Nino on Fire in Val di Sole
Nino Schurter put in another remarkable performance winning the Val di Sole World Cup ahead of his big rival Julien Absalon. With Jarsolav Kulhavy in 3rd, this race was sure to finish with one of the sports tops guns in front.
The Olympic champion Kulhavy got off to a fast start. Not too long after Absalon and Schurter would over take the Czech and would not look back. Having steadily increased their gap from the rest of the field after two laps, it was clear that if nothing were to go wrong, the winner would have to be wither Absalon or Schurter. Even though Schurter got a small gap with two laps to go, Absalon did not let him walk away with an easy win. Absalon came back strongly to prove that he still has what it takes. But at the very end in the sprint finale it was like all the previous races- Nino was just unstoppable.
"The results don't tell the true story. This year I won five times against Absalon in a tight finale. It could have been the other way around. Julien is riding at the same level as I am. Maybe it's just that with the 27.5" wheels I can accelerate faster than he does on his 29" wheels. He certainly is a threat every time I compete against him."
This victory leaves Nino with the huge burden of being the one and only big favorite for the European championship in Bern next week. But he can deal with it. "One thing missing in my trophy cabinet is the European Champion title. Having this championships in my home country in an exceptional location like the "Berner Gurten" is one of the reasons I marked this date red in my calendar. I'm sure it is going to be a great event in Bern."
Job well done, Nino. Best of luck to you in Bern next week.
