N1NO Finally Victorious in Albstadt!

Someone just following results would likely say cross-country racing is boring, because the same two guys always win. Who ever follows the races live on RedBull TV will agree, as long as Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter- the two icons of the sport- can deliver such high level entertainment, we’ll stick to it.
The Albstadt World Cup is great proof that cross-country racing is better and more alive than ever! Thanks to good organizers, exciting coverage and last but not least great athletes, spectators in Albstadt and worldwide were treated to something special yesterday.

For the first few laps the lead group was quite big. The third of the protagonists of past years showed that he is back after his injury. Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy looked strong finishing in 4th place. It would not be a surprise if at the World Championship in Nove Mesto he is back with the two others battling it out. But for now it was the usual Absalon/Schurter train that was riding away from the rest of the field. As if they had made an agreement, they usually ride at very high pace together, not attacking each other, until the finale where the rivalry heats up!

From than on it was no joking around. Absalon was the first to try to escape on the long climb. Schurter stayed on and did not wait long with his counter attack. As they were equally strong on the uphills and downhills, a sprint finish had to decide between first and second. Julien got to the finish straight in first position and immediately launched the sprint. While this is usually an advantage for Schurter, the finish straight was quite short and it looked like Nino was going to run out of time to overtake Julien. Somehow N1NO managed to get around his rival in the very last meters to win by very few centimeters. What a finale!

N1NO makes not secret that Albstadt is not his favorite track. The climbs are quite long and the descents are not technical enough to really make a difference. The fact that N1NO had never before won in Albstadt makes this victory even sweeter. He stated: “Winning in a sprint finish is always extra excitement because you don’t know the outcome until you cross the line. To finally win here means a lot to me. Who knows if maybe my brand new SCOTT hardtail made the difference at the end. This bike certainly gave me some extra motivation and confidence.”