:20:33 +3:01
19.		BRAIDOT Daniele (CS CARABINIERI – CICLI OLYMPIA VITTORIA)	1:20:37 +3:05
20.		ROTH Joel (BIXS PERFORMANCE RACING)	1:20:42 +3:10
39.		HOLMGREN Gunnar (PIVOT CYCLES – OTE)	1:22:38 +5:06
42.		DISERA Peter (NORCO FACTORY TEAM)	1:22:57 +5:25
52.		FINCHAM Sean (NORCO FACTORY TEAM)	1:24:04 +6:32
62.		ORSCHEL Tyler (CANYON DEVO)	1:24:44 +7:12
63.		BOUCHARD Leandre (FORESCO HOLDING PROCO RL PRO TEAM)	1:24:54 +7:22
70.		DISERA Quinton (CANYON DEVO)	1:25:58 +8:26
83.		BARTON Malcolm	1:28:00 +10:28
88.		FORTIER Marc Andre (PIVOT CYCLES – OTE)	1:28:46 +11:14
95.		AUCLAIR Raphael (PIVOT CYCLES – OTE)	1:16:48 +10:33