The World Cup was back in Lenzerheide for another round of action-packed racing. With the overall standings getting tighter, racers were keen to grab valuable points before heading into the last four races of the season. All eyes were on Nino Schurter (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team) in his home country of Switzerland – could this be the race in which he breaks the all-time wins record?
Racing got underway with short-track on Friday. Once again, this style of XC racing brought the intensity that fans at home love to watch. Nino picked up fourth place, putting him in good position to make a run for the all-time record on Sunday.
Saturday’s downhill race put a spin on the classic Lenzerheide track with a new top section for riders to deal with. In Junior Women, Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Team) continued her season-long dominant performance and took the win. Junior Men saw the battle between Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Jordan Williams (Madison Saracen) resume; this time, Jackson stood on top of the podium and Jordan took third place. Maxxis rider Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Union) slotted between Goldstone and Williams, securing a second-place finish. Rounding out four of the five podium spots in Junior Men was Bodhi Kuhn (Trek Bikes) in fifth.
Moving on to the Elite Women, Vali Höll (Rockshox Trek Race Team) snagged fifth place. In Elite Men, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) proved once again that he can compete at the highest level with a third-place podium finish.
Sunday’s XCO race sure delivered the drama. Near the end of the race, Mathias Flückiger attempted a pass on Nino in the woods which caused them to both crash (out of the camera’s sight). Because of the crash, Nino ended up in fourth place, narrowly missing out on his record-breaking win. Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) also finished fifth in the Elite Women’s race.
There was no shortage of exciting racing in Lenzerheide, and the World Cup is back at it again this weekend, July 15-17.