Nino Schurter is the 2013 XCO World Champion

Setting the pace straight from the start line, Nino Schurter has won his 3rd Cross Country World Championship title on his SCOTT Scale 700 RC. Nino, who just re-signed his contract with SCOTT until 2016 a few days ago, showed probably one of the most dominant performances ever in a MTB World Championship battle.

The 4.7 km long course in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa with its short climbs is not only a technical but also a physically high demanding challenge for the riders. The course profile was rather advantageous for Nino, who is well known for his downhill skills. It is one of his favorite courses on the circuit. "I am really happy about this victory, this race obviously was the most important one in 2013. The course suits me really well. It was a fast one, dry and perfect to ride today- I especially like the rockgarden and the technical style of racing," Nino said after his win.

But it was not only the downhill sections where Nino consistently extended his lead- it was especially in the short uphills where he accelerated impressively on his 27.5" bike. 

"My goal was to set a high pace from the beginning- this paid out for me," Nino mentioned. Already in Lap 1, he managed to break away and extended his gap step by step, holding his chasers to a comfortable distance of 20 to 23 sec throughout the race.

Along with his first title in Canberra, Australia in 2009 and last year's victory in Saalfelden, Austria, Nino has now won his 3rd World Championship title in the elite class. Manuel Fumic of Germany took second (+ 0.07) and José Antonio Hermida from Spain took third (+0.21).  Florian Vogel finished in 17th place.

Nino Schurter so far celebrated his most successful season in 2012. Last year, he won 11 out of 15 races, became World Champion, won an Olympic silver medal and the overall World Cup. In World Cup overall rankings where one race remains in 2013, the 27 year old Swiss national Champion has a comfortable lead and is on his way to topping his extraordinarily successful season of 2012.