N1NO SCHURTER - The Champion of all Champions

N1NO Schurter executed his plan to perfection in Canada and will ride again in the rainbow stripes in 2020 - his 8th World Champion title in total and his 5th in a row.

Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada - In one of the most challenging World Championships in history, N1NO Schurter, Olympic champion and winner of 32 World Cup races to date- again proved that he is the Nr.1 athlete in XCO racing.

Defending World Champion Kate Courtney showed a race with a lot of heart but with a solid 5th place the 24 year old American missed the podium. 

Andri Frischknecht cracked the Top 10 with his best race of the season while Lars Forster unfortunately had some mechanical issues finishing 40th.

8th World Champion title in the books- N1NO Schurter.

N1NO looked confident the whole week, most importantly during the race where he had everything in place to get that 8^th World Championship in hand.

One thinks you can get used to winning a big one like Worlds. But I have to say that this one felt just as good as all seven before. If everything comes together on race day- just like today- it's just an incredible feeling crossing the line and enjoying all the emotions that come with it. I'm very thankful to have had such a great day again today and I am even more thankful that I can wear the rainbow stripes for another season.
Nino Schurter,  SCOTT-SRAM 
Olympic & 8x World Champion 

N1NO once again succeeded thanks to a perfect master plan. Loop after loop, he put his main contenders in the hurt box. With many small attacks in the steep climbs, followed by powerful descends, N1NO forced his rivals to reach their limits. This strategy perfectly led to success. It was Matthias Flückiger who like N1NO was one of the hottest candidates for the Gold Medal, who turned out to be the strongest contender- until a mechanical forced him to stop in the pits. Only Frenchman Stephane Tempier was left- but N1NO also knew how to set him under pressure. N1NO got away and secured his 8th title. He'll be riding in the rainbow jersey in 2020 for the 5th year in a row. 

N1NO Schurter in a class of his own. The podium was completed by Matthias Flückiger (2nd, CH), and Stephane Tempier (3rd, FRA).

Kate Courtney in 5th, Andri Frischknecht in 9th 

Defending World Champion, Kate Courtney, rode to a solid 5th place and qualified for Tokyo with this result. "My race this year was a tough fight but a performance I can be proud of. I felt strong from the start and settled into a good rhythm but couldn’t hold the pace of a charging front group. A mid race crash came as a small set back, but motivated me to find my rhythm and fight hard to get back into the Top 5."

While I of course lined up with hopes of defending my rainbow jersey today, I am proud of the courage and heart I showed in my fight for a top 5 and can walk away knowing I dug deep and gave my absolute best effort. With that ride, I am thrilled to say I met one of the automatic qualification criteria for the Tokyo 2020 team! I am leaving this event more motivated than ever.
Kate Courtney, SCOTT-SRAM 
2018 UCI Elite XC World Champion  

Frischi jun. once more showed progress in his career with a step in the right direction. In his second Elite World Championships he showed us all some guts. After a good start he was pacing himself from riding around 14th place. The last two laps, when the Top 10 were in sight, he accelerated once more. In the final descent he overpassed Henrique Avancini to finish in 9th place.